The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) officially launched the Green Innotextile Base (GIB) in Shanghai on World Environment Day. The announcement took place at the Innostech 2025 Shanghai-Hong Kong Seminar and is a partnership with the Pudong New Force Incubator and the Pudong-Hong Kong Institute for Technology Transfer and Innovation.
The GIB will be located in the Yangtze River Delta area, which will help sustainable innovation in textiles by developing circular economy processes, advanced materials and artificial intelligence in fashion manufacturing. The GIB does not yet have the core competencies to support a full hub for technical standards, certificates and seamless technology transfer yet.
HKRITA Chairman Teresa Yang stated the platform was created to combine sustainability and smart manufacturing. “GIB promotes collaborations between industry, academia and research, enhancing competitiveness and sustainability,” Yang said.
As part of this vision, Pudong New Force Incubator Chairman Geng Zhongwei reiterated GIB’s commitment to supporting startups through artificial intelligence (AI)-based automation and business solutions. Chan Yi Ngok from the Pudong-Hong Kong Institute called the base a gateway for regional collaboration and talent development in clean technologies.
In another significant milestone, HKRITA announced it has entered into a partnership with NeoRita Sustainable Technologies (Shanghai) Ltd to create an environmentally friendly vegan leather product using bacterial cellulose. The partnership displays another aspect of the practical approach of GIB for taking innovations to commercialization and bringing green products to market.
