Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) drives the innovation and re-industrialisation of the textile and clothing industry in Hong Kong.
It develops sustainable and practical technologies to enhance the competitiveness of the industry and benefit the living standards of the community at large.

One such project is an AI-based production order prediction algorithm. The project has developed a color productivity prediction model by integrating sales, pricing and branding to best meet operational needs such as product planning and inventory management. The model makes use of fashion color-related posts from the print and social media, as well as product prices, market events and brand positioning, to predict future sales of fashion items of different colors.

Another of the institute’s projects is a separation and recycling technology for combinations such as cotton and polyester blends. This project has developed an efficient hydrothermal treatment method to decompose cotton into cellulose powders, enabling the separation of the polyester fibers from the blends. The quality of the polyester fibers is maintained, permitting fiber-to-fiber recycling.

Yet another project is a novel bioprocess which makes use of textile waste for the sustainable production of different value-added products, such as glucose, synthetic fiber, bioplastics, bio-chemicals and bio-surfactants. The process consists of pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and melt-spinning.