by Lydia Tan
As part of Ecosperity 2019, Temasek has launched the first-ever Trash to Fash: An Upcycling Competition, challenging participants to design clothing through the process of upcycling. If you’re interested in fashion and saving the environment, you can learn about circular economy and experience the process first-hand by participating in the first-ever Trash to Fash contest.
This campaign aims to raise public awareness about the circular economy and developing sustainable solutions, where participants will learn about what it means for the fashion industry to adopt a closed loop supply chain, and how upcycled materials can become fashionable apparel.
Here’s how you can take part:
Phase 1 – Online Applications (open till 18 Mar 2019)
This competition is open to anyone residing in Singapore aged 17 and above and applications can be made individually or in teams of two or three. Applicants will be asked to share their understanding of the need for a circular economy and their post-competition aims and aspirations.
If you’re up for the challenge, you can register here before 18 Mar 2019.
Phase 2 – Project Development and Pitch (25 Mar 2019 – 12 May 2019)
25 shortlisted individuals/teams will undergo a half-day workshop and mentorship sessions with leading fashion designers. Participants will also have to collect PET bottles as “trash currency” to exchange for recycled PET (rPET) fabric to produce their designs.
These collected PET bottles will be processed by persons with intellectual disabilities and stored at MINDS Woodlands Employment Development Centre, before being recycled into rPET fabric.
At the end of this phase, participants will have to submit a three-minute video to describe and pitch their finished apparel, which will be put out for public voting. They will be judged based on the number of PET bottles collected, their public voting results, design creativity, and how successfully they met and address their target consumers’ needs.
Eight finalist individuals/teams will be announced on 21 May.
Phase 3 – Fashion Show Finale (3 Jun 2019)
The eight finalists will get the chance to showcase their apparel during a Fashion Show Finale (3 June 2019), and their work will also be on display to an international audience at Marina Bay Sands during Ecosperity Week 2019, at the Ecosperity Innovation Showcase (5 – 7 June 2019). The top three teams will also get S$8,000 worth of prizes.
