The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about a work accident that happened at a construction site in Ngau Tau Kok this morning (September 6), in which a worker died after falling from a floor opening of a plant room on the first floor. The LD is saddened by the death of the worker in the accident and expressed its deepest sympathy to the victim's family.

     The LD spokesperson said, "We commenced immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident, and have issued suspension notices to the contractors involved to suspend any work in in the plant room. The contractors cannot resume the work until the LD is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken.

     "We will complete investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation."

     The general duty provisions of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance require employers to provide safe working environments, safe plant and safe systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the above provisions are liable to a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     In regard to today's accident, the LD will issue a Work Safety Alert through its website and email, giving a brief account of the accident concerned to duty holders, workers' unions, professional bodies of safety practitioners and others, and reminding the industry of the importance of following safety precautionary measures to prevent recurrence of similar accidents.

     The LD will also remind the employer concerned of the liability for employees' compensation under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, to assist family members of the deceased to claim employees' compensation and to closely follow up on the case. For those with financial difficulties, the LD will assist them to apply for appropriate emergency funds. Subject to the needs and wishes of family members of the deceased, the LD will also liaise with the Social Welfare Department for financial or other assistance.

     For the sake of securing the safety and health of employees at work, the LD appeals to employers to provide plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health. Employees should co-operate with their employers, adopt all safety measures and use personal protective equipment provided properly to avoid endangering their own work safety and that of other workers.

     Hong Kong Customs conducted an operation yesterday (September 5) to combat the sale of suspected counterfeit goods. A total of 1 277 items of suspected counterfeit goods with a total estimated market value of about $500,000 were seized.
 
     Customs took enforcement action yesterday evening. A total of 1 277 items of suspected counterfeit goods, including watches, wallets, handbags and other goods with an estimated market value of about $500,000 were seized from two fixed hawker pitches in Mong Kok. A 33-year-old female person in charge and a 31-year-old female salesperson were arrested. Investigation is ongoing.
 
     Customs will continue to step up enforcement to combat the sale of counterfeit goods.
 
     Customs appeals to consumers to procure goods at reputable shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.  
 
     Customs also reminds traders to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since the sale of counterfeit goods is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions.
 
     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
 
     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Transport Department (TD) today (September 6) reminded the public that the 125th auction of personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRMs) will be held this Saturday (September 8) at Meeting Room S421, L4, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.
      
     A list of 210 approved PVRMs put up for auction can be downloaded from the department's website, www.td.gov.hk. The reserve price for all these marks is $5,000. Applicants who have paid a deposit of $5,000 are required to participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price). Otherwise, the PVRM concerned may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.
      
     Bidders are also reminded to bring the following documents with them for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after the successful bidding:

(i) The identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) The identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(iii) A copy of the certificate of incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(iv) A crossed cheque made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or "The Government of the HKSAR". (For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed.) Successful bidders can also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS). Payment by post-dated cheques, cash or other methods will not be accepted.
 
     People who want to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:

(i) The display of a PVRM on a motor vehicle should be in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Schedule 4 to the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations;
(ii) Any change to the arrangement of letters, numerals and blank spaces of a PVRM, i.e. single and two rows as auctioned, will not be allowed;
(iii) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM immediately after the bidding for the PVRM concerned. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted; and
(iv) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the PVRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the PVRM within 12 months, allocation of the PVRM will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

     "Upon completion of the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM, the purchaser will be issued a receipt and a Certificate of Allocation of Personalised Registration Mark. The Certificate of Allocation will serve to prove the holdership of the PVRM. Potential buyers of vehicles bearing a PVRM should check the Certificate of Allocation with the sellers and pay attention to the details therein. For transfer of vehicle ownership, this certificate together with other required documents should be produced to the TD for processing," the spokesman said.
      
     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of PVRM, which is available at the department's licensing offices or can be downloaded from its website, www.td.gov.hk.

     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at the opening ceremony of the Fashion Summit (HK) 2018 this morning (September 6):

Felix (Chairman of the Fashion Summit Steering Committee, Mr Felix Chung), Harry (Chairman of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, Dr Harry Lee), Mr Yeung Fan (Chairman of the Clothing Industry Training Authority), 孫會長 (Vice-chairman of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, Mr Sun Huaibin), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning. I am honoured to join you all again at the opening ceremony of the Fashion Summit (HK). I would like to first extend my warmest welcome to our overseas participants who have travelled from afar – Welcome to this Asia's world city!
 
     I still vividly recall the opening ceremony that I attended last year to celebrate the launch of the inaugural edition of the Fashion Summit (HK), with the theme of promoting sustainable fashion. The first Fashion Summit was a tremendous success, bringing together over 1 500 leading academics, key industry players, NGOs, as well as experts and professionals from relevant disciplines across the globe to exchange views and share experience in sustainable fashion trends, technologies, best practices, solutions and opportunities.
 
     The Fashion Summit is no average fashion week. This year, the theme of the Fashion Summit is "Circular Economy". It is an innovative model that represents a systemic shift that builds long-term resilience, generates business and economic opportunities and provides environmental and societal benefits, promoting closer collaboration at all levels – for large and small businesses, for organisations and individuals, globally and locally.
 
     The fashion world is home to some of the most creative and pioneering talents. They are most receptive to new ideas and are keen to take the lead in changing the existing system for the betterment of the industry and the wider economy and society as a whole. I am most pleased to see that the fashion world is one of the pioneers of the modern and sustainable concept of circular economy, with a view to improving the economic, environmental and social outcomes, while capturing opportunities missed by the current linear textiles system.
 
     Indeed, given globalisation and cheap labour, it has become a mainstay for mega retailers to produce mass inventory inexpensively and quickly. Coupled with the epidemic of consumerism, the "fast fashion" movement in recent years has become synonymous with disposable fashion and textile waste causing over-production, over-consumption and excessive refuse and as a result irreversible damages to our environment.

     The growing social consciousness of consumers nowadays has led brands and manufacturers to put more effort in developing sustainable products that minimise environmental impacts, improve employees' working conditions and increase transparency across their supply chain. It is therefore high time for us to rethink how we can transform the fashion industry from the linear conventional model or what we call the take-make-dispose model of production into a circular economy where products are made to last and the wastage generated can be recycled and reused.

     Nevertheless, this is not an easy task. A survey published by the Fashion Summit last month reveals that close to 80 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong said that they were concerned about the environment, but only eight per cent of them would be willing to pay a higher price for sustainable fashion products.  Similar trends are observed in other cities. To encourage the community to walk the talk, it will require concerted efforts of all parties including the fabric makers, manufacturers, brands and individual consumers globally and locally. 

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to promoting sustainable fashion development and has all along supported eco-labels certification schemes and development of new technologies to facilitate green making and marketing of fashion products. My colleague Edward, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, will fill you with more details in his keynote speech later this morning.

     However, to promote sustainable fashion, Government's efforts alone are never enough. We need the fashion industry players like you all to join us in achieving this goal. In the next two days, renowned speakers and participants from different parts of the world will share with us their insight and foresight on how we may transform today's fashion industry into a circular economy tomorrow.

     I am pleased to note that the Fashion Summit has introduced the Fashion Future Challenge Award to provide a platform for our young talents to offer creative ideas on tackling future challenges faced by the fashion industry. It further adds impetus to the campaign to raise understanding and awareness on the role of the Hong Kong fashion industry in leading the charge for revolutionary change, and the critical role Hong Kong can play in driving sustainability. I would like to express my warmest congratulations to the winners of the Award and wish you every success in the pursuit of a positive and sustainable fashion industry in Hong Kong and beyond.

     On this encouraging note, I would like to express my warmest gratitude to Felix and the Fashion Summit Steering Committee for staging this wonderful and meaningful significant event. I wish the Fashion Summit every success and all of you a fruitful experience, and to our guests from afar, a pleasant stay in Hong Kong. 

     Thank you.

    

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, at the opening ceremony of the Fashion Summit (HK) 2018 today (September 6):

Felix (Chairman of the Fashion Summit Steering Committee, Mr Felix Chung), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning. It is my pleasure to join you all at the Fashion Summit (HK) 2018, and my honour to kick start the keynote session of this two-day conference. May I first extend a warm welcome to all participants.

     Fashion is amongst the fastest-growing industries in the world. I read from news report that the global fashion value stands at US$2.4 trillion. Earlier this year, the annual McKinsey & Company State of Fashion 2018 report predicted that in 2018, we will witness an average growth of between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent for the industry sales, three times higher than the 1.5 per cent growth in 2016. But I read with greater interest that the report also forecasted that "sustainability" is becoming a fashion trend with growing importance.

     The theme of this year's Fashion Summit, "Circular Economy", therefore, cannot be more timely and relevant. The discussion topic signifies that industry players are not merely aiming to achieve growth, but growth in a sustainable way. With all the change-makers gathering here today, I see the eagerness of the industry in moving forward, and towards a sustainable future.

     Circular economy is the buzzword of the day. The concept has been gaining momentum in the academic, business and policymaking arenas. The circular economy approach emphasises product, component and material reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair, cascading and upgrading as well as use of renewable energy such as solar, wind, biomass and waste-derived energy throughout the product value chain. It aims for a product cycle which reduces negative environmental impacts and stimulates new business opportunities. But one can say all these are easier said than done. Are these applicable and achievable in the fashion industry, and in the production and trade of textiles and garment? Obviously, it is not without challenges. The first obvious challenge is knowledge and awareness; and whether we know sufficiently well what price we pay in a linear economy.

     The inconvenient truth is that the traditional linear economy has dominated the overall economic development in previous decades if not centuries, and the fashion industry was no exception. According to a research conducted by McKinsey & Company, apparel sales have risen sharply in recent years as businesses have used "fast fashion" design and production systems to cut prices and introduce new lines more often. From 2000 to 2014, global clothing production doubled and the number of garments sold per person increased by 60 per cent. The deteriorating clothing utilisation also contributes a large part to this unsustainable growth of the fashion industry. Clothing utilisation, that is, the average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used, has decreased by 36 per cent compared to 15 years ago. It is estimated that this "take-make-dispose" model leads to an economic value loss of over $500 billion per year.

     The growth of the textile industry has caused serious environmental degradation at the global level. The making and laundering of clothes consume a large amount of water resources, let alone the competition for water in the growing of cotton in climatic challenging areas; the dyeing process produces toxic chemicals; the old and not-so-old garments occupy our landfills. In 2014, over 14 million tonnes of textile waste was generated in the United States, whereas in Hong Kong in 2016, the figure was 125 196 tonnes. It is therefore unsurprising that the Ellen MacArthur Foundation predicts that if today's textiles economy continues in a business-as-usual scenario, by 2050 we will have released over 20 million tonnes of plastic microfibres into the ocean.

     This phenomenon is beyond alarming and the impact is widely applied in all economies, developed or developing. Without improvements in how clothing is made, cared for, and disposed of, the negative environmental impacts created by the fashion industry will only worsen, eventually causing backlashes to the growth of the industry. Cut-throat cost competition, scrambling for fabric materials, rising cost in disposing and treating industrial waste are all adding a toll on the textile and garment industry.

     Circular economy would reduce both the input of materials and energy to, and the emission output and waste from the production system. The costs of acquiring resources and energy would be reduced, so as those arising from the processing of waste and emissions, such as putting in place the necessary environmental regulations, introducing taxes or managing wastes and landfills. Some of these policies and regulations are happening in Hong Kong and China now. But for the circular economic model to apply, efforts cannot just be confined to the cycle of production alone. A truly circular economic model can work only with the full application of the green technology, material sourcing, recycling; and of equal importance are the consumer behavioural changes, rightful marketing and pricing in support of a sustainable economy.

     While using more sustainable methods may increase costs upfront, in the long run, doing so can spur innovation, guard against supply-chain shocks such as drought conditions, and enhance corporate reputations. The shift towards this economic model means that products will be designed to last and more importantly be reusable; hence their embedded values will circulate in the economy as long as possible. With growing consumer attention on sustainability issues, businesses adopting the circular economy model can also expect an improved corporate image which would in turn build up brand loyalty and promote revenue growth. But all these could just be paper comfort if there is no creative way to engage customers to take part and to put passion into action. Very re-assuring, I am seeing this happening in Hong Kong recently. One of the new and accessible experience of garment shopping cum recycling comes from Novetex Textiles Limited that will soon open in The Mills. In its press release, it says "members of the public are encouraged to bring items of their unwanted clothing to the shop, select their preferred style, and then bring a new garment home". If this happens, it will take circular economy a step forward, using consumer behaviour and shopping experience to drive changes. So instead of "Buy one Get one Free", bring one and recycle one, before you bring one home.

     The growing awareness for environmental protection offers immense business opportunities for the environmental technology companies as well. With the increasingly stringent regulatory regimes on environmental protection in the global market, many industrial sectors have recognised the need to adopt and develop green manufacturing practices and clean technologies in order to survive and compete. In Hong Kong, many companies are starting to tap on the opportunities in this field, especially those arising from the Mainland market. A lot of people remind me that the regulatory environment in the Mainland in promoting green environment and sustainability is no less stringent than that in the West.

     The successful shift towards the circular economy will only be made possible by technological advancement which the Government is keen to see. In recent years, we have witnessed the fashion industry exploring new materials, pioneering new business model and developing new design technology. For example, we understand that in collaboration with and alongside the Fashion Summit, the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) is hosting the Innovation and Technology Symposium to share the latest technology developments and innovations on sustainability for the fashion industry.
      
     HKRITA, established in 2006 and funded by the Hong Kong Government, engages in applied research to support the textile and apparel industries in order to boost their overall competitiveness, and to drive sustainable improvements and bring about benefits to the whole society. Indeed, many leading fashion brands are actively collaborating with HKRITA to develop groundbreaking and award-winning new technologies to recycle blend textiles into new fabrics and yarns through mechanical, biological and chemical methods, such as the "Postconsumer Blended Textile Separation and Recycling by Hydrothermal Treatment" and "Textile Waste Recycling by Biological Methods" which won gold medals in the 46th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. It demonstrates that use of new technology is a good starting point for transition towards the circular economy, and the Government is offering and will continue to offer support in this respect.

     Apart from technology, changing the behaviour of consumers is also vital in driving the move towards a circular economy. In fact, there is already heightened awareness of the issue of sustainability among global fashion shoppers, especially the millennial. That leads us to the question on how we can facilitate consumers' access to information on sustainable fashion in order to foster changes in their consumption patterns.

     Having a proper sustainability scoring or labelling system will certainly help enhance consumers' understanding on sustainable products and better enable customers and businesses alike to make smart choices to improve purchasing and sourcing practices. As revealed in the survey by the Fashion Summit, 64 per cent of the respondents agree that sustainability scoring or labelling system will encourage them to purchase sustainable fashion to some extent.

     In this respect, the Hong Kong Government encourages and provides funding support to quasi-governmental organisations or non-governmental organisations to collate information on the latest development of various eco-labels and certification schemes, and to establish information platform and consumption guide on sustainable products. Also, to facilitate members of the public and traders to access the latest information pertaining to sustainable consumption of biological resources, the Environment Bureau will develop a webpage as a one-stop shop for information related to this subject, so as to reach out to a wider community real-time. The webpage will provide general information on this subject, including the concept of sustainable consumption of biological resources; enable access to good practice (such as green procurement) guidelines, and supply links to various online materials related to the subject.

     In addition, since 2011, the DesignSmart Initiative and CreateSmart Initiative of my Bureau have rendered funding support to the Redress Design Award, previously known as the EcoChic Design Award, to promote sustainable fashion design, groom emerging fashion design talents and provide a platform for exchange of sustainable fashion knowledge and experience in Hong Kong. We believe transparency in information on eco-purchases and availability of a wide range of sustainable fashion design products will facilitate consumers making the right choices.

     To conclude, a lot of new steps have been taken in changing towards a circular economy in the fashion trade, production and consumption. But certainly we can do more and better for without a concerted effort, common understanding, and a united front among producers, traders, designers, consumers and regulators, all the above could just be baby steps from a truly sustainable fashion industry. But given the interest, passion and strength that industry leaders around here today, I'm confident that we could march on. Now, without future ado, may I open the floor to our fashion experts to share with us their insights into how to drive the industry towards our common vision.

     Thank you very much.