Life is a journey, not a destination 
Victor Pang, a graduate in Business Analytics knows that from first-hand experience. Having worked in the Big 4 and at Prudential, Victor took the leap into social enterprise. It all started when he left his managerial role at KPMG after six years at the firm, and with his friend, the fashion designer Emma Yu, started Dress Green. The organization promotes sustainable development by educating and facilitating the reduction, recycling, and repurposing of fashion waste, particularly at schools.

A uniform response was needed
What inspired him to take on this mission? "The textile industry is the second largest source of pollution in the world. Let’s take the example of school uniforms. In Hong Kong, 880,000 students in Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary schools change uniforms every 1 to 2 years, making for an estimated replacement of 4 million uniforms every year," Victor says.

When looked at closely, the effects are absolutely shocking. The carbon dioxide emitted each year for replacing uniforms in our city is equivalent to that of a car traveling 1,200 times around the earth, and the water used in the process is enough for all Hong Kongers to drink for 3 years. 

A connection forged by Hong Kong history
Taking the bull by its horns, Victor and Emma developed their first initiative - the UNI Green Education Program, connecting schools and elderly garment workers to repurpose old school uniforms. Uniforms in good condition are given to parents in need, while the others are upcycled as school souvenirs: including the UNI Bear, pencil bag, tote bag, pouch shoulder bag, fisherman's hat, and cushion.

The project, combining sustainability, art, and education, received a DFA Design for Asia Awards 2022. But it also had another important focus. "We were driven to recognize elderly female garment workers who manufactured clothes for large fashion brands in the 1970s and 80s, the golden age of Hong Kong’s garment industry. During this period, workers employed by garment manufacturers accounted for around 40% of the labor force of our city’s manufacturing industry," says Victor. 

Entrepreneurial assistance is key
A critical step was receiving assistance from the Entrepreneurship Center at HKUST. "The resources and networking were critical to us at Dress Green. I particularly found the free mentoring and consultation a great help," Victor says. The team is now taking this model and expanding it to clients including logistics companies  (changing staff uniforms to tote bags) and fashion brands (recycling their clothes into materials for window display). They have also organized CSR and team-building activities for enterprises, such as Victor’s alma mater KPMG, where they held a 3-day sustainability event for staff. "We turned old jeans into cardholders and people absolutely loved it," he says.

Victor actively promotes the concept of sustainability at HKUST. He was recently the guest speaker at a forum held on campus, addressing the urgency of going green, cutting down on fashion waste, and helping ease the climate crisis. "It may seem like a big challenge, but we can all contribute in our own meaningful way," he adds.