The staggering amount of clothing discarded by Hong Kong people is a heavy burden for the environment. According to a Greenpeace survey, each Hong Kong person discards an average of 15.4 kilograms of clothing every year, which is equivalent to 102 T-shirts.
Over 3,000 kinds of toxic chemicals commonly used in the printing and dyeing process of the textile industry. Some chemicals are difficult to be degraded in the natural and they will penetrate into the soil surface and pollute the groundwater. In addition, clothing takes at least 200 years to decompose, which releases the greenhouse gas methane and accelerates global warming.
According to the data of the Environmental Protection Department, in 2020, the waste of textiles was 87,120 metric tons, and the recycling rate was only about 7.3%, and more than 90% of the clothes that were still reusable were sent to landfills. 
In recent years, the covid-19 pandemic has also put recyclers in a difficult position. Unpredictable export restrictions have caused used clothes to be stranded in warehouses. Despite the global economic slowdown, the market size of fast fashion has grown larger, resulting in the problem of oversupply of second-hand clothes. In the long run, it is critical to promote to the public that  “Waste Not rather than Consume, Reuse rather than Recycle”. Consumer oven feels no responsibility after discarding or recycling. This installation hopes to make people rethink our daily excessive consumption and waste, and reimagine how to integrate old clothes back into our life.
The Upcycle T-shirt Knitting Machine is a large hand knitting installation with various size of knitting looms, they are designed with enlarged hook to knit thick yarns. Participants are invited to bring their own old t-shirts, cut them into yarns, then use the knitting machine to weave into different knitting structure.
A soft and colourful structure that could be a public space stool, a rope net in a playground or even a giant cuddle animal, possibilities are endless and our imagination is the only limit.

Official website: https://detour.hk/2022/exhibition/tee-knitter/