2023-05-24

Hactl - New lives for old uniforms

Staff uniforms represent a company’s brand and ethos. While aesthetics, comfort and fitness for purpose must obviously be taken into account when designing and producing a uniform, so should sustainability considerations. In the first quarter of 2023, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) launched a new uniform for its frontline staff, meeting all these objectives.

Throughout the project, the team proactively collected inputs and feedback from Hactl’s staff to design a new uniform that best suits their needs and comfort. Hactl also successfully incorporated environmentally friendly principles into its new uniform by sourcing eco-friendly fabric from a Japanese factory, which made use of discarded plastic bottles to create ultra-soft, elastic and breathable fabrics suited to its staff’s indoor and outdoor activities.

In addition, Hactl was determined to minimise waste and ensure its old uniforms would have a useful second life. After much thought, and fully recognising the technical difficulties in recycling uniforms (which require different processes to handle different types of fabric and material), Hactl opted for a more challenging approach that would involve upcycling the old uniforms without purchasing any additional materials such as buttons or zips. The end deliverables are useful, durable and stylish holdalls, and a particularly cute toy bear made with small off-cuts. This creative upcycling project was a collaboration between Hactl and the St. James’ Settlement Jockey Club Upcycling Centre, providing work for people with disabilities while contributing to a more inclusive society.
 
Watch the "New lives for old uniforms" video at https://youtu.be/OVyRK2dnKrQ and the “New uniform with through woven in” video at https://youtu.be/WwGvpewz-MY


 

Hactl senior management personally distributed the gift bags containing the newly-designed uniform, along with some useful, small gifts,
to demonstrate their gratitude for its team’s dedication to duty.  


 

Hactl collected staff’s inputs and feedbacks throughout the project, in order to design and produce the best uniforms suited to its staff’s needs and preferences.
 
 

Useful, durable and stylish holdalls and toy bear made with Hactl’s upcycled old uniforms.