SINGAPORE – The world’s largest viscose producer, Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), has backed two new partnerships aimed at advancing sustainable fashion. The first is a three-year strategic partnership with the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFF) to advocate sustainable industry practices within Singapore and the region, through programme implementation, research, and education. RGE is also backing a five-year research collaboration with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) on innovation in textile recycling technology.
RGE has committed to provide nearly US$3m funding over three years to support TaFF’s fashion sustainability programme. In addition, RGE’s vice chairman Bey Soo Khiang joins the programme’s steering committee as vice chairperson.
The partnership with TaFF will support industry training and development and capacity building, raising corporate and consumer awareness, and innovation promotion. Wilson Teo, president of TaFF, said: “Our strategic partnership with RGE marks a step forward for TaFF to expand our sustainability ecosystem throughout the fashion value chain, from materials, manufacturing, brands and technology to solutions.
“We have set up a steering committee that spans across the value chain, as a model for the industry. Together with our collaborators, we will continue to equip enterprises in the journey of sustainability. We will also work with communities to build awareness in responsible consumption and recycling.”
Tey Wei Lin, president of RGE, said: “As a Singapore-based company and the world’s largest viscose producer, our business is well-positioned to support the country’s desire to advance sustainable development and to create a green economy. Our collaboration with TaFF and NTU is an investment of financial and other resources to create meaningful impact, not just within Singapore but also in the region. As part of our US$200m investment commitment into next-generation textile fibre innovation and technology, we seek to work with innovators, industry partners, research institutions and academia to scale up solutions that will deliver cleaner and more circular cellulosic textile fibre to the masses at affordable prices.”
“Industry partnerships are pertinent to uplift capabilities of enterprises. We are very encouraged by TaFF’s efforts to drive sustainability in the textile and fashion sector as trade associations and chambers play a key role in strengthening sector-specific capabilities,” said Alan Yeo, director of retail & design at Enterprise Singapore. “Collaborations with corporate partners such as RGE will also help accelerate this process. This is a good start and we hope to eventually see more companies across all sectors start to integrate sustainability alongside their growth.”
The official launch of the research collaboration with NTU is expected to take place next year. A key desired outcome from the collaboration is to complement RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant in Singapore.