(Yicai Global) Sept. 4 -- Hong Kong has gotten its first environmentally friendly cotton mill since a five-decade business hiatus for opening any new mills that weave the staple fiber. The factory already has its first client.

Taipo Eco-friendly Cotton Mill was set up in Tai Po Industrial Estate, Chinese newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported today. The plant will adopt the textile recycling techniques developed by The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, and set up three production lines based on the reuse of polyester-cotton. The daily production capacity will reach three tons of fiber while the future goal is ten tons per day, according to Edwin Keh, chief executive of HKRITA.

The first client of the mill is Swedish fashion chain H&M, with hundreds of orders of clothes, Keh said, adding that the delivery will be in November. The reduction in the cost of yarn is nearly 30 percent due to the new techniques.

Promoting the return of cotton mills to Hong Kong is an inspiration toward a "re-industrialization of Hong Kong," Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong, said during a speech in the opening ceremony yesterday. In 2016, the waste of textiles in the region was over 120,000 tons, she said. The development of the bay area of Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao will provide opportunities for Hong Kong's firms and factories to enter the market of China's mainland, she added.

The process of the first production line involves the five steps of ozone disinfection, removal of the non-fiber parts such as buttons, sorting by color through robotic arms, distribution of materials with an intelligent storage system, and finally processing the fiber to yarn. The daily capacity of this line is one ton of yarn with a demand for six workers.

Editor: Emmi Laine