Nissa Cornish

Nissa Cornish is the Executive Director at Redress – the Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO with a mission to accelerate the shift to a circular fashion industry by educating and empowering designers and consumers, in order to reduce clothing’s negative environmental impact.

Redress programmes include the global Redress Design Award (the world’s leading sustainable fashion design competition, now in its 15th cycle), and well-known local efforts such as the annual Get Redressed Month campaign, year-round clothing takeback and recirculation programme, and secondhand pop-up shops.

With over 18 years in environmental nonprofit leadership experience, Nissa’s previous roles include Cofounder and Editor in Chief of award-winning sustainable lifestyle magazine Ecozine, and Event Director at the Hong Kong Cleanup.

Nissa is a Prestige Women of Power honouree and Women of Hope award recipient, and enjoys frequent opportunities to speak on topics of environmental sustainability and fashion circularity. She believes that everyone – consumers, the private sector, policymakers – needs to participate in ensuring a sustainable future for our planet.

My Sustainability Goals for 2025:

I would like to see:

1. A robust, actionable Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan implemented, including major work on protecting and rehabilitating our marine and coastal ecosystems.
2. Better education, engagement, infrastructure, access, and (therefore) public participation in reusable solutions to single-use disposable products and, secondarily but importantly, of our recycling systems.
3. Brands and consumers choosing actions that support a circular product (particularly fashion) economy such as, for brands, clothing takeback, resale, repair, design for longevity, and for consumers, buying with conscious intention, restyling, repairing, caring, sharing, and generally keeping clothes in use longer.