Success Story – Hanqing Ding

“The ACTAsia team has a distinctive sense of mission – everyone seems to be full of energy, sparing no effort for sustainable development.“

Hanqing Ding is a next-generation sustainable fashion designer and founder of the brand HANQING DING. She is based in Shanghai and a valued collaborator of ACTAsia’s fur free initiatives. 

Redefining Fashion Through Sustainability and Soft Strength

Hanqing Ding is revolutionising fashion in China. With her meticulous knitting techniques, sustainable ethos, and commitment to fur-free fashion, Ms. Ding is reshaping how we think about clothing. A rising voice in the sustainable fashion movement, she has turned her personal values into a design philosophy that champions environmental responsibility and women’s inner strength. 

Hanqing’s Design Journey 

Hanqing’s interest in fashion began early. “Maybe it was because I often watched documentaries of legendary design masters such as Coco Chanel when I was a child,” she reflects. “Their lifelong efforts and pursuits influenced me greatly.” That early fascination led her to study womenswear design at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. “I don’t like to be tied down and want to be free to express myself,” she says, “design gives me just that kind of creative space.”

After completing her undergraduate studies, Hanqing moved to London to pursue a Master’s degree in knitwear design at the Royal College of Art. She eventually returned to China in Shanghai and established her own eponymous brand – HANQING DING – along with a dedicated knitting studio to independently manage her creative process. Her brand vision centers on the idea of “Soft and Bone”: the belief that women can embody both tenderness and inner resilience

Collaborating with ACTAsia to Champion Fur-Free Fashion

Ms. Ding’s path intersected with ACTAsia through a shared belief in sustainability and ethical fashion. In 2022, she won the RISE UP Sustainable Fashion Design Challenge, a fur-free initiative hosted by the R.I.S.E. Sustainable Fashion Lab in collaboration with ACTAsia. Her entry stood out for its use of biodegradable, traceable materials and its innovative production methods, including 3D virtual knitting and design techniques that maximise the use of materials.

That same year, Ms. Ding’s brand became a member of the Fur Free Retailer (FFR) programme. ACTAsia is the Chinese representative of the global FFR initiative, which encourages fashion designers and brands to reject animal fur. The programme, recognised by the United Nations, is a key part of ACTAsia’s agenda.

Ms. Ding has also taken part in ACTAsia’s International Sustainable Fur Free Fashion Festivals, speaking at last year’s Compassion in Fashion Forum. 

Through ACTAsia, Ms. Ding has gained a valuable community and motivation. “The ACTAsia team has a distinctive sense of mission,” she says. “Everyone seems to be full of energy, sparing no effort for sustainable development. This positive energy continues to affect me and push me to move more strongly towards sustainable fashion.”

Ms. Ding is a frequent keynote speaker at ACTAsia’s International Sustainable Fur Free Fashion events

Building a Brand Through Challenge and Persistence 

Launching a fashion brand is never easy, but Ms. Ding’s entrepreneurial journey began during the global Covid-19 pandemic: a time of immense uncertainty. Without the benefit of an established reputation or customer base, she faced the dual challenges of building a startup and navigating a volatile market. Yet she stayed firm in her commitment to independence and creative integrity. “Every difficulty encountered is actually a kind of growth,” she says. 

Her studio remains fully in-house, a choice that allows her to maintain control over each step of the production process, from yarn selection to final design. The studio uses digital knitting machines to produce garments on demand, thereby dramatically reducing waste. Ms. Ding chooses natural yarns and recycled materials. She relies on knitting’s no-cut process to eliminate fabric offcuts.

Expanding a Sustainable Vision

Ms. Ding’s vision for the future involves driving industry-wide change and raising consumer awareness. “The fashion industry is a complex system,” she says. “Sustainability requires the concerted efforts of every link.” Designers can make better material choices; brands can improve inventory practices; and consumers, when properly informed, can make more ethical decisions.

ACTAsia’s 2022/2023 Fur Consumer Survey underscores this potential: after learning about the impact of fur on people, animals and the environment, a fantastic 75% of surveyed consumers chose to go fur-free. When exposed to the brutal realities of fur production, that number jumped to 93%. These statistics confirm ACTAsia’s mission and Ms. Ding’s belief: education is the key to compassionate futures. 

In September, Ms. Ding brought her designs to the global stage at Paris Fashion Week. It was a major milestone as it was her first time showcasing the brand internationally. She’s especially excited by the chance to connect with buyers and audiences from diverse backgrounds. “We want to be a socially responsible brand,” she says. “And we want to give this right to create new things and choices to our future generations.”

For Ms. Ding, design is not only about style, but more importantly, it is about care.  “The world can always have the possibility to make life worth living because of design.” Through her work with ACTAsia and her own brand, Hanqing Ding is proving that fashion can be beautiful, responsible and transformative.

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