First Textile Recycling Unit Opened in Dubai by Landmark Group

Retailer Landmark Group has agreed to open the first textile recycling facility in the Dubai World Central area. This is an essential step towards promoting sustainability in the Middle East, as it aims to reduce waste and give used fabrics a new chance to be employed and worn.

The company started a takeback program last year at the Centrepoint at Max Fashion stores, allowing customers to donate old clothes, no matter the brand. Customers who participated in the program would be rewarded for helping with this initiative.

Now, with the new recycling facility, textile waste will be reduced significantly while creating new fashion pieces that people will love.

Uncollected Waste and Funds for Recycling

Back in December 2023, the United Arab Emirates announced that a tax on packaging was taken into consideration. The reason was to obtain funds for recycling.

In 2022, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said that there is about 40% of uncollected or mismanaged litter in the Mena area. More than 50% of the waste is sent to landfills, with 5% being recycled and 1% being incinerated.

As a result, a recycling unit would come in handy, giving new materials the chance to a new life and decreasing waste in plenty of regions.

The First Textile Recycling Facility in the Middle East

Dubai will be home to the first textile recycling facility in the area. Following the takeback program from last year at different stores, Landmark Group now wants to focus more on recycling, making it possible for textiles to be transformed into pieces that other people will be interested in.

UAE Circular Economy Council key representatives went to the inauguration ceremony of the new facility. The ceremony had Landmark Group chairwoman Renuka Jagtiani and UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri in attendance.

“We have introduced several initiatives across various stages of our products’ lifecycles and operations to reduce our environmental impact and drive greater circularity,” said Renuka Jagtiani.

The facility, Landmark Circulife, will take discarded textiles and fabrics, process them, and transform them into recycled fibers that will be useful in creating new clothing items and home furnishings.

This new initiative is expected to have a massive impact on the surrounding environment, having an initial capacity of 2,000 metric tons of annual waste. Moreover, the area will no longer have to rely on virgin materials, and textile waste will be significantly reduced.

Over time, the facility will be able to handle about 11,000 metric tons of textile waste, but the capacity will keep growing. As time goes by, 140,000 metric tons of CS2 emissions are expected to be reduced, and 107 GWh of electricity will be saved. Millions of litres of water will be saved as well.

By 2050, Landmark Group hopes to be able to make more climate-positive changes. Moreover, the conglomerate representatives stated they want to spend $1 billion over 3 years to open 400 new stores in Southeast Asia, India, and GCC.