The “Clothes for Good” initiative, known as Kiswat Khair in Arabic, orchestrated by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has gone beyond preventing thousands of government uniforms from contributing to landfill waste.
The program focuses on recycling, redesigning, and distributing these repurposed garments to communities in need beyond the UAE borders.
Recycling and Creative Redesign:
Around 60,000 official uniforms found new life through innovative approaches earlier this year. Volunteers creatively transformed these garments, including students and individuals with diverse abilities.
Techniques like tie-dye and block printing were employed, converting these uniforms into unique art items and showcasing creativity while promoting sustainability.
RTA’s initiative is showcased at the 25th Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) and Dubai Solar Energy (DSS) show, underscoring the significance of recycling ahead of the upcoming UN climate summit COP28 to be held in the UAE.
Environmental Impact and Clothing Lifecycle:
The initiative emphasizes the importance of recycling due to the concerning statistics surrounding the textile industry’s environmental impact.
Studies highlight that 10% of global greenhouse emissions stem from this industry, with 85% of clothing ending up in landfills, contributing to methane emissions and global warming.
Even by nine months, extending clothing life could significantly reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by 20 to 30%.
Successive Years of Impact:
The “Clothes for Good” project, now in its fifth cycle, commenced in 2018 by recycling 20,000 RTA employees’ uniforms.
Subsequent years saw increased participation from various government and private entities, with 35,350 official uniforms repurposed and donated last year.
Rowdah Al Mehrizi, RTA’s Director of Marketing and Corporate Communication, highlighted the diverse array of entities contributing to using uniforms for the cause.
The initiative repurposes clothing and embodies RTA’s corporate values of tolerance, teamwork, and inclusivity by involving people of determination and volunteers from different emirates in preparing and distributing these items to bring joy to recipients.
