The Royal Scientific Society (RSS) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) held a national dialogue to explore ways to reuse textile waste.
According to a statement, current practices result in over 100 tons of textile waste buried in landfills.
The dialogue aimed to find solutions for managing this waste and exploring the economic benefits of repurposing materials.
Government representatives from several ministries, including Industry and Trade and Supply, Environment, Local Administration and Planning and International Cooperation participated.
Other attendees included the Vocational Training Corporation, the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, the Income and Sales Tax Department, the Department of Statistics and the Municipality of Greater Amman (GAM).
The dialogue included the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, the Jordan Industrial Estates Corporation, the El-Hassan Industrial Estate, the Aqaba Economic Zone, the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation, the German Development Cooperation (G
IZ), clothing factory representatives, private environmental service providers, academics, environmental organisations, fashion designers and civil society organisations.
Participants recommended creating an attractive investment map for dealing with clothing and knitwear waste and establishing a reliable platform for information. They suggested appointing a government body to oversee this issue.
Challenges discussed included taxes and customs on fabric scraps leaving industrial cities, making recycling economically unfeasible and the competition from cheaper electronic purchasing markets.
Almoayied Assayed, Director of the Center for Water, Environment, and Climate Change at the Royal Scientific Society, presented the objectives of the project funded by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) SwitchMed.
The project aims to address challenges and opportunities in the knitwear and clothing sector, proposing environmental policies that encourage investment in recycling fabric scraps and promoting a circular eco
nomy.
Assayed highlighted the Royal Scientific Society’s role in providing technical expertise and consultations, especially in sustainability and green growth.
Member of the Board of Directors of the Jordan Chamber of Industry and representative of the leather and textile industries sector Ihab Qadri discussed the economic significance of the sector.
He noted that the sector includes around 1,000 establishments with investments exceeding $1.1 billion, employing over 89,000 workers, including 27,000 Jordanians.
The sector’s annual exports are valued at more than $2 billion, with export opportunities worth approximately $500 million to global markets.
Participants lauded the discussion, the diversity of its participants and the need to build on its outcomes to develop the sector and capitalize on its investment opportunities.
Source: Jordan News Agency