Promotion of Multi-Stakeholder Projects for Sustainable Textile Supply Chains in Jordan

In Jordan, pre-consumer textile waste from ready-made-garment (RMG) production is still prevalently disposed of in municipal landfills. An initial assessment of textile waste composition and contributing factors, carried out by adelphi and GIZ as part of a pre-study, showed that the purchasing practices of international buyers as well as existing policy barriers significantly contribute to the increasing amount of pre-consumer textile waste generated in the local RMG sector.

This project was part of the “Green Action in Enterprises” (GAIN) initiative as well as the project “Promotion of Multi-Stakeholder Projects for Sustainable Textile Supply Chains” (MAP), implemented by the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit” (GIZ) on behalf of the “Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development” (BMZ). Through this project, MAP in partnership with GAIN sought to identify opportunities to minimise textile and garment waste, including recycling, upcycling and reuse measures in the Al-Hassan Industrial Estate and selected factories within.

The primary objectives of the project were to reduce textile waste through recycling, upcycling, and reuse, thus establishing new closed-loop textile waste valorization value chains within the Al Hassan Industrial Estate. Additionally, the project sought to engage international buyer representatives to explore potential ways for reducing final-stage and post-production waste and to attract investments for sustainable waste management. To facilitate these goals, efforts were directed toward collaborating with government and industry stakeholders to adapt relevant policy framework, fostering enhanced circularity within the industry.

These objectives were successfully realized through active engagement with companies in the Al Hassan Industrial Estate, gaining insights into the types and quantities of textile waste produced, and researching viable valorization options.

The project had several results, including the development of textile waste sorting and collection guidelines that can be customized to suit individual company needs. Five business cases for textile waste valorization were created, illustrating the potential for innovation and economic viability within this sector. An operational plan for Mechanical Recycling for Fibre-to-Fibre Yarn Production was created, complete with a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and a practical implementation roadmap. An Investor opportunity proposal for Converting Textile Waste-to-Felt was also generated, further enhancing the potential for sustainable waste management.

Additionally, the project played an important role in kick-starting Industrial Symbiosis by facilitating partnerships among companies for material and textile waste exchange. Furthermore, a strategic roadmap was developed to guide the journey toward achieving circularity in Ready-Made Garments (RMG) operations within the Al Hassan Industrial Estate.

As part of the project, adelphi was in charge of the overall coordination, backstopping, implementation and quality control of this project. adelphi contributed to all activities in the project and aimed to extend the impact beyond the scope of the project by facilitating up-scaling and replication to other sectors and industrial parks.