March 7, 2024 — Editor’s note: This story is part of a collaboration between Ensia and Egab, which explores environmental efforts by communities facing more pressing issues such as war and poverty. Egab is a media startup that empowers young local journalists across the Middle East and Africa to write for regional and international media, with a focus on solutions journalism. You can read the other stories in the series here and here.
The phrase “sustainable fashion” probably means little to most of the roughly 4.7 million people living in Monofeya, one of Egypt’s poorest governorates, where 26 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. But in this city, just one company has upcycled some 940 tons (850 metric tons) of fabric in five years.
“We entrepreneurs became interested in creative manufacturing and environmental solutions after realizing the amount of textile waste,” says Amgad Mustafa, co-founder of Green Fashion. The brand brings together around 200 women to breathe new life into tons of fabric and textiles that would otherwise be incinerated or dumped in landfills. The business, which began in 2018, uses surplus fabric and textile waste from 50 textile factories as raw material.
Egypt’s vast garment industry accounts for 4 percent of the country’s GDP and generates about 234,000 tonnes (212,000 metric tons) of textile waste each year, according to a United Nations study.
And the global fashion industry has a huge impact on the environment.
According to the United Nations, it takes 10,000 liters (2,600 gallons) of water to grow the cotton for one pair of jeans, which is equivalent to the amount of water one person consumes in 10 years. And a recent McKinsey report found that the industry is responsible for 3-10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, solvents and dyes account for a quarter of industrial water pollution, and 20-35% of the microplastics that have entered the ocean in recent years. The UN has called fast fashion an “environmental emergency.”
The advent of mass production and fast fashion changed that, but today, with economies struggling, reuse and re-use are on the rise.
In recent years, a struggling economy in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, has led consumers to seek cheaper alternatives to internationally renowned ready-to-wear clothing. This has led to increased demand for recycled and upcycled clothing, thereby reducing textile waste, creating employment opportunities and unleashing creativity as individuals and organisations find ways to reuse textiles and second-hand clothing.
According to advocates of sustainable fashion, reusing and recycling clothing is nothing new to Egyptians. “The idea of sustainability was present at all levels of society in Egypt,” says Esra Abrehab, a consultant on sustainability and environmental development. “That means no one would avoid wearing the clothes of older relatives, and certain garments were circulated among family members.”
The advent of mass production and fast fashion changed that, but today, with economies struggling, reuse and re-use are on the rise.
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The effects of this economic downturn are felt across all walks of life, pushing millions of people into poverty and clothing being one of the many goods and services affected.
“We used to go to Cairo a few times a year just to go to the mall and buy new clothes,” says Rahma Yousef, a teacher from Suez, a coastal city 140 kilometers northeast of the capital. “Then prices went up. Whereas before I could buy two or three items, now I can barely buy one,” she adds, explaining that she and her sister now resort to thrift stores, buying custom-made clothes (which are often cheaper than designer goods), and repairing and remaking old clothes.
According to Basma Tawakol, founder of online thrift store Deira, the need for cheaper clothing opened the door to sustainable fashion. “The devaluation made people look for alternatives to the deliberate price hikes,” Tawakol said. “I thought my customers were middle- and lower-class, but I also had some upper-class repeat customers.”
Since launching in 2020, Deila has released around 12 upcycled collections every few months, combining different fabrics and vintage clothing.
Green Fashion, meanwhile, mass-produces upcycled clothing using rolls of defective fabric (costs 25% less than intact fabric) and unwanted second-hand clothes. “We once produced 1,000 outfits from fabric waste and defective bolts of cloth,” Mustafa says. “Usually, for every four second-hand clothes, one is new.”
Skills and knowledge acquisition
Green Fashion doesn’t just upcycle fabrics, it also develops skills. The company trains new tailors for six months: two months on sewing and two months on recycling. After training, the tailors work under supervision and then independently, Mustafa explains.
Green Fashion employs only women, and as a result, Mustafa says, “we empower, train and provide decent work to women who otherwise would have little or no income, thereby contributing to our communities while achieving our environmental goals and social impact.”
“We are spreading the concept of sustainability one person at a time.” — Amgad Mustafa
Sohair Asfall, a mother of four, was a stay-at-home mom until 2018, when her husband lost his job and the family struggled to make ends meet.
“I learned embroidery and sewing at Green Fashion and now I help the trainers teach the newcomers,” Asfour says. “My work has made my life better and changed the way I think about old things.”
Yousre Abdelkader, co-founder of sustainable design initiative From Waste to Good Taste, says her workshops, which began in 2021 to teach students how to repair and upcycle things like patchwork, have attracted students of all ages. “Initially, most of the workshop participants were students and recent graduates. Over time, the age range started to widen, and now we have people in their 40s and 50s,” she says.
Green Fashion recently launched training in two of Egypt’s poorer governorates, Gharbia and Aswan. “We aim to employ 300 more women in these new production units and upcycle 1,000 tons of waste by the end of 2024,” Mustafa said. In addition, Green Fashion plans to launch fabric donation fleets in rural areas and universities across Egypt.
“We are spreading the concept of sustainability one person at a time,” Mustafa says.
