.jpg)
.jpg)
Fabrica encourages recycling, helps underprivileged people
By Aisha Ahmed, Jordan News
- +
- -
AMMAN — Haneen Khammash loves to volunteer and feels that
her efforts have a positive impact, so the natural course was to contribute to
social initiatives and local NGOs that work for a good cause. One such initiative
was Ta3zeeleh; it entailed collecting clothes, selling them for low prices, and
donating the profit to women in underprivileged areas, such as Jordan Valley
and Irbid, in the form of scholarships or microloans.اضافة اعلان
While volunteering, Khammash thought she could herself get into recycling and start her own enterprise. In 2019 she launched “Fabrica,” a home-based enterprise that specializes in recycling fabrics and thus reducing waste.
Her background in design — she had worked in jewelry designing — helped her to come up with new ideas.
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
“I decided to recycle fabrics because the main focus is to recycle plastic. I collected around 500kg of fabrics. It is a great opportunity to make an impact,” Khammash said in an interview with Jordan News.
She collects fabrics from several places. For instance, she goes to textile shops downtown Amman to get fabrics that they want to get rid of. She also collects them from individuals who work in clothes making and other fields.
Khammash prefers to collect fabrics rather than clothes, as she believes that giving them to organizations that donate clothes will be more beneficial.
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
“There is no specific place that I collect the fabrics from; I look for all available options,” she said.
As there is no waste management when it comes to disposing of fabrics, “which is harming the environment,” Fabrica partnered with WashyWash, an eco-friendly cleaning service app in Amman, because “cleanliness is significant for an enterprise, as individuals sometimes doubt the hygiene of recycled products,” said Khammash.
The enterprise made packages for some jewelry designers and created quilts from recycled fabrics, in corporation with Ta3zeeleh initiative, that are called “Fabrics for impact.”
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
Fabrica makes tote bags, earrings, tutus for young girls, and many other products.
“I do not have the privilege to choose the kind of fabrics I work with, so, I try to come up with product ideas based on the fabric I have, to be creative with the available materials I have,” she said.
The goals of Fabrica are to reduce fabric waste and production costs, support talented tailors in Jordan, encourage creativity, and raise awareness about waste management.
It distinguishes itself through its social and environmental impact, which comes from helping underprivileged individuals and reducing the damage caused to the environment by fabric waste.
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
Khammash’s experience in volunteering gave her the chance to work with many communities in Jordan, which enabled her to reach individuals from different backgrounds to achieve Fabrica goals.
One of the challenges she faces is related to tailoring, which she finds weak. Recycling needs a high level of professionalism for the final result to be neat and encourage people to buy, she said. Another challenge is finding a fabric shredding machine to help her reuse excess fabric by turning it into raw material. Finding storage to place for her fabrics is equally challenging. For the time being, she stores them at home.
According to Khammash, the concept of recycling is catching up in Jordan, although not many people like recycled products. Awareness about the issue is growing, however, and this made the overall reactions toward Fabrica positive.
Now Khammash is recycling on a small scale, but she is aiming at increasing the amount of fabrics she recycles every year. Other goals are to be able to acquire a fabric-shredding machine, launch a training course for tailors in different governates in Jordan, open the door to creative individuals to share the ideas with Fabrica, and have her own team and workshop where she can conduct Fabrica activities.
Read more Trending
While volunteering, Khammash thought she could herself get into recycling and start her own enterprise. In 2019 she launched “Fabrica,” a home-based enterprise that specializes in recycling fabrics and thus reducing waste.
Her background in design — she had worked in jewelry designing — helped her to come up with new ideas.
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
“I decided to recycle fabrics because the main focus is to recycle plastic. I collected around 500kg of fabrics. It is a great opportunity to make an impact,” Khammash said in an interview with Jordan News.
She collects fabrics from several places. For instance, she goes to textile shops downtown Amman to get fabrics that they want to get rid of. She also collects them from individuals who work in clothes making and other fields.
Khammash prefers to collect fabrics rather than clothes, as she believes that giving them to organizations that donate clothes will be more beneficial.
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
“There is no specific place that I collect the fabrics from; I look for all available options,” she said.
As there is no waste management when it comes to disposing of fabrics, “which is harming the environment,” Fabrica partnered with WashyWash, an eco-friendly cleaning service app in Amman, because “cleanliness is significant for an enterprise, as individuals sometimes doubt the hygiene of recycled products,” said Khammash.
The enterprise made packages for some jewelry designers and created quilts from recycled fabrics, in corporation with Ta3zeeleh initiative, that are called “Fabrics for impact.”
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
Fabrica makes tote bags, earrings, tutus for young girls, and many other products.
“I do not have the privilege to choose the kind of fabrics I work with, so, I try to come up with product ideas based on the fabric I have, to be creative with the available materials I have,” she said.
The goals of Fabrica are to reduce fabric waste and production costs, support talented tailors in Jordan, encourage creativity, and raise awareness about waste management.
It distinguishes itself through its social and environmental impact, which comes from helping underprivileged individuals and reducing the damage caused to the environment by fabric waste.
(Photos: Handout from Haneen Khammash)
Khammash’s experience in volunteering gave her the chance to work with many communities in Jordan, which enabled her to reach individuals from different backgrounds to achieve Fabrica goals.
One of the challenges she faces is related to tailoring, which she finds weak. Recycling needs a high level of professionalism for the final result to be neat and encourage people to buy, she said. Another challenge is finding a fabric shredding machine to help her reuse excess fabric by turning it into raw material. Finding storage to place for her fabrics is equally challenging. For the time being, she stores them at home.
According to Khammash, the concept of recycling is catching up in Jordan, although not many people like recycled products. Awareness about the issue is growing, however, and this made the overall reactions toward Fabrica positive.
Now Khammash is recycling on a small scale, but she is aiming at increasing the amount of fabrics she recycles every year. Other goals are to be able to acquire a fabric-shredding machine, launch a training course for tailors in different governates in Jordan, open the door to creative individuals to share the ideas with Fabrica, and have her own team and workshop where she can conduct Fabrica activities.
Read more Trending
