The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is working to co-design and deliver a national textiles circularity policy framework in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The national textiles circularity policy framework is part of the UAE’s wider Naseej initiative, a Presidential-level programme to create a circular economy for fashion and textiles.
The Naseej initiative aims to move the sector beyond linear consumption and disposal toward an integrated model that preserves resources, captures economic value, and aligns sustainability goals with long-term national development.
In this phase of our strategy, the Foundation says it is focused on engaging more directly with projects on the ground working in plastics and packaging, critical minerals, and fashion and textiles.
Commenting on the announcement, Jocelyn Bleriot, Policy and Institutions Executive Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said: “The UAE occupies an important place in global textile flows, notably as a re-export and trade hub.”
“Such a position offers a significant opportunity to put the country’s circular economy ambitions into practice.”
“A successful policy framework in the UAE has the potential to serve as a replicable model for other countries in the Gulf and the wider Global South, where circular economy policy potential for textiles remains untapped.”
The Foundation previously had a ‘central role’ in shaping the EU Textile Strategy and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) design across multiple jurisdictions.
