Grantee Abdulaziz Elepsy (right), a Grade 11 student at Qatar Academy Doha, exhibiting the products made from recycling old clothes at Education City Student Center.
Doha: Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI) has awarded its popular Innovation Coupon (IC) to high school student and Qatari innovator, Abdulaziz Elepsy.
The grant will enable him to expand his sustainability-based initiative Tackling Textiles Together, one of the first initiatives of its kind in Qatar, that recycles old clothes and fabrics into new and fashionable items such as hats and bags, among others, to help reduce material waste.
Some of the products sourced will be donated to developing countries and those where refugee crises exist. The scheme will also provide information and tutorials via videos on how to make small, but significant, changes at home to reduce waste and its harmful impact on the environment.
“My business is inspired by my desire to help my community, so that together we can make every necessary change possible to protect our environment by tackling textile waste,” Elepsy, a Grade 11 student at Qatar Academy Doha, a school under Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education, said.
The IC programme is targeted at individual Qatari entrepreneurs or Qatar-based early stage startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across all sectors and industries that are engaged in the development of new technology-based products and services. Along with grant funding, it is designed to provide the technical support needed to prototype their ideas and become market-ready. Since its launch two years ago, the fund has benefited 24 projects.
“Investing in ambitious, young entrepreneurs whose schemes aim to benefit local and global communities is a priority for us. Tackling Textiles Together is a perfect example of that. This small step in tackling textile waste has the potential to positively impact Qatar’s drive towards sustainability, as well as individuals who participate or benefit from the project,” said Faiha Al Qahtani and Saeed Al Hajri from the Innovation Coupon team.
Explaining his motivation behind starting Tackling Textiles Together, Elepsy said: “I have always had a passion for style and fashion. Additionally, for as long as I can remember I have involved myself in arts and crafts at home. As my interest in textiles grew, largely due to the study of it at school, I did a lot of research and discovered the downside — the detrimental impact of discarded clothes and fabrics on our planet. I wouldn’t want to pursue my passion if it meant harming the environment, so after some thought, I came up with the idea of recycling fabrics and helping those less fortunate at the same time.”
Tackling Textiles Together will initially be a non-profit business, focusing on collecting donated fabrics to reduce waste while simultaneously aiding refugees in need, but there is a longer-term vision too.
“In the long-term, I am hoping to turn this venture into a profit-making business whilst remaining true to our roots in sustainability and charity,” said Elepsy.
