FabricAID is a social enterprise that is establishing a socially and environmentally conscious value-chain for the apparel industry, and creating much-needed jobs for refugees.

    

The Challenge

Low-income and refugee communities in Lebanon lack access to high-quality, affordable clothing. Rather than being recycled, most second-hand clothing ends up with NGOs not specialised to distribute them, and any clothing items which are believed unsuitable for immediate resale due to damage are dumped in landfill.  Notably, of the clothes given to these NGOs, many are also never redistributed due to the lack of resources and Lebanon has been importing second-hand clothing from abroad due to this market inefficiency.

The Organisation

Established in 2016, FabricAID simultaneously seeks to tackle textile waste, create jobs for refugees and marginalised communities, and provide high-quality second-hand clothing to low-income communities. By collecting second-hand clothes from NGOs and the wider public, then sorting, repairing and selling these clothes at both permanent and pop-up shops across Lebanon and Jordan, FabricAID is making affordable clothing widely available. FabricAID’s sorting facility is largely staffed by refugees, adding an additional layer of social impact to its innovative model.

What has Been Achieved with Alfanar’s Support

Since 2018, Alfanar’s grant, equity and convertible loan financing coupled with management support has enabled FabricAID to scale from a team of 9 to over 100, from serving 1,088 to over 139,000 clients, paving the way for impact investment and further impact and sales growth. FabricAID is now the largest second-hand clothing collector in the Arab region. They have collected more than half a million items of clothing to date, the sale of which has resulted in 650,000 kg of carbon emissions reduction. 

Alfanar’s support has focused on improving operational efficiency and helping FabricAID to improve its revenue by increasing its points of sale across Lebanon, Jordan and now Egypt. This has included growing the number of partnerships that FabricAID operates with, for instance with the Red Cross, in order to gather even larger quantities of clothing, as well as increasing its range of permanent shops.

“Alfanar's decision to invest in FabricAIDid was driven by its innovative model, which provides a platform for a large number of people from vulnerable communities to acquire clothing respectfully, especially during a period of global inflation,” said Alfanar’s Country Director Shenouda Bissada. 

In 2024, Alfanar facilitated FabricAID's appearance on Bahrain’s entrepreneur-themed reality show the Beban Show, on which it secured an additional $350,000 investment to help the enterprise focus on its social impact, upcycling, and further expansion into the Gulf.

Alfanar's Support: Looking Ahead

In addition to monitoring targets, Alfanar continues to provide management support to help FabricAID with multi-country management and preparation for expansion to new geographies. 

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