Millennium Hotels and Resorts' lifestyle property Studio M Arabian Plaza Hotel & Hotel Apartments recently forged partnership with DGrade, a Dubai-based Eco-clothing company to launch an environmental campaign called Simply Bottles.

Simply Bottles works with companies such as schools, hotels, and organisations to increase the recycling rates of PET plastic water bottles. Launched in time for World Environment Day, the initiative focuses on creating a sustainable way to recycle waste into everyday products, such as high-quality shirts and bags.

Ursula Chidiac, General Manager, Studio M Arabian Plaza said, "Environmental sustainability is vital in the operations of the hotel. Beyond delivering high-standard hospitality service, we strive to be good stewards of the environment in the way we operate and serve."

"We are honored to tie up with DGrade, a company that advocates our cause to fight climate change and specializes in turning PET plastic bottles into quality products. Their process of turning plastic bottles into high-quality textiles is truly innovative and sustainable." added Chidiac.

The recycling process begins with collecting plastic bottles from the hotel then washing, flaking and melting the plastic to produce short fibres. These fibres are then spun into recycled yarn and woven - just like a conventional fabric - to make environmentally-friendly clothing. In addition to reducing plastic to landfill, DGrade's manufacturing process also uses 20% less water, 50% less energy and produces 55% fewer carbon emissions compared to conventional polyester yarn manufacturing.

Founder of DGrade, Kris Barber, states, "It's only through working together with organisations like Studio M Arabian Plaza that spread awareness for recycling and the Simply Bottles initiative that we can reduce plastic to landfill. Their commitment to recycling water bottles and working with the local community to increase recycling rates is extremely valuable and plays an important role in supporting sustainability in the UAE. In turn, DGrade will ensure that all the PET plastic collected via the initiative is recycled at our plant in Dubai South, providing consumers with the confidence that their plastic is truly being recycled locally in the UAE."

The UAE produces more than 2.75 billion plastic water bottles per year and 94% of the recyclable plastic goes to the landfills which causes major environmental damage and can also cause harm to animals and marine life when not recycled or disposed of properly. It takes only 10 plastic bottles to create one shirt.

Studio M Arabian Plaza is calling people all over the UAE to help power the movement by doing their bit in discarding single-use plastic items into recyclable bins and join the global efforts to beat plastic pollution.

For further details about the joint recycling initiative with Studio M and Simply Bottles, contact +971 4 215 4444 or marketing.smap@millenniumhotels.com