On the occasion of World Environment Day, Hiiba officially launches in the UAE as a new community-driven app designed to give a second life to everyday items and reduce unnecessary waste across the country.
Hiiba is a peer-to-peer reuse platform that allows residents to give away items they no longer need and help others adopt them for free. From furniture and home appliances to toys, sports equipment, baby products, and electronics, Hiiba aims to make reuse simple, accessible, and rewarding for everyone.
The launch comes at a time when the UAE faces increasing waste challenges driven by overconsumption and limited second-life channels. According to Hiiba’s market research, Dubai discards more than 200,000 tonnes of furniture annually, while the GCC generates more than 500,000 tonnes of textile waste every year.
“Most items people throw away are still perfectly usable,” said Jérôme Viricel, Co-Founder of Hiiba. “Hiiba was created to reconnect people with the value that already exists around them. Instead of sending items to landfill, residents can now help someone nearby while contributing to a more circular and sustainable UAE.”
Unlike traditional classified platforms, Hiiba focuses exclusively on free redistribution and community reuse. Users can list items in seconds, adopt items nearby, and earn Eco Reward (ERW) points for helping extend product life cycles. The platform combines simplicity, community trust, and sustainability into a single digital ecosystem.
The app has been designed specifically for the UAE’s highly diverse population, where millions of expats regularly relocate, upgrade homes, or leave behind usable products. With affordability becoming an increasing concern for many households, Hiiba also aims to support lower-income communities by improving access to essential goods through reuse.
Hiiba’s launch strategy focuses first on activating local communities across the UAE before expanding further across the GCC. The platform is available on the app stores and is already working with beta testers, community groups, and early users to seed listings and create active neighbourhood-based reuse networks.
The company also plans to collaborate with sustainability advocates, universities, residential communities, NGOs and local organizations to encourage a culture of daily giving and practical sustainability.
“Reuse should become a habit, not an exception,” added Eric Schaffner, also Co-Founder of Hiiba. “We believe technology can help transform generosity into everyday action while reducing waste at scale.”
The official launch campaign will run throughout June 2026 with social media activations, community challenges and awareness campaigns encouraging residents to “Reuse. Don’t Toss.”
Hiiba is available from 5 June 2026 via:
📱Website, Social Media & App links: https://linktr.ee/hiiba.app