We Need More Influencers!
By: Sara Hammam, Digital and Communications Consultant
(The eco ones please!)
How did Covid change your business? Hands down, this was the most popular question in 2020.
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The most popular answer was..…. can you guess?
Digital Transformation, which was true on all accounts, however if I had to guess what the second item on the agenda was, I would say accelerating sustainability measures.
To be fair, I am not sure if that was as a result of the pandemic or these measures were already in the pipeline. – whatever it is, I am pleased to see more brands embracing and promoting more sustainable practices.
I would like to highlight a few things that I have seen and liked,
Retail brands like Mango, H&M and Monki are all wearing their sustainability tag on their sleeves, literally! All tags now come with big bold letters that say – organic cotton or made out of recycled materials.
Starbucks also went straw free this year and even though I enjoyed my drink with a straw, I got used to the sippy cup model that they have introduced. Just a few drips the first time then I learnt to navigate it better! 🙂
Closer to home, some sustainable brands were born during the pandemic – call them brave, but they were onto something and little less than a year later, they seem to be doing well for themselves.
One of these brands is – secret skin – a sustainability fragrance, hair and skin care product that uses ingredients that are 100 % derived from nature. Five months into their launch, the founder won the Women in Tech award 2021 for her sustainable business idea.
The giving movement is a UAE clothes brand that was also born during covid – and it’s main tagline – sustainable activewear clothing in Dubai. Was the brand popular amongst residents? Well you would be lucky if you find some items in your size!
In 2020, Al Ain farms – a UAE brand – also launched their first in the region glass milk bottle .. and being the first has its merits as it positions the brand as a leader.
Sustainability tourism also took off in the UAE with many of us hiking in RAK; kayaking in Fujariah and touring organic farms in Khorfakkan. Which is why Gucci’s partnership with Northface did not come up as a surprise to anyone – the luxury brand saw a lifestyle that people adopted and chose to utilize it, and by doing so created a new retail genre.
Saying this, I see an opportunity for more eco friendly influencers to utilize this space on social platforms – as there aren’t many right now and it is definitely a growing market.
So, to all the eco warriors out there, your time to shine on social is NOW.
Because the way I see it is, sustainability is not only good business but will be the only way to conduct business moving forward.