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.

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.