Gundeep Singh hasn’t exactly gone from riches to rags, but he has turned over a green leaf and is determined to help others do the same. Formerly a banking executive who owned a yacht and porsche, the Dubai-based man has switched to a hybrid vehicle and founded The Change Initiative, the first shop in Dubai […]
A carbon calculator in Arabic will help Dubai residents track everything from food, travel to energy consumption The carbon emissions of Gulf nations in the Middle East are notoriously high. The UAE has one of the largest carbon footprints per capita in the world and the average citizen in the Gulf produces between two to […]
Green Prophet launches the Green Prophet Eco Hero 11 Award for 2011. Who are your eco-heros for the Middle East and North Africa region? With so much green, inspiring energy in the Middle East North Africa region, we decided to give local green prophets a little pat on the back. At the end of the […]
Hipcycle, a new online marketplace for upcycled products, shows mainstreamers that upcycling can be hip. Shopping local and sustainable is always best, but when you can’t find locally made, sustainably made, or upcycled products around – sometimes the internet is the best way to go. Online marketplaces such as Etsy, Mideast ecostore Ekotribe, or the […]
Green It is Tel Aviv’s new one-stop-shop for green urban living. As the ecological movement becomes mainstream, more and more businesses cater to the green lifestyle. We’ve seen this trend develop in the Middle East, with eco-friendly shops popping up in Beirut, fair trade shops in Masdar City, and even specialty stores focusing on one […]
Water trouble has forced residents at Dubai’s man-made Palm Island to wash in the sea and use toilets at shopping malls The sustainability and usefulness of Dubai’s artificial palm-shaped Island has been widely debated but I think a recent problem at one luxury complex has ironically helped raise awareness of how difficult life can be […]
Where there’s a green will, there’s an eco-way, and Anu Agarwal will be leading the fray. Nearly 40% of Ekotribe’s customers hail from the neighboring Emirate, Abu Dhabi, but the store’s recent expansion into the ground floor of Dubai’s Mercato mall reveals a slight shift in the glitzy city’s green leanings. There are only scattered […]
We’ve seen billboards turned into handbags, now they’re being upcycled into placemats. Chew on that. The ubiquitous billboards that we routinely see during our everyday lives are made out of PVC, some pretty nasty stuff. Due to the nature of billboards being hung outdoors and subjected to weather, they are made of out a fairly […]
Italian expatriate and Managing Editor, Lisa Durante’s new book is designed to inspire the UAE to lead a “greener” life. Certain sectors of the United Arab Emirates are savvy about organic agriculture and the environmental benefits of a vegetarian diet. But judging by the ubiquity of mega-malls and towers, not all. Former development journalist and […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQa3kUJPEko[/youtube] Moving from a culture of “me” to a culture of “we”. Rachel Botsman, a researcher and social innovator, is hooked on the idea of what she calls “collaborative consumption” – a phenomenon that is gaining force in the 21st century. She recently gave a TED talk about the concept (see clip above) and said […]
Eco-friendly products AND vegan shwarma can be found at Beirut’s A New Earth. Sometimes, despite all our good intentions towards living a greener, healthier lifestyle, it’s just not convenient. Sadly, most mainstream supermarkets don’t carry a variety of organic produce (if they carry it at all), and natural products may be few and far between. […]
Before taking your carpet in for a super toxic clean, consider whether you want to live with all those chemicals. Carpets add a lot to any room – color, warmth, a way to decrease echo… and if you usually have your carpets cleaned traditionally, they add a lot of toxic chemical residues as well. Most […]
Before you start building your sukkah, think about the materials and values that you want to use. Sukkot, the Jewish Festival of Booths, will begin next week and many Jews all over the world are starting to think about building their sukkah. While intended to imitate a natural makeshift shelter and honor certain forms of […]
Detoxing your lifestyle of non-green habits doesn’t have to be as dramatic as drug rehab. It can be simple and is a great way to start the new year. Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish New Year, is only a few days away and as a time of reflection many of us may be thinking of ways […]
Eco Options Egypt is working on becoming a one-stop shop for resources on leading a green lifestyle in Egypt. It’s not always easy to be green. Good intentions aside, if you habitually need to go out of your way to be eco-friendly then the chances are that eventually you’ll give up. If you can’t find […]