Dubai: The idea of starting a business based on green design came to Lamis Harib when she was studying communication design in New York. Since she was busy with her studies, she tucked away the thought and went on to finish her course.
The 29-year-old Emirati from Dubai returned from New York in 2012 and took up a job in advertising “for the sake of getting a job”. After around five months, she was dissatisfied and decided to quit her job. “My values were contradicting the work I was doing,” she said.
Taking her mother’s advice, Lamis began to research the world of biodegradable packaging. She also researched plastics and the pollution they create.
Her studies showed that “the majority of plastic pollution in our oceans is related to single-use disposables that are food related”.
“Disposables are so light. The wind blows them everywhere, so they end up in our water sources eventually,” she said.
Her research distilled a sense of responsibility towards the environment into a clear conclusion — she would set up a business in the field of biodegradable disposables.
Today, Lamis heads BioD, first Arab supplier and designer of biodegradable packaging and bio-disposables in the Middle East. The products — cups, spoons, plates, forks and other cutlery — are made of plant-based material that decomposes naturally, thus reducing the volume of waste.
Her concern about plastic pollution runs deep. “Our plastic use is going to outlive us. How crazy is that for each person?” she said. “Every plastic bottle, if not recycled, can outlive you by 700 years. It doesn’t make sense as a material. It doesn’t make sense in terms of sustainability, even if you consider the possibility of recycling it. That is also not as sustainable.”
Before starting her business, Lamis took up distribution of biodegradable products using her own savings.
“Distribution was a learning and developing process,” she said. “It was also expensive and hard to expand.”
Although Lamis had opted for a reputable European brand to distribute, there were issues she had not factored in. First was the matter of timely availability of the products. “Since the products were not locally made, anyone who ordered them had to wait until they were sent over to the UAE [from Europe].”
The food and beverage industry, Lamis realised soon enough, does not wait. “They may suddenly run out of an item and require an immediate replacement.” And her distribution line necessitated a waiting time for her products to arrive from abroad. The second issue was the effect of the region’s climate on the products.
“Bio-plastics made for Europe aren’t great for the Middle East. Their melting points are much lower than we need for storage, and they degrade easily. We had problems with straws breaking and cups melting in the car,” Lamis said.
By the end of 2014, Lamis decided the only way to resolve her predicament was to design and manufacture the products herself. And BioD was born.
“We are the first Arab company to not just supply, but also offer design capabilities,” Lamis said.
Lamis realised the importance of passion as a driving force in life early. Having lost her father at a young age, she watched her mother pursue a demanding job and raise her singlehandedly. Her mother is her role model. “She takes her work as a contribution [to society] seriously and not just as a means to a pay cheque. She always told me her passion for work made her happy,” Lamis said.
Lamis feels lucky to be an entrepreneur in the UAE. “As a woman [in the UAE], I am in an excellent place because [the UAE] encourages entrepreneurship and leadership. I have the opportunity, the education and the passion. I love design and I’m very interested in being a designer.”
Lamis advised new entrepreneurs that “fear and excitement [at the prospect of wanting to start your own business] feel physically the same. To combat them, you need to focus on overcoming them. It’s about saying, ‘I’m not scared to do this, I’m excited’. Or thinking, ‘I’m excited to see this new client today’ or ‘I’m excited to go after that today’. [Such focus] makes everything a lot easier and energises you. It keeps you going.”
Her plans for BioD include experimenting with palm waste. “It is our country’s biggest waste. There is currently no biopolymer in the world made from palm waste. I believe we can get it done. I think it would be really interesting to return to the palm tree because a lot of our material, a long time ago, was made from palm.”
Lamis is currently expanding her household line and hopes to one day manufacture her products in the UAE.
What is green design?
Green design is a philosophy that treats environmental attributes as design objectives and not as constraints. It aims to incorporate these attributes without compromising performance, quality, functionality, and utility of a product
