• Home
• /
• Lifestyle
• /
• Arts

Shopping for a cause: Top picks around the UAE

This week, we’re going shopping, with art on our minds, as we do our bit as well

Who said that if you need to shop for ‘art’, you have to always buy only paintings, artefacts, and sculptures?

Say no to plastic, attend to chores

Stopping over to attend to daily chores just got an artistic twist, with Emirati artist Abdulla Lutfi’s line of canvas bags, a collaboration with Grandiose Supermarkets. Abdulla Lutfi, or AL as he prefers to sign his work, is known for his signature art style utilising black marker pens against a white background. His illustrations, which are complemented by humourous speech bubbles, have been consistent across all of his storytelling and also on the bags, which one can buy from the supermarket. The two variations use contemporary character-based illustrations, two Emirati characters, that humanise the go-green slogans like “Stop No More Plastic” and “This Is Not A Plastic Bag”. Lutfi says, “At a time when my home country is headlining its environment-first initiatives, I am honoured to be working with Grandiose, and contributing to the movement the way I know best. Through my art.”

Pretty you, say hello to reusable bags

It’s time to pick an Advent Calendar, well almost. For the beauty fanatics, The Body Shop’s Ultimate Advent Calendar will be an exciting buy, filled with new products, beauty tools, and everything one needs to care for body and soul. Scrub, soften, and slather your way to a beautiful Christmas with the brand’s new Edelweiss Sheet Mask, iconic Shea Body Butter, serenely scented Sleep Pillow Mist, and more. The best part, it contains Community Fair Trade recycled plastic, yes, the Box of Wishes and Wonders Advent Calendar supports initiatives to reduce plastic pollution, supporting the waste pickers of Plastics for Change in Bengaluru, India, with a fair wage and improved working conditions. Also, Rethink Plastic is an initiative by Emirates Nature- WWF to help reduce plastic pollution in the UAE. Buy a REUSABLE bag made of recycled materials at any of the shops in the UAE and play your part in reducing the use of single-use plastic bags.

Save the animals, dress up chic

WILD FABRIK, GCC’s sustainable lifestyle brand, has introduced a limited-edition collection of nine T-shirts, in partnership with the Emirates Nature-World Wildlife Fund. Called WILD Fabrik in the Wild, the designs focus on wild animals, a few of which are endangered and local to the UAE. The collection will include a T-shirt from natrl, the UAE’s first mineral-boxed water. Hundred per cent of the proceeds from the collection will go to Emirates Nature-World Wildlife Fund. The brand seeks to bridge the gap between green producers and conscious buyers, while planting the seeds of environmental awareness, and educating the people of today, for the benefit of the people of tomorrow. Gergana Abdulrahman, co-founder of WILD FABRIK says, “With this collaboration, we want to create a buzz around the plight of the animals and our nature through a fun activation that will give people a reason to feel good and smile while giving back to the local causes.”

Ho, ho, ho, doll up the Christmas tree

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, we’re humming the song and filling up our carts with Christmas ornaments. For the fourth year running, Crate and Barrel has collaborated with regional artists to create hand-crafted ornaments with a difference. This year’s ‘Ornaments for a Cause’ have been designed by Loompop, Abdulla Lutfi and, for the first time, Nio Artt — featuring local motifs and limited-edition flag designs. Partial l profits from the sales will be donated to charity.

Shine on, ethically

Etika Jewels, an online jewellery store, is offering beautiful, ethical, mindful, and affordable diamond and gold jewellery alternatives that aim to raise ethical standards in the diamond industry. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds created in a different environment: inside a lab. They are physically and chemically identical to their mined counterpart, just more ethical, which makes them indistinguishable from their mined counterparts. They are also free from conflict, child labour or unsafe working conditions, as they are ethically produced using specialised technology in a controlled laboratory. Plus, the brand’s commitment to conscious luxury is reflected at every step of the way: 100 per cent digital brand, minimal stock, eco-friendly packaging material and vegan leather jewellery boxes.

purva@khaleejtimes.com