CSR campaigns
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) shapes our approach to business. We leverage a variety of resources in pursuit of economically, environmentally and socially sustainable operations.
As a relief supplier, we believe that contributing to a sustainable humanitarian supply chain is a way of honoring our purpose. It is with this in mind that we have aligned our business operations with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of globally agreed targets to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. We strive to advance the SDGs in every domain of our operations by creating and implementing CSR-driven initiatives that highlight the importance of a sustainable humanitarian supply chain while raising awareness for refugees and displaced people worldwide.
Bag of Hope for World Refugee Day 2019
In a unique collaboration with The Dubai College of Fashion & Design (CFD) and the International Humanitarian City (IHC) we hosted a sustainable fashion show to mark World Refugee Day. The ‘Bag of Hope’ event, which witnessed CFD students create fashionable bags made from refugee tent waste materials, aimed to raise refugee awareness, promote sustainable supply chain and create social impact through the power of fashion. The campaign also supported the UAE Year of Tolerance, which embodies the approach adopted by the government to solidify the UAE as the global capital for tolerance.
#PeaceDoves upcycling project for World Peace Day 2018
Inspired by SDG #12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and international corporate sustainability trends, we are taking a stronger grip on our social and environmental indicators. #PeaceDoves is an upcycling project that transformed refugee blanket and tarpaulin offcuts into handcrafted dove-shaped toys, with a special touch from female stitchers working with our manufacturing arm H. Sheikh Noor-ud-Din & Sons, who have embroidered their personal signature to the doves. Launched on World Peace Day on 21 September 2018, we partnered with UK-based NGO Empathy Action to promote peace, address the refugee crisis, upcycle production waste and empower women in a skills amplification project. Recently, we revived our peace doves as bookmarks to be given as corporate gifts, sending out a message of peace, love and reconciliation all over the world.
#TentTotes upcycling project
In line with similar principles, we have also created the #TentTotes, which are made from tent material offcuts such as poly-cotton and mudflap fabric. These bags are literally made from the same batch of tents that are sheltering displaced people around the world. Similarly to the doves, this upcycling project and there is no need to purchase extra materials to make them.
#LoveCoats campaign for World Refugee Day 2017
It is not the first time that our CSR team has used the power of fashion to bring the refugee crisis to the fore. On World Refugee Day 2017, we partnered with renowned British designer Helen Storey from the London College of Fashion to empower Syrian girls living in Za’atari refugee camp. We donated 1,000 meters of thermal blanket material to Professor Storey, who facilitated a design workshop with the TIGER Girls (These Inspiring Girls Enjoy Reading). The #LoveCoats project aimed to use fashion and design to develop technical skills to make warm, fashionable clothes to battle the harsh winters in Jordan.
Fly For Peace campaign
In partnership with the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition (DIHAD), we hosted a ‘Fly For Peace’ art exhibition in March 2017 featuring orphaned refugees’ artworks that reflect their hopes for a peaceful future. The event was in line with DIHAD’s 14th edition theme of ‘The Impact of Crisis and Disasters on Children.’ Under the #FlyForPeace initiative, we organized a kite-flying activity for 75 Syrian refugee children living in an orphanage in Gaziantep, Turkey. It aimed to highlight the importance of education in emergencies and promote the concept of peace through the refugee children’s creativity.
To learn more about our CSR campaigns and media coverage, click here.