Green lifestyle with an educational twist

A lifestyle event with an educational twist is taking place at Dubai Mall until Friday showing off all kinds of innovative products available in the UAE that give shoppers more sustainable choices. More than 70 exhibitors have set up booths and kiosks around the ground and lower ground floor as part of Epic Dubai Sustainable Living Expo. "To be more sustainable people need to consume less but that is never ever going to happen. We want to help people put their dollars where their values are," said Nancy Wright, vice president of Vancouver-based Globe Foundation, the organisation behind Epic events. "We can make choices as consumers not to buy more, but to buy smarter," she said. A series of live cooking demonstrations with organic produce and talks on environmental matters will also take place today and tomorrow. Around 75 per cent of the exhibitors are local and regional companies. All are vetted and allowed to exhibit if their products or guiding principles are in line with environmental policies. Greenwashing, a term for falsely claiming to have environmental policies is not uncommon among unscrupulous businesses hoping to attract consumers that seek cleaner, healthier products for them and the planet. "All kinds of companies that want to take part in these events often have no environmental credentials. We can't open it up to them because we cannot compromise the Epic brand," said Wright. "Companies will always greenwash and tarnish other companies that are taking steps towards sustainability. I am hoping that governments will crack down on greenwashing and give environmental credentials more meaning," she said. "I think we have passed the peak of greenwashing and today there is less, due to increased education." Visitors can donate Dh20 at the Goumbook stand to plant a ghaf tree, drop off their mobile phones at the Nokia stand to be recycled and try charging their phone on an exercise bike. "A good thing about health and beauty products is that the price compared to ordinary products are competitive from a price point. It makes it an easier choice," said Wright. Bee'ah, Sharjah's waste management company at 3pm Organic Foods and Café at 4pm Dubai Police and Lootah Group at 5pm, Goumbook at 6pm, Dubai Municipality at 8pm and Dewa at 9.30pm From / Gulf News