RIYADH: The world’s economy is shifting towards a state in which sustainability and circularity will no longer be considered optional extras but the baseline for how we operate, experts said at the Misk Global Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. During a panel discussion titled “A Circular Revolution,” the participants explored ways in which waste materials can be reused or recycled to help achieve a circular economy that is beneficial to the environment while also generating profits. “Waste is the gold of the 21st century,” said Moemen Sobh, the Egyptian founder and CEO of Visenleer, described as the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, which transforms fish and ocean waste into sustainable textiles.
Noting that the fashion industry produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the oil and gas industries, he added: “By 2030, 50 percent of the gas emissions will be because of fashion.” Meanwhile, Egypt has a water deficit of 7 billion cubic meters a year and could run out of the vital resource as soon as 2025, UNICEF warned in 2021. Sobh said his passion for finding sustainable solutions to these problem stems from his heritage as part of a northern Egyptian family descended from a long line of fishermen.
So he decided to launch an initiative that buys fish waste that was being collected in plastic bags and dumped into freshwater sources, and instead use it to produce a more environmentally friendly alternative to animal and faux leathe.