Lamis Al Hashimy, an accomplished Emirati businesswoman, is transforming the cutlery industry by using fallen date palm tree leaves to create environmentally friendly and biodegradable cutlery. Her company, Palmade, is at the forefront of sustainability, producing cutlery that can be easily composted and converted into fertilizer to nourish the growth of more trees.
Going a step further, Al Hashimy aims to expand her product range to include various items made from date palm leaves in order to replace single-use plastic products not only in the UAE but also internationally. In her state-of-the-art factory in Dubai, the discarded fibrous leaves are processed into powder and combined with extracts such as sugar cane, resulting in the creation of knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, and coffee stirrers that closely resemble the look and feel of plastic. This innovative approach has already gained traction in hotels and supermarkets across the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
During a recent interview with
The National
, Al Hashimy shared, “I’m a mother of three and I wanted to create something my kids would learn from and be proud of.” Her dedication to sustainability and environmental conservation has led to the successful establishment of Palmade Biodegradable Products, where every piece of cutlery boasts the tag “Palmade – proudly made in the UAE with leaves from our date palm trees.”
Palmade, founded in 2019 and officially launched in October 2021 during the Expo, is in partnership with prominent organisations like Emaar; it sources trimmed leaves from Dubai communities to manufacture its disposable cutlery. The innovative products have been introduced in various prestigious events and venues, from food and beverage outlets at the Formula One Grand Prix to the food stalls during Cop28 in Dubai, garnering widespread acclaim.
Al Hashimy’s journey to create sustainable cutlery began in her garage, where she and her husband engaged in relentless experimentation to find home-grown solutions. Their initial foray into using date palm leaves involved creating paper bags and stationery before advancing to collaborate with academics and students at UAE University in Al Ain. This partnership led to the development of bioplastics that require minimal water for production, innovatively combining date palm leaves with plant biopolymers such as sugar cane and soya beans.
Despite the evident momentum in the fight against single-use plastics, Al Hashimy revealed that convincing companies to embrace sustainable alternatives has been challenging. Overcoming cost comparisons with traditional plastic cutlery remains a hurdle, with Palmade’s product costing approximately 12 fils, compared to the 5 fils cost of a plastic spoon. Her husband and co-partner, Yousuf Caires, stressed the importance of leveraging the stringent certification process in the UAE to verify the eco-friendly credentials of their products.
“We have the certificates – but above and beyond that, you can come to the factory so you know what you are buying is really sustainable,” said Mr Caires, an executive director at Expo City Dubai who has led efforts to identify green start-ups worldwide.
The heart of Palmade’s story lies in its deep-rooted love for the date palm tree, an iconic symbol in the UAE. Al Hashimy emphasised, “Most of us have sat under the shade of the date palm or eaten from it. You can’t not be part of it having lived in the UAE.”
With this ambitious endeavour, Al Hashimy and her team at Palmade are not only revolutionising the cutlery industry, but also paving the way for a sustainable and environmentally conscious future, one piece of cutlery at a time.
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