Change Initiative switches tack

Gundeep Singh, founder and chief executive of The Change Initiative, which sells environmentally friendly goods. Pawan Singh / The National

The Change Initiative, a shop specialising in selling environmentally-friendly goods, is restructuring its business as a result of a retail downturn.

The Barsha Heights-based shop will close its retail operation and cafe in September and instead focus on its distribution business.

“The current retail climate makes it impossible for us to financially sustain the business,” said a spokesman.

He said further details about the distribution network expansion would be available soon.

Started by Gundeep Singh in 2012, the company offered more than 5,000 eco-friendly products, ranging from organic food to toys made from environmentally-friendly materials. His vision was to spread the word that there was always a more sustainable option.

Brands available included eco-friendly nappy maker Naty, Paleo Foods, which made grain-free and gluten-free granola, and Happy Family, an assortment of organic meals and snacks for children.

Mr Singh said three years ago that one of the biggest obstacles facing the sustainable movement was that the richer a society is, the less thought there was about the environment.

The Change Initiative’s regular customers said the business would be missed.

Farah Sawaf discovered the shop more than a year ago thanks to a friend.

“I just started loving the randomness of the place,” she said, adding that it sold many products not found elsewhere.

“I was really sad when they said they were closing and I took it personally,” she said. “I became addicted to the place.”

Before it closes, the company is offering discounted prices on its food and lifestyle brands.

Earlier this year, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce said that the UAE’s retail sector was expected to reach Dh200 billion by next year, a 5 per cent rate of growth on average each year.

And while consumer spending in the country was expected to rise at about 4 per cent annually, eco-friendly retail seemed a different game altogether.

Studies showed that consumers worldwide care about the environment, but stopped short when it came to paying more to go greener.

US-based retailmenot.com conducted a survey last year that showed three in five people would buy green items only if the costs were the same or less than non-eco-friendly products.

The study also found that 81 per cent of consumers thought that greener instantly meant more expensive.