News
Saudia Introduces Sanitizing Prayer Beads For Religious Pilgrimages
The national airline has developed ProtecTasbih, a groundbreaking solution marrying hygiene with tradition for traveling pilgrims.
Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, has introduced ProtecTasbih, prayer beads infused with self-cleansing properties, helping to create a safer pilgrimage experience for the millions who travel to Makkah for Hajj and Umrah.
ProtecTasbih is a result of a collaboration between Saudia and its creative partners, including Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia and Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai. Confronted with the challenge of incorporating antibacterial elements into prayer beads without adding alcohol, the team opted for tea tree oil due to its natural ability to disrupt the cell membranes of bacteria.
The beads are engineered to endure various environments and temperature fluctuations, from the controlled atmosphere of aircraft cabins to outdoor pilgrimage trails. Beyond their cleansing function, the beads are also sustainable, as once the antibacterial outer shell is worn away, a core shell underneath allows them to continue to be used, reducing waste.
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As pilgrims embark on their spiritual journeys, ProtecTasbih will enhance hygiene standards without interrupting age-old customs.
News
LUVED Is A New Curated Preloved Marketplace For The UAE
Sellers keep 100 percent of every sale and AI can build a listing in five seconds — though the app’s smartest tools are still coming.
Secondhand shopping has become mainstream in the UAE, but the experience is still scattered across resale sites, social media and informal group chats. LUVED, a mobile-first marketplace that launched in Dubai this month, is betting it can pull that activity into one place — and that the thing buyers and sellers actually want is not more inventory, but trust.
The app trades in what it calls circular luxury: preloved fashion and lifestyle pieces across men’s, women’s and children’s categories, bought, sold or given away peer to peer. Its main pitch is economics, with sellers keeping 100 percent of every sale under a zero-commission, fast payout model, while buyers are promised vetted pieces at lower prices.
Where LUVED is staking its reputation is verification. Sellers pass a KYC check, and items run through a two-layer authentication system powered by Entrupy that pairs instant AI screening with human expert review for high-value pieces. Authenticity certificates travel with each item, payments sit in escrow, and a buyer-protection package the company calls The Safety Net adds a 48-hour return window and dispute resolution. Door-to-door logistics removes the in-person meetups that make most resale deals awkward.
An in-app assistant called Luvbot — offering selling insights and demand-based recommendations — is soon to be introduced to the platform. Other features include autofill and dynamic pricing that lets users build a listing in as little as five seconds from three photos, plus a swipe-based feed, story-style drops and in-app chat in English and Arabic. Finally, a gifting layer, Luved & Gifted, lets users pass items to others inside the app rather than sell them.
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“After moving to Dubai, I saw how difficult it was to sell or even give things away,” says founder and CEO Shaima Sibtain. The friction is real, and so is the competition. In resale, trust is won transaction by transaction — and that is the test LUVED has set itself.
The app is live on the App Store now, with Google Play to follow. The company also plans to expand across the region, which will be the real test for a marketplace staking everything on trust.
