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30 of our favorite Fast Company stories of 2022
From greenwashing and digital trade changing the concept of business to conscious beauty and the urgency of inclusive workplaces, here are the best stories of 2022
Adidas blew the Kanye controversy, Alicia Keys expanded her brand mindfully, the cognitive city is taking shape, ads are tricking us into thinking brands are green, and everyone, well almost, was quiet quitting in 2022. We made sense of it all in the fast-changing world, keeping our eye on the ground to give you a larger context to big-picture topics while highlighting innovation and creativity in the business world and beyond.
Here are 30 of our favorite stories in tech, innovation, design, leadership, and business of 2022:
The fascinating history of shopping and its influence on how we buy stuff today
March 2022
By: Rachel Bowlby
Shopping history never moves in one single direction or all at once. There have always been regional and chronological divergences from mainstream developments. There are also retailing modes that fall by the wayside and then return later in new guises or with new names. They often have the appearance of being newly invented. Take fast fashion, for instance. We think of fast fashion as inseparable from a contemporary culture of rapid turnover. But a version of it can be found as far back as the 18th century, well before garments were mass-produced in factories.
How scientists grew spinach in the desert by harvesting water out of thin air
March 2022
By: Elissaveta M. Brandon
Like all conventional crops, spinach needs water to grow. But, in this case, the spinach sprouted thanks to a solar-powered system that pulled vapor from the air and condensed it into two liters of water. Professors at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia developed a prototype, and the results suggest that small farms in remote, arid regions can grow their crops without a water supply. There are many steps before the system can be commercialized, but if it ever does, it could be used in off-grid communities worldwide.
How a budding entrepreneur convinced Tim Cook to be his first investor
March 2022
By: Mark Wilson
Nebia is an award-winning producer of luxurious, low-flow showerheads and eco-conscious bathroom accessories. Its products have raised $9 million to date on Kickstarter and are installed in over 100,000 homes, saving an estimated 400 million gallons of water, and counting. But it began with a single, mysterious investor: Tim Cook. Find out how.
Not paying an intern for their time is exploitative, say Arab millennials
April 2022
By: Rachel Dawson
Unpaid internships are becoming the default way of beginning a professional career. But the treatment of an unpaid intern can serve as a measure of a company’s culture. The unpaid intern, devoid of biases and financial influences whatsoever, emerges as a dependable judge of the inner workings of a corporation. With work experience on a resume, albeit empty pockets, the unpaid intern appears with a fresh mind on corporate cultures. We spoke to millennials in the region about their first work experiences and found that almost each made a case for fair compensation.
The Arab consumer is getting serious about conscious beauty. But are the brands listening?
April 2022
By: Sujata Assomull
The Middle East is known to spend quite a bit of money on cosmetics. Grooming and pampering are part of the culture. The beauty and personal care market in the Middle East and Africa region is expected to reach $39 billion by 2025, and one of the key areas of growth in the Middle East will be clean or green beauty. While there is no regulated definition, industry insiders use the term for products made with natural ingredients, chemical-free and nontoxic. We talked to the disruptors in the clean beauty industry.
April 2022
By: Rachel Dawson
Dubai aims to be the world’s most visited place — a sought-after status at the heart of its tourism and trade efforts. And the man bringing the dream to fruition is Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing. He talked about the strategy during the pandemic connecting with millions of people by leveraging an effective campaign while attracting tourists for leisure, business, and events remained constant. “Today, Dubai is among the highest in repeat visitation – 25% of tourists are repeat visitors. It is a metric we’re very proud of because it shows people love what they see, enjoy what they see, and keep coming back for more,” Kazim says.
How Alicia Keys is expanding her brand mindfully
May 2022
By: Ashley C. Ford
Grammy award-winning Alicia Keys is channeling her interest in mindfulness into an expanding portfolio of projects in the wellness space. In September 2020, she launched her Keys Soulcare skincare brand with E.L.F. Beauty. And in March, she debuted an athletic-wear collection with Athleta, part of an ongoing partnership with the brand that has her designing clothes and helping to spread its long-standing message of empowerment. “With the businesses that I’m building, there really is a theme about empowerment and diversity, and finding ways to be yourself,” Keys says.
Dinner is served. Is Dubai becoming the culinary capital of the world?
May 2022
By: Suparna Dutt D’Cunha
Dubai’s food culture thrives on plurality. About 85% of Dubai’s population are expats, lending it a dizzying mix of cuisines. Once-quiet neighborhoods have become restaurant destinations, and a sense of pride in uniqueness has seeped into the city’s marrow.
A playground for global F&B brands and celebrity chefs, it’s a place where cuisines from around the world – from Syrian and Filipino to Japanese and Uzbek – can be experienced in so many ways.
The secret science behind the power of small talk
May 2022
By: Dan Bullock and Raúl Sánchez
We often overlook the importance of this deeply rooted yet habitual part of our social fabric – small talk. It inspires much more than trivial babble, often setting in motion some of our most-valued relationships. From the polite chit chat among coworkers that eases the start of a stressful meeting to building powerful bridges at networking events, small talk has always been an important “social lubricator” that builds trust and relationships across cultures—even more so for early-career professionals after graduation.
More than 700 of the world’s largest public companies have net zero goals. Are they greenwashing?
June 2022
By: Adele Peters
From Amazon and Apple to oil companies like ExxonMobil have targets to reach net zero emissions. That’s a 68% increase from the number that had made pledges just two years ago. But their plans aren’t strong enough yet to actually address climate change. In some cases, companies have set a goal for 2050, but haven’t set interim goals aligned with the fact that global emissions need to drop nearly in half by 2030. Many haven’t shared their plan of action. How are they going to measure progress?
Is digital trade changing the concept of business in the Middle East?
June 2022
By: Keith J Fernandez
Trade flows were slowly digitalized before the pandemic, but the process has accelerated in the past two years. Now, sales of everything from fast fashion to agricultural commodities or machine spare parts depend at least in part on the uptake of new digital technologies. This new form of trade – or Trade 2.0 – isn’t just bringing new products and services to digitally connected consumers around the world; it is accelerating more equitable, inclusive, and resilient growth for nations by opening up new opportunities. We look at how policy action can enable this new playing field.
Long hours, low pay: Are we taking delivery boys for a ride in the Middle East?
June 2022
By: Rachel Dawson
While the online food delivery sector has grown – Talabat, Careem, and Deliveroo changed the market and popularized a per delivery model – but the well-being and safety of delivery riders who whet the daily appetites of millions have been a cause of concern. Without any policies, riders are paid just enough to barely cover their living expenses in the Middle East. The food-delivery workers in Dubai have staged a mass walkout, calling for better pay and working conditions. But there has been no change in their work-life. Many workers who went on strike have either been deported, blacklisted, or are paying the penalty. Will the food delivery world be equitable? Will the tech enterprises hiding behind a contractor arrangement take a stand?
Farming in Gaza is a man’s job. These green girls are changing that
July 2022
By: Ruwaida Amer
Life for women in Gaza has never been easy, the frequent escalation of violence has made the situation even worse. And when farmers are wilting in a world where food demand only rises, agriculture offers life-saving opportunities to many in Gaza. Aseel Al-Najjar, Ghaida Qudeih, and Nadine Abu Rouk – three young women with degrees in diverse fields, sidestepped the crisis by starting their project, Green Girls. With their huge social media following, they are making farming a desirable, almost cool career.
How ads trick you into thinking brands are greener than they actually are
July 2022
By: Y Morteza Abohasani, Gordon Liu and Zahra Golrokhi
The green advertising trend is growing fast. Many ads now feature a range of clever tactics, from filling your screen with green to using vague terms like “all-natural“, designed to convince you the products they’re selling are good for the planet. But are these ads truly reflective of improvement when it comes to production practices, or is this just another example of greenwashing?
How will the moon’s resources be managed?
August 2022
By: Michelle L.D. Hanlon
At least six countries and a flurry of private companies have publicly announced more than 250 missions to the moon to occur within the next decade. Many of these missions include plans for permanent lunar bases and are motivated in large part by ambitions to assess and begin utilizing the moon’s natural resources. In the short term, resources would be used to support lunar missions; but in the long term, the moon and its resources will be a critical gateway for missions to the broader riches of the solar system. But these lofty ambitions collide with a looming legal question. So how will space resources be managed?
Humans are critical to the past, present and future
August 2022
By: Rachel Dawson
H.E. Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, tells us how technology can be leveraged to solve the world’s most pressing issues. He says the Museum of the Future is only the start of the journey, igniting the imagination of the future, where people can dare to dream about great ideas, contribute to a better future for everyone, and talk about what opportunities and challenges lie ahead and what we can do about them. Strategy is key to staying ahead of the future, but so is challenging oneself. Belhoul has a simple formula: “We challenge ourselves by believing the sky’s the limit when it comes to innovation.”
For gaming companies, the Middle East seems to be a checkpoint. Will they win?
August 2022
By: Suparna Dutt D’Cunha
The Middle East and Africa region have been a growing market for video games for years. Ubisoft, Minecraft, and Fortnite count young people from the region among their most ardent fans. Tencent Games opened its regional headquarter in Dubai Internet City. The number of gamers in the region keeps going up as smartphones, PCs, and consoles become available to more of the region’s population. The MENA market has more active gamers than the US or western Europe, and publishers and developers are flocking to invest in the region’s gaming industry with content tailored to the region. We deep dive into what is fueling the gaming industry’s growth.
What will a cognitive city look like? Are we ready for it?
August 2022
By: Suparna Dutt D’Cunha
Can we have a shared urban environment that is truly focused on the human and all their needs? In the next decade, we could witness such cities – cognitive, hyper-connected and human-centric, minimizing resource consumption, maximizing efficiency, receiving real-time information on each individual’s needs and personalizing services using knowledge and creativity. We look into a future where we could witness cognitive and human-centric cities using big data, the Internet of Things, and AI to gather more insights into human behavior that will redefine the art of possibility – going from reactive to proactive and personalized.
Quiet Quitting has been around for decades. Here’s the ultimate solution
September 2022
By: Matt Kerbel
Don’t believe for a second that younger people would prefer not to work hard on something they believe in, in lieu of more time spent doom scrolling. So, if you want to put a pin in quiet quitting, choose to, first and foremost, be great leaders. Act accordingly. Set an example for others to admire and follow. Great leadership is, will be, and has always been the way. Great leadership makes employees believe in a vision and work exceptionally hard to make it a reality.
Can new technology tell if you’re lying on LinkedIn?
September 2022
By: Chris Harper
Millions of professional recruiters, human resource departments, and hiring managers use LinkedIn to seek qualified candidates for open positions. LinkedIn profiles that contain lies about employment, degrees achieved, and certifications earned can cause major headaches for employers. Hiring misfires can cost thousands of dollars to rectify. One survey found that 34% of LinkedIn profiles contain inaccurate or misleading information. An instant, accurate verification of education or employment is a solution. Currently, there are two accurate ways of offering automated verification. One is through API and other is a web-based platform that verifies the information a candidate reports. Conveniently, neither method requires the storing of end-user data.
Is space the new frontier for food? The Middle East is exploring
September 2022
By: Karrishma Modhy
Countries worldwide are exploring resources to grow food in space. Due to the adverse effects of climate change, it’s hard enough to grow and sustain food on Earth. So how are we doing it in space? This story deep dives into how the Middle East is exploring space for food security. Although the major hindrance to conducting research in space is limited, the region has been conducting experiments and improving its knowledge of cultivating plants in space for over a decade. UAE is investing in breakthroughs to grow food in harsh environments to allow for more locally-grown food sources. Also, the UAE, among other Middle Eastern countries, is setting itself as a global superpower in space explorations and capabilities.
Workplaces are inaccessible for people of determination. Inclusive design can solve that
September 2022
By: Suparna Dutt D’Cunha
In the Middle East there are 30 million people of determination. For the majority of these people, having an accessible workplace is impossible. To provide support and make workplaces more productive for current and future employees who are people of determination, designing an effective inclusive workplace with adequate consideration of mobility and access to community spaces and services is essential. So how do we make a workplace accessible for all? At a planning level, designers need to address this process by employing an all-inclusive design practice, prioritizing a great user experience that empowers people of determination, and removing the barriers between the user and the space in a human-centered approach.
Is trust the most valued currency in the new digital economy?
October 2022
By: Riaz Naqvi
With a great volume of data comes great responsibility for how it is handled. Cognitive cities are powered by intelligent infrastructure, committed to learning from our behavior to allow for predictive adaptation and provision of proactive, personalized services and solutions that will optimize and unleash human potential. With cognitive communities set to proliferate over the next decade, it makes sense to ask a new question: Is trust the new currency for the digital economy?
Humans will be indispensable to the future of tech, says Joseph Bradley
October 2022
By: Rachel Dawson
What is the future of tech? How far are we from a seamless society? Joseph Bradley, CEO of TONOMUS, shares his insights on future trends and how they will impact our lives. Technological disruption will enable a seamless society, and the biggest priority for tech players, Bradley says, is to “remove friction from our lives and close the digital divide.” As technology becomes more prevalent and powerful, and the acceleration of tech becomes crucial to the success of an enterprise, Bradley says being human and embracing our uniquely human characteristics will be the most valuable skills organizations will need
October 2022
By: James Vincent
With $3 billion of free cash flow in the past 12 months, Airbnb has achieved unicorn status three times over by obsessing over ideas, creativity, and customer experience instead of money. Airbnb has over six million listings, four million hosts, and one billion guests and counting. But how did Airbnb arrive at the place it is today? It wasn’t an easy path, nor was it a straight one. “Every crisis is an opportunity,” Chesky says. He tells the story.
Art can be the antithesis of the metaverse, says Sacha Jafri
October 2022
By: Rachel Dawson
Most well-known for his collection Journey Through Humanity, artist and philanthropist Sacha Jafri speaks about his latest work, digital trends, and art as a tool to reignite inspiration and empathy. He talks about his mission to not just portray Earth’s fullness but to reconnect the younger generation today, who he says has turned their back to this world to connect with the digital world, a non-existent world.
Adidas blew the Kanye controversy, but your brand can avoid the same mistakes
October 2022
By: Jeff Beer
Ever since Kanye West signed on with Adidas in 2013, the artist has been the cultural story at the brand. That fact took a dark turn, as West has been criticized for antisemitic comments, leading the brand to cancel its landmark deal with him on October 25. Adidas reportedly put its relationship with West under review on October 6, a full 20 days before cutting ties, and after other companies like Balenciaga and CAA had already done so. Adidas’ silence over those 20 days was deafening enough for social media to call for its boycott. The brand’s lack of ability or will to tell its own story through this crisis is also concerning when we look at the giant, Yeezy-sized hole left not only in its bottom line, but also its cultural impact.
The fall of FTX shows just how fragile the crypto economy truly is
November 2022
By: James Surowiecki
To be sure, the health of all financial institutions depends on their reputation. But if your entire business can collapse in a matter of days because one of your competitors sells off its stake in your token, that obviously makes you wonder how solid your business was in the first place. What’s striking about FTX’s collapse is that it suggests that the same may be largely true of businesses that serve the crypto market: Most of their value depends on people acting as if a dream is real. Which works great, until everyone decides to wake up.
How TikTok is opening the door for social innovation
November 2022
By: Harry McCracken
Meta has leveraged its control of these vast networks of connected people—almost 3 billion on Facebook, 2 billion-plus on Instagram—to build an online advertising business second only to Google’s.
But in TikTok, Meta faces a new, uncommonly threatening rival. In September 2021, TikTok’s owner, China’s ByteDance, announced that the app had reached 1 billion monthly global users. While ByteDance hasn’t revealed any official numbers since, it’s clear that TikTok is still surging. Its For You algorithm is a feedback loop that relentlessly serves up videos you might like based on what you’ve watched before, regardless of who created them. These purely algorithmic recommendations are a highly effective delivery system for the little hits of dopamine that keep users glued to their screens.
AI-powered businesses in the Middle East need a new CEO. Yes, Chief Ethics Officer
December 2022
By: Suparna Dutt D’Cunha
Over the past few years, businesses in the Middle East, in the wake of the Industry 4.0 revolution, are shifting towards AI and advanced technologies. But people can be directly harmed by the unregulated and mass deployment of AI. For instance, in the financial sector, algorithms determine who gets loans and who doesn’t. Trust, privacy, and transparency concerns can become legal or reputational issues, but building trust in AI requires a significant effort to instill a sense of morality and operate in full transparency.
So what is the way forward? To truly have checks and balances, businesses should have a C-suite role in setting the agendas of AI, monitoring and assessing the accuracy, bias, and privacy, and building technology that genuinely benefits people. So, is it time for AI-powered tech companies to hire a Chief Ethics Officer?
