Zeina Abou Chaaban

The Palestinian-Lebanese co-founder of heritage-based fashion brand Palestyle left her job as a logistics planner for Procter & Gamble (P&G) in Dubai to focus on the empowerment of women in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon by providing them with job opportunities in the form of embroidery work that is then stitched into a Palestyle design. Part of the sale proceeds are also diverted to social development projects in the camps.

The firm collaborated with the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature to plant an olive tree in Palestine with every Glam clutch sold. It ended up selling 200 clutches with the help of Bloomingdale’s in Dubai, providing over 300 jobs and an olive harvest for farmers to create additional income. Palestyle’s products are also sold with retailers including Etoile, and has been worn by celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Gwyneth Paltrow.