The new trend has sparked plenty of mockery and commentary about women from European countries showing off creative ways to recycle glass jars for use in the kitchen or around the house, as if it were some brand-new idea, when in fact it's a practice that's been passed down for decades in Arab households.
اضافة اعلان
That's exactly what fueled the mockery: hundreds of thousands of comments, particularly from across the Arab world, pointed out that reusing jars and other household items has been common practice for decades, and that Arab women, mothers, and grandmothers have long known dozens of ways to recycle. Now, in European countries, it's become a trend where women race to film ways of reusing jars in methods that can be costly and, at times, somewhat exaggerated.
While reuse today looks like a fresh trend that spread through social media, the idea in our societies isn't new at all; it was simply part of everyday life and a tradition passed down by mothers and grandmothers.
Mothers used to find new uses for things once their original purpose ended: metal tins, like ghee and butter cans, were repurposed to store various items, while empty bags, chocolate boxes, and biscuit tins found their way to a second use instead of being thrown away.
A Culture Built on Thrift, Good Management, and Avoiding Waste
Reuse wasn't limited to containers; it extended to old fabrics and clothes, which were cut up and gathered to become light blankets, sheets, or other household pieces, reflecting a culture built on thrift, good management, and avoiding waste, while also leaving behind memories tied to the homes of mothers and grandmothers.
Today, that same idea comes packaged under various labels on social media, like "reuse" or "giving things a second life," carrying within it old traces of our everyday lives. Back then, it wasn't called "sustainability" or "recycling"; it was simply part of household culture and generational memory.
An empty coffee jar no longer necessarily means the end of its journey to the trash can. Photos and videos circulating on social media show inventive ways of giving it a "second life," as they put it, turning it into a spice jar, a food container, a small planter, a tool holder, or even a piece of home decor. Talk of this only grew with the spread of "before and after" clips on Instagram and TikTok as well.
This trend even prompted a well-known coffee brand to capitalize on it for self-marketing, showcasing ideas on its platforms for reusing empty jars, including using them to store rice and pasta, household tools, turning them into vases, or using them in creative home projects before eventually recycling them.
The spread of ideas for reusing coffee jars and household containers on social media didn't go unnoticed by some who saw echoes of old household memories and practices. Joanna Mohammad felt that what's being presented today as a new recycling and reuse trend closely resembles habits that have long existed in Arab households.
Ideas from Household Memory
She pointed to using glass jars to store legumes and preserved food, powdered milk cans for planting, biscuit tins as sewing boxes, alongside reusing glass milk bottles and drink bottles, and even turning old clothes into cleaning rags, saying "almost everything gets recycled in our homes."
Hassan Firas, however, questions whether the focus on a particular brand's jars is part of a marketing strategy for the coffee or the brand itself, saying: "Focusing on the container in a way that looks spontaneous could well be intentional," adding that whoever came up with the idea was clever in turning it into a trend.
This reflects another side of the discussion around this kind of content: the blurry line between genuine environmental initiatives and marketing content that rides the wave of social media trends.
Nora Saleh, for her part, traced the idea back to household memory, arguing that keeping and reusing tea, coffee, Nescafé, and spice containers isn't new at all, but a practice known to previous generations and still continuing today, pointing to what could be described as a "culture of not throwing things away," which was far more present in homes before the spread of fast-consumption habits.
This kind of content brings together several elements popular on social media: saving money, creativity, organization, handiwork, and environmental concern. The "before and after" format also gives users a clear visual payoff, making it well-suited to short-form content and encouraging others to try the idea and film it themselves.
New Old Trends Sweeping Social Media
Many also justified the appeal of this kind of content by noting that the "jar" exists in every home, regardless of financial or social status, and turning it into a new product doesn't require much cost. The result can also easily be shown in a short video that starts with an empty container and ends with something beautiful or practical.
Others believe that the constant global conversation around climate change and environmental preservation may have pushed some to capitalize on it to create new trends, and that it's not just about "the glass jar" itself, but about a shifting view of everyday objects; what was once seen as a container that had served its purpose is now viewed as material that can be reused or repurposed, whether out of thrift, love of creativity, or a desire to reduce waste.
While social media platforms give these ideas a chance to spread quickly, the real challenge lies in the idea moving beyond being just a "trend" to becoming a more sustainable daily habit, one that rethinks a container before throwing it away and gives it a chance at a second life.
Here, home management expert Samira Kailani says she was "surprised" that this practice has today turned into a social media "trend," since it was never new to our homes to begin with, but rather a deeply rooted habit that generations of mothers and grandmothers grew up with.
Mothers and Grandmothers Who Knew the Value of What Was in Their Hands
In old households, women understood the value of what was in their hands and didn't treat things with a use-once-and-discard mentality; an empty jar, a tin, or even some simple tools each had another chance at use.
She notes that the culture of household management once known in homes was built on thrift and making good use of what was available, so it was common to keep containers for storing preserved food, grains, spices, and other household needs. What social media presents today as an innovative reuse idea, then, essentially resembles an old habit that was simply part of everyday life in our homes.
Kailani says reusing containers carries multiplebenefits, the first being reduced spending on buying new containers and packaging, along with cutting down on waste and protecting the environment. She notes that glass containers are a good choice for storing food, since they help preserve it for long periods, while their tight-sealing lids protect items like sugar and salt from insects and contaminants.
Kailani also points out that a container's design can play an important role in making good use of storage space; square or rectangular containers, for example, can make better use of space than round ones, which can leave gaps when arranged in kitchen cabinets.
The Buildup of Unused Items
On the other hand, she warns against letting the culture of reuse turn into a reason for clutter piling up at home, explaining that keeping every item under the excuse of "we might need it someday" eventually leads to a buildup of clutter and unused things.
Kailani advises homemakers to keep containers and items only if there's a real, practical use for them, while things a person knows they won't need are better disposed of promptly or donated to organizations and charities that could benefit from them.
Donating or gifting such items to others also gives them a chance to be recycled and turned into art pieces, planters, vases, or other uses.
Kailani also stresses that reuse, when thoughtful and not leading to clutter, is a positive practice that combines saving money, reducing consumption, and contributing to environmental protection.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting by: Taghreed Al-Saayda
