A Saudi airline traveller is handed out the prayer beads.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Every year, millions of pilgrims from around the world travel to Makkah for the pilgrimages Hajj and Umrah. These are the world’s largest annual human gatherings.

To help retain the best health and safety measures, as Saudi Arabia’s leading airline, and the world’s most popular airline for religious travel to Makkah, Saudia has created a new innovative product for all its guests to have a healthier and sanitary pilgrimage journey.

ProtecTasbih, created by Saudia’s creative agency, partners are the first prayer beads that sanitise hands.

ProtecTasbih have been distributed among Saudia guests, as they journey to pilgrimage and were handed out across the holy city of Makkah.

  The prayer beads provide a healthier journey for the pilgrims.

During the development of the formulation, the team came up with several challenges. They could not use anything using any alcohol owing to religious reasons. Alcohol is what’s commonly used for antibacterial and sanitising products. So, they had to look at natural potential solutions. Further research brought them to tea tree.

Tea tree oil is found to be effective against a broad spectrum of bacteria because it disrupts the cell membrane of the bacteria itself. Once the agency chose tea tree oil as the sanitising element, they had to integrate it into a semi-solid compound. And then, they developed a way of creating a solid bead, covered in this softer compound. They did that by developing a moulding technique.

For the product to be successful, it had to seamlessly integrate into the user’s practices. That meant they had to match the aesthetics to existing prayer beads on the market.

The team also looked at the different environments that the beads would come under, such as being handed out on an airplane, which is an air-conditioned environment and then taken on a pilgrimage, which is outdoors in a very warm climate. So, those tests ensured the beads could withstand both climates and be used in these temperatures.

Additionally, once the beads’ compound shell is completely used up after the duration of the pilgrimage that it is designed to last for, there is a core-shell underneath that allows the product to continue to be used as prayer beads, leading to zero waste.