David Dietz

Bio

After graduating Georgetown University, David traveled to the Middle East to cover the unrest and revolutions in the region for www.policymic.com and his own personal blog www.TheMidEaster.com. David reported on uprisings and political movements from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain and contributed to reports for Al Jazeera, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and the Huffington Post. After more than a year in the Middle East David returned stateside to launch Modavanti.com, an online retailer for stylish sustainable fashion. He is also currently a contributing blogger for the Huffington Post where he writes about his experiences as an entrepreneur and creating social impact through business. Besides his interests in the Arab world entrepreneurship and sustainable fashion, David loves sports and enjoys playing golf, tennis and skiing. You can visit his site Modavanti.com for all your sustainable fashion needs. Fun Fact: David has witnessed five revolutions/uprisings during the Arab Spring
Why It's Time for a Fashion Revolution
By David Dietz
Fifteen years ago, kale wasn't a thing. Then we had an organic food revolution. Five years ago, it was inconceivable to make the trip from Washington, D.C. to New York City without filling up your car's gas tank. Now, we're in the midst of an…
This Video Sums Up the Powerful New Business Model Millennial Entrepreneurs Are Creating
By David Dietz
At my sustainable fashion e-commerce site Modavanti.com, we give 2% of each sale we do to one of our two amazing impact partners Nest and Charity Water. While we haven't made such a profound impact with our measly money raised to date, our goal is…
Flash Mob Fashion Show Hits Streets Of Manhattan to Kick Off NYC Fashion Week 2013
By David Dietz
On Thursday night, sustainable fashion startup Modavanti.com teamed up with Aushim Raswant, producer and creative director of 3vNYC, to throw New York’s first ever flash fashion show with a series of three flash fashion mobs around the city.…
8 Easy Steps to Make Fashion Smarter and More Sustainable
By David Dietz
The future of fashion is sustainability and yet even though the industry has made considerable progress in adopting a more sustainable outlook, there is not yet an accepted definition covering all aspects of sustainability. Understanding this…
There is Only One Thing That Will Stabilize Egypt — Economics
By David Dietz
It's hard to imagine stranger bedfellows than the coalition currently holding together the Tamarod movement in Egypt. The core of the movement is the various fractured liberal groups comprised of secularists, wealthy business elites and the…
Mohammed Morsi is Awful — But If You Like Democracy, You Must Stand With Him
By David Dietz
I am no fan of the Muslim Brotherhood or President Mohamed Morsi. He is hopelessly incompetent politically, a complete disaster economically (not that he was exactly dealt a strong hand), and acts like he is an Islamic Pharaoh. His tenure has been…
World Cup 2014: FIFA's Greed Is Partly to Blame For the Protests in Brazil
By David Dietz
I can't wait for the World Cup next year. I've been wanting to go ever since it was announced. Brazil is futbol crazy. It's a country of passion, beauty and flamboyance. It carries a mystique that enchants the rest of the world. Its soccer dominance…
Taksim Park Protest: Next Up On the Turks' Hierarchy Of Needs — Freedom
By David Dietz
Images of bloodied protesters scrambling past burning makeshift defenses, shrouded in thick suffocating clouds of tear gas, and being chased by heavily clad special units brings back memories of the chaos of Tahrir Square two years ago. Of people…
Bashar Al-Assad: A No-Fly Zone Is the Only Way to Stop Assad
By David Dietz
After more two years of civil war, it is not his arsenal of tanks or unfettered aerial dominance that is Bashar Al-Assad’s greatest strength. It is not the hapless disarray of the rebel forces nor the intensely loyal following he still enjoys from…
Bangladesh Factory Collapse: We Need to Demand Ethical Labor in the Fashion Industry
By David Dietz
Last week marked two significant milestones for my start-up Modavanti: Our three month anniversary and our first national press recognition on NBC’s The Today Show. And yet we celebrated these special achievements with heavy hearts as news reached…
How I Went From the Arab Spring to the Spring Collection
By David Dietz
Two years ago I was in the midst of my first revolution. A colleague from the English language school where I was teaching had just been shot in the ass. Tear gas filled the sky, protests raged in the street and I was forced to abandon my apartment…
Egypt Presidential Election Results: Muslim Brotherhood Win Shows Egyptians Are Fed Up With the Army
By David Dietz
Egypt, America, supporters of democracy everywhere, we've been played.  For more than a year, we believed that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) would turn over at least an appropriate amount of power to civilian authority when the…
Egypt Presidential Election Results: How the U.S. Should Respond to the Muslim Brotherhood Victory
By David Dietz
We may not like Mohammed Morsi's views. We may find the Muslim Brotherhood's agenda to be extremist, even abhorrent. But if we truly believe in democracy, we should give Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood an honest chance to rule Egypt and serve the…
Egypt Presidential Election Results: Military Power Grab Threatens Democracy
By David Dietz
Egyptians participated in a watershed moment last weekend going to the polls for the first time in the country's modern history to elect their next president in what is hoped to be a free and fair election. The question is, will any of their votes…
Dick Lugar Defeat in Indiana Shows the Dangers of the Tea Party
By David Dietz
Shame on you Tea Party. By driving the defeat of 36-year Senate veteran and elder statesman Dick Lugar, you proved what many of us already knew: that Tea Partiers are as a whole are a radical wing of the Republican party hell bent on rigidly…
Egyptian Army Has the Final Say Ahead of Presidential Elections
By David Dietz
There was a reason that an air force general stood behind Omar Suleiman, in full view of the camera, as Suleiman announced on live television that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had been forced aside by the army. The Egyptian military…
April Fool's Day Fun: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Announces Immediate Resignation [Satire]
By David Dietz
Thirteen months after the Syrian uprising began, President Bashar al-Assad took to state TV early Sunday to make a surprise announcement that he is vacating the Syrian presidency effective immediately. In the shocking speech that resembled those of…
Western Companies Must Stop Doing Business in Syria
By David Dietz
As Barack Obama, David Cameron, and numerous other world leaders have stated, the question as to the fate of the Syrian regime is when it will fall, and not if. Having killed over 9,000 of its citizens and with much of the country a battlefield…
War With Iran a Mistake: America Must Not Buy Into Israel's Warmongering
By David Dietz
Iran will eventually get nuclear weapons. Just like they'll likely eventually get Barbies and urinals, as well. The natural progressions of modernity often make such sinister advances often inevitable, but that doesn't mean they will happen…
Why All Americans Are to Blame For High Gas Prices
By David Dietz
Don't blame Iran or Saudi Arabia or regulations or environmental activists. We all have only ourselves to blame for higher oil prices.  From Obama to the Republican presidential candidates to the large oil companies themselves, America has allowed…