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EcoHOUZE on ethical, sustainable products for the home

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EcoHOUZE on ethical, sustainable products for the home

While most of us think of ethical and sustainable design in terms of environmentally-friendly materials, Brien Chua of HOUZE discusses how it’s also about the place and people.

by Melody Bay  /   December 20, 2021

It’s no secret that the rise of online shopping, especially in the last couple of years, has contributed to an enormous increase in the amount of waste we generate. The convenience has led to more impulse purchases, not to mention the staggering amount of packaging used for shipping.

It was this carbon footprint that inspired Brien Chua, founder of local home accessory brand HOUZE, to re-examine how they could reduce the carbon emission during the production and shipping process. This birthed ecoHOUZE, their new line of eco-friendly homeware that’s responsibly sourced.

https://www.homeanddecor.com.sg/gallery/ecohouze-on-ethical-sustainble-products-for-the-home/
EcoHOUZE on ethical, sustainable products for the home
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Can you tell us more about the ethical sourcing process, and where the materials come from?

We ensure that our products are ethical by being fully aware of where it comes from, how it’s made and most importantly, who it affects along the way.

For example, the ecoHOUZE Seagrass Collection is made in Vietnam. We ensure that the materials are sourced ethically from local farms mainly from the Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa provinces. The raw materials are then processed and transported to be individually handwoven by the skilled workers in Nam Dinh province. This provides them a source of income during the tough times of the pandemic. The sales from this collection also contribute to the local women’s union to support the creation of stable jobs for workers, especially for women in difficult circumstances and who are in the poorer rural areas.

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What are some of your personal favourites from the ecoHOUZE line?

Personally I love the Seagrass Tray, the Hyacinth Woven Basket With Handles and the Seagrass Laundry Basket With the Lid! The Seagrass Tray comes in 3 sizes which is perfect for organising your knick-knacks. I like to use them on an open shelf to keep my essentials organised and easily accessible.

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What do you think lies ahead for sustainable design as a whole?

With an increasing trend of consumers embracing the sustainable lifestyle, we foresee that there’ll be a need to educate consumers so that they understand and appreciate what sustainable products entail. The price of sustainable products and lack of knowledge may deter consumers from fully understanding and embracing the sustainable lifestyle.

For example, prices for sustainable items may be higher than mass-market items due to a longer production time and more effort required. For instance, our seagrass collection is harvested only biannually, and the other processes take time too, such as hand-drying the seagrass and hand-weaving it into the products. By comparison, mass-market items are often cheaper since they are produced at scale and require a much shorter period of time – even though they may not be the best for the environment. We hope that there’ll be increased appreciation for effort taken to make thoughtfully-made sustainable products.

While producing sustainable design is not an easy journey, we understand the impact it has on the environment, and we know small actions can have a big impact down the road.

For more information, visit www.houze.com.sg.

Read Next

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5 local stores that sell ethically sourced and sustainable wooden furniture

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MCI (P) 028/12/2022. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2023 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.