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Can Sustainable Materials Really Shape the Future of Home Decor in Southeast Asia?
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Jul 16, 2025
In a world where climate change, deforestation, and environmental degradation are daily headlines, design has a new mandate: it must be beautiful, functional, and sustainable. At Mondoro, we believe the future of home decor lies at the intersection of thoughtful design and ethical sourcing. For us, sustainability isn’t a buzzword—it’s a business model. 🎥 Discover how we work directly in Southeast Asia to source eco-friendly materials like bamboo, water hyacinth, and recycled metals that support both the planet and local communities. Read more about Sourcing Sustainable Materials in Southeast Asia for Home Decor 👉 https://mondoro.com/sourcing-sustainable-materials-in-southeast-asia-for-home-decor/ #MondoroCompanyLimited #SustainableDesign #EcoFriendlyLiving #HomeDecorIdeas #EthicalSourcing #InteriorStyle #GreenLiving #ConsciousDesign To find out more great content about creating, developing and manufacturing home decor and home furniture products in Asia, check out our website at https://mondoro.com/
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[Music]
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Hi, this is Anita, the global trade gal.
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Today we're going to talk a little bit
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about sustainability. You know,
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sustainability seems to be buzzword
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which is going on a lot. As people look
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at things like climate change, resource
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depletion,
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they look think about ethical living,
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sustainability becomes one of those
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words that a lot of people think about
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and wonder how can I have a more
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sustainable life or buy more sustainable
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products.
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I want to first define what we consider
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to be sustainability because for
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sustainability we look at both the
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science and craftsmanship. We focus on
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materials that will renew quickly,
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reduce waste, and enhance the natural
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beauty of an interior space. So, here
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are some of the materials that we like.
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Here are seven sustainable materials
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that we consider to be sustainable
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materials for home decor.
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The first one, of course, is bamboo.
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Bamboo is an amazing plant. In fact, it
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is a plant that grows very fast and so
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it's considered to be the fastest
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growing plant on Earth with some species
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growing up to meter per day. It
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regenerates naturally without the need
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of pesticides or heavy irrigation. We
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love bamboo. We love bamboo for its
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strength, for its lightness, its
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flexibility, actually for its natural
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look, too. We use bamboo in a lot of
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different ways. There's things from
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there's villages outside of Hanoi that
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do spun bamboo, which basically they
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they put the bamboo into strips and then
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they sort of spin it around. They make
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bowls and other types of objects out of
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it. Uh we like bamboo for furniture
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bases, for lighting, for lamps, for
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mirrors. We sometimes take the bamboo
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and we burn the bamboo, which means we
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put sort of a color on the bamboo and it
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kind of gives it a sort of this warm
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type of hue. We love bamboo because
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bamboo is just a great material. Of
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course, it's limited because bamboo is
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so strong and it's straight. It doesn't
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bend, so it needs to be cut and joined
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together. But bamboo or it can be, you
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know, made into strips where it can be
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woven into baskets and other things. But
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we still consider bamboo to be a great
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material and a great sustainable
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material.
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Another material that we love is
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recycled wood. We do things out of
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recycled pine. We love recycled wood.
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Yes, recycled wood has its problems.
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It's been used, so there could be nail
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holes in it and other things, but we
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really feel like recycled wood is a
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great look. It's an innovative,
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sustainable way to reduce waste and and
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not just using like just timber and
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cutting down trees. It's about using
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things that reclaimed from buildings,
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from boats, from industrial structures,
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and it gives new life to this material.
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Not everyone's able to work in recycled
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wood because it can be kind of messy to
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work in. It has to be a factory that's
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willing to put the wood together to be
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able to take out the nails and the other
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type of structures, maybe fill some
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holes and other things. But one of the
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beauties of recycled wood or using
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recycled timber is that each piece of
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furniture, each piece that is being used
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has its own unique sort of look to it.
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Because no two pieces would be the same.
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Exactly. the same because they would all
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have different woods that have been used
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and aged at different times. Water
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hyestin is another great plant that can
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be used for furniture, lamps, mirrors,
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and other types of accessories. It was
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once considered to be a very invasive
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plant. This is an example of a plant
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that for many many years nobody liked
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it. It would choke the rivers and lakes
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along Southeast Asia. However, you know,
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they began to discover that when they
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harvested it and it was, you know, dried
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correctly, it became a strong, pliable
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fiber that was perfect for weaving. You
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know, water hyasin is something that can
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actually be dyed. It could be painted.
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It, you know, so it really has many
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different types of colors and finishes
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on it. It also gives the ability to
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remove the invasive species in the
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waterways. It doesn't choke up the
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waterways anymore. It's sort of a
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win-win for everybody with the water
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hyasin. Water hyasin really is a great
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natural look. Rattan is another material
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that's considered sustainable because of
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the fact that it it grows so fast and it
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grows in the rainforest again of
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Southeast Asia. Unlike trees, it you
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know regenerates quickly and it doesn't
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require you know cutting down the whole
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plant to harvest. So this really makes
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it a a very sustainable type of
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material. Its strength uh flexibility is
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ideal for furniture and decorative
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accessories. You can use it in chairs.
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You can use it in light fixtures and you
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can use it in all different types of you
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know natural finishes and and other
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things. Retan really is another great
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type of material to use. Wood that has
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FSC certified wood, you know, that's
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wood that verifies sustainability. FSC
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certified usually the more expensive
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type of wood because they have to go
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through the verification process. But
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that of course also shows that the wood
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has been cut down in a sustainable way
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and that you are then protecting the
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environment. Recyclable metals is
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another one. You know like aluminum.
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You've seen some aluminum, iron, brass
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that's been recycled and been reused
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again. And this is a great way to be
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able to use those metals. It can be used
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in things from lighting. It can be used
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for mirrors. It can be used for
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decorative hardware. That again is a
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great way to be able to use these
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materials. There's some really good fast
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growing woods that can have a bit of
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sustainability to them. You know, woods
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like rubber wood, mango wood are often
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byproducts of other industries. So, you
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know, use them can add some value. In
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fact, rubber wood for many years was
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just just burnt because they didn't know
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how to use the wood, how to take the
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rubber extract out of it. And this is an
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example now of a wood that's considered
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a very good wood and it's considered
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sustainable because before it was just
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it was just wood that just went to waste
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as is you know mango wood too. You know
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at Muro we really try to be as
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sustainable as we can be and we really
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believe in sustainability.
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You know our approach is to do you know
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to have an ethical sourcing is to be
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across Southeast Asia to look at look at
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ways we can be have ethical sourcing in
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all that we do. We look at waste
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reduction in our practices because waste
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is one of the ways that that you can
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actually be able to ensure to, you know,
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add more sustainability to make sure you
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limit your waste. We use non-toxic
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finishes and adhesives and we use, you
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know, ongoing research to look at ways
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for sustainability. If you're
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interested, be able to discover and
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learn more in this, we've written a blog
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post on this. What are the best
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sustainable materials for home decor?
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And in there, we show some of the home
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decor products that we actually do, too.
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We we actually show you know some of
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these products and how these products
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are used. You know sustainability is
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really you know a great thing. You might
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ask well what makes a material
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sustainable? You know materials
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considered sustainable if it's renewable
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has a low environmental impact and is
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harvested or produced ethically. That
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really is the definition of
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sustainability. So that's why in this
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list we include things such as bamboo uh
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rattan
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water hyasin
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because they all fit that description.
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They have a the renewable like for
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example bamboo will quickly regrow
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itself. It has a low environmental
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impact
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and is harvest or produced ethically.
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You know that's why bamboo is considered
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to be eco-friendly.
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You know, bamboo too. It uses little
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water and can be harvested without
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killing the plant.
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And you might ask, well, what is FSC
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certified wood? This is a certification
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that ensures the wood products come from
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far forests that are managed to meet
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strict environmental, social, and
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economic standards. That is what it
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means if you ask for FSC certified wood.
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So, we hope that you'll read our blog
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post on this that you will want to be
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able to learn more about sustainability.
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Sustainability seems to be sort of like
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the key word now for the future, a key
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word going on now where a lot of people
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are talking about how can we be more
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sustainable or live a more sustainable
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life.
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This is Anita from Global Trade Gal.
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Thank you so much for being part of our
8:42
community. We hope that you will press
8:44
the subscribe button if you have not
8:46
already and that you will join with us.
8:49
Thank you so much.
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