Happy New Year and welcome to 2010! As each day, week, month and year pass since we started this little journey of putting a little more eco friendly style into peoples lives, the "Green" movement continues to grow.
Of course this is not only great for people that have always taken an eco friendly approach in their lives but it is even better for Mother Earth! Yet as "Green Living and Lifestyles" grow so does "Green Washing" and we all need to be even more vigilant on assuring the products we use in our lives are truly making a difference on this planet.
Daily we are bombarded with terms and catch phrases like - Eco Friendly, Green, Sustainable, Organic, Okeotex approved, Fair Trade, Reduce - ReUse - Recycle, etc etc etc. The cool thing is that there are so many stories beyond the "Green" stories and even when a product is not "100% Green" it still can make a difference.
Products that give back to the community in which they were produced. Building Schools, supporting the people that build their products, water conservation, sustainable farming, community planning, etc are all things that we feel are just as important as being an "Earth Friendly" product.
At Maku Furniture you probably know we work with 1% For the Planet. We donate 1% of our total sales from both Maku Furniture and Make EcoShop to The Surfrider Foundation and the East Bali Poverty Project.
But beyond this we continue to help educate the communities in and around our Javanese manufacturing facility. For example, taking the sawdust and reclaimed scrap wood leftover from manufacturing and selling at the local markets for livestock bedding etc. With the proceeds used to buy school books and supplies or take the manufacturing staff on eco trips to the Rainforest, Jungles, and Beaches of Java. Most of which have never left the 10 or 15 km radius of their local village but now have a more broad understanding of how their lives in the village may affect the beaches and ocean thru inland stream runoff or burning of toxic materials affecting the canopies of the rainforest.
With this philosophy in mind, you'll be seeing some cool products coming up on the Maku EcoShop that we feel make a community difference in the manufacturing process and of course have a sustainable and eco-friendly vibe.
Don't forget a difference starts with One person and when we each do a little bit BIG things happen! So take those Eco Resolutions, make them realistic and set a base to build from for many years to come.
From the crew here at Maku Furniture we wish you a Great and Green 2010.
