live_tv
Livestream Starting Soon
00
Hours
:
00
Minutes
:
00
Seconds
Up next in 10
Can Sustainable Materials Really Shape the Future of Home Decor in Southeast Asia?
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/
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:01
[Music]
0:07
Hi, this is Anita, the global trade gal.
0:10
Today we're going to talk a little bit
0:11
about sustainability. You know,
0:13
sustainability seems to be buzzword
0:15
which is going on a lot. As people look
0:18
at things like climate change, resource
0:20
depletion,
0:22
they look think about ethical living,
0:24
sustainability becomes one of those
0:26
words that a lot of people think about
0:29
and wonder how can I have a more
0:31
sustainable life or buy more sustainable
0:33
products.
0:35
I want to first define what we consider
0:38
to be sustainability because for
0:40
sustainability we look at both the
0:42
science and craftsmanship. We focus on
0:46
materials that will renew quickly,
0:48
reduce waste, and enhance the natural
0:51
beauty of an interior space. So, here
0:54
are some of the materials that we like.
0:56
Here are seven sustainable materials
0:59
that we consider to be sustainable
1:01
materials for home decor.
1:03
The first one, of course, is bamboo.
1:06
Bamboo is an amazing plant. In fact, it
1:10
is a plant that grows very fast and so
1:13
it's considered to be the fastest
1:15
growing plant on Earth with some species
1:17
growing up to meter per day. It
1:20
regenerates naturally without the need
1:23
of pesticides or heavy irrigation. We
1:26
love bamboo. We love bamboo for its
1:28
strength, for its lightness, its
1:31
flexibility, actually for its natural
1:33
look, too. We use bamboo in a lot of
1:36
different ways. There's things from
1:38
there's villages outside of Hanoi that
1:40
do spun bamboo, which basically they
1:41
they put the bamboo into strips and then
1:43
they sort of spin it around. They make
1:45
bowls and other types of objects out of
1:47
it. Uh we like bamboo for furniture
1:49
bases, for lighting, for lamps, for
1:52
mirrors. We sometimes take the bamboo
1:55
and we burn the bamboo, which means we
1:57
put sort of a color on the bamboo and it
1:59
kind of gives it a sort of this warm
2:01
type of hue. We love bamboo because
2:04
bamboo is just a great material. Of
2:07
course, it's limited because bamboo is
2:09
so strong and it's straight. It doesn't
2:12
bend, so it needs to be cut and joined
2:14
together. But bamboo or it can be, you
2:17
know, made into strips where it can be
2:18
woven into baskets and other things. But
2:21
we still consider bamboo to be a great
2:23
material and a great sustainable
2:24
material.
2:27
Another material that we love is
2:28
recycled wood. We do things out of
2:30
recycled pine. We love recycled wood.
2:33
Yes, recycled wood has its problems.
2:36
It's been used, so there could be nail
2:37
holes in it and other things, but we
2:39
really feel like recycled wood is a
2:41
great look. It's an innovative,
2:43
sustainable way to reduce waste and and
2:46
not just using like just timber and
2:47
cutting down trees. It's about using
2:50
things that reclaimed from buildings,
2:52
from boats, from industrial structures,
2:54
and it gives new life to this material.
2:56
Not everyone's able to work in recycled
3:00
wood because it can be kind of messy to
3:02
work in. It has to be a factory that's
3:04
willing to put the wood together to be
3:06
able to take out the nails and the other
3:09
type of structures, maybe fill some
3:10
holes and other things. But one of the
3:13
beauties of recycled wood or using
3:15
recycled timber is that each piece of
3:18
furniture, each piece that is being used
3:20
has its own unique sort of look to it.
3:23
Because no two pieces would be the same.
3:26
Exactly. the same because they would all
3:28
have different woods that have been used
3:30
and aged at different times. Water
3:32
hyestin is another great plant that can
3:35
be used for furniture, lamps, mirrors,
3:37
and other types of accessories. It was
3:40
once considered to be a very invasive
3:42
plant. This is an example of a plant
3:45
that for many many years nobody liked
3:48
it. It would choke the rivers and lakes
3:50
along Southeast Asia. However, you know,
3:54
they began to discover that when they
3:55
harvested it and it was, you know, dried
3:58
correctly, it became a strong, pliable
4:00
fiber that was perfect for weaving. You
4:03
know, water hyasin is something that can
4:05
actually be dyed. It could be painted.
4:07
It, you know, so it really has many
4:10
different types of colors and finishes
4:12
on it. It also gives the ability to
4:14
remove the invasive species in the
4:16
waterways. It doesn't choke up the
4:18
waterways anymore. It's sort of a
4:19
win-win for everybody with the water
4:21
hyasin. Water hyasin really is a great
4:24
natural look. Rattan is another material
4:28
that's considered sustainable because of
4:30
the fact that it it grows so fast and it
4:33
grows in the rainforest again of
4:34
Southeast Asia. Unlike trees, it you
4:36
know regenerates quickly and it doesn't
4:39
require you know cutting down the whole
4:40
plant to harvest. So this really makes
4:43
it a a very sustainable type of
4:46
material. Its strength uh flexibility is
4:49
ideal for furniture and decorative
4:51
accessories. You can use it in chairs.
4:53
You can use it in light fixtures and you
4:56
can use it in all different types of you
4:58
know natural finishes and and other
5:00
things. Retan really is another great
5:02
type of material to use. Wood that has
5:05
FSC certified wood, you know, that's
5:08
wood that verifies sustainability. FSC
5:12
certified usually the more expensive
5:13
type of wood because they have to go
5:15
through the verification process. But
5:17
that of course also shows that the wood
5:20
has been cut down in a sustainable way
5:22
and that you are then protecting the
5:24
environment. Recyclable metals is
5:26
another one. You know like aluminum.
5:29
You've seen some aluminum, iron, brass
5:31
that's been recycled and been reused
5:33
again. And this is a great way to be
5:35
able to use those metals. It can be used
5:36
in things from lighting. It can be used
5:38
for mirrors. It can be used for
5:40
decorative hardware. That again is a
5:43
great way to be able to use these
5:45
materials. There's some really good fast
5:47
growing woods that can have a bit of
5:50
sustainability to them. You know, woods
5:52
like rubber wood, mango wood are often
5:56
byproducts of other industries. So, you
5:58
know, use them can add some value. In
6:00
fact, rubber wood for many years was
6:02
just just burnt because they didn't know
6:04
how to use the wood, how to take the
6:06
rubber extract out of it. And this is an
6:08
example now of a wood that's considered
6:10
a very good wood and it's considered
6:12
sustainable because before it was just
6:14
it was just wood that just went to waste
6:16
as is you know mango wood too. You know
6:19
at Muro we really try to be as
6:22
sustainable as we can be and we really
6:24
believe in sustainability.
6:27
You know our approach is to do you know
6:28
to have an ethical sourcing is to be
6:30
across Southeast Asia to look at look at
6:32
ways we can be have ethical sourcing in
6:34
all that we do. We look at waste
6:36
reduction in our practices because waste
6:38
is one of the ways that that you can
6:40
actually be able to ensure to, you know,
6:43
add more sustainability to make sure you
6:45
limit your waste. We use non-toxic
6:47
finishes and adhesives and we use, you
6:50
know, ongoing research to look at ways
6:52
for sustainability. If you're
6:54
interested, be able to discover and
6:55
learn more in this, we've written a blog
6:57
post on this. What are the best
6:58
sustainable materials for home decor?
7:00
And in there, we show some of the home
7:02
decor products that we actually do, too.
7:04
We we actually show you know some of
7:06
these products and how these products
7:07
are used. You know sustainability is
7:10
really you know a great thing. You might
7:13
ask well what makes a material
7:14
sustainable? You know materials
7:16
considered sustainable if it's renewable
7:18
has a low environmental impact and is
7:21
harvested or produced ethically. That
7:24
really is the definition of
7:26
sustainability. So that's why in this
7:28
list we include things such as bamboo uh
7:32
rattan
7:33
water hyasin
7:35
because they all fit that description.
7:37
They have a the renewable like for
7:40
example bamboo will quickly regrow
7:42
itself. It has a low environmental
7:45
impact
7:47
and is harvest or produced ethically.
7:51
You know that's why bamboo is considered
7:53
to be eco-friendly.
7:55
You know, bamboo too. It uses little
7:57
water and can be harvested without
7:59
killing the plant.
8:01
And you might ask, well, what is FSC
8:03
certified wood? This is a certification
8:06
that ensures the wood products come from
8:09
far forests that are managed to meet
8:11
strict environmental, social, and
8:13
economic standards. That is what it
8:16
means if you ask for FSC certified wood.
8:19
So, we hope that you'll read our blog
8:21
post on this that you will want to be
8:23
able to learn more about sustainability.
8:25
Sustainability seems to be sort of like
8:27
the key word now for the future, a key
8:30
word going on now where a lot of people
8:32
are talking about how can we be more
8:34
sustainable or live a more sustainable
8:36
life.
8:38
This is Anita from Global Trade Gal.
8:40
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.
8:51
[Music]
#Home & Interior Decor
#Home Furnishings