The country's creative economy industry is booming again after being sluggish due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the total spending on domestic products which currently reaches IDR 214 trillion, 53.86 percent of creative industry players are women. Not only running mainstream creative industries, some of them are now innovating by developing sustainable businesses, for example in the fields of fashion, crafts, design, and many more.
What is meant by a sustainable creative business?
Referring to Harvard Business School, sustainable business can be defined as business activities that are designed not to cause negative effects on the environment, community and society as a whole. Creative business people maintain current operational activities, so that they do not become something detrimental in the future.
In Indonesia, there are many examples of sustainable creative business actors. They have developed several environmentally friendly brands that were initiated by women and are now becoming widely known to the public. Anything? Here we summarize
BLP Beauty
By Lizzie Parra (BLP) Beauty, is a local beauty brand which was initiated by former make-up artist, Elizabeth Christina Parameswari, or who is familiarly called Icil, in 2016. BLP Beauty launched its first product, namely lip coat (liquid lipstick) with eight colors that represent a woman's personality when wearing lipstick.
Since its appearance, BLP Beauty has succeeded in attracting the interest of many consumers with its beautiful formulations and various product color variants. That's why, two years since launching, BLP Beauty has managed to get a turnover of hundreds of millions of rupiah per day.
Apart from being profit-oriented, Icil tries to eliminate the use of single-use plastic in all its outlets. BLP Beauty also collaborates with Waste4Change to organize the 'There's A Box for That' program which allows consumers to return product packaging after they have been used. From this packaging, consumers get points that can be exchanged for prizes. Through this campaign, in 2020, BLP Beauty managed to collect up to 900 kilograms of used packaging for later recycling.
Kana Goods
Kana Goods is a local, environmentally friendly fashion brand that carries the concept of combining traditional and modern elements. Founded in 2013 by a UGM Agricultural Sciences graduate, Sancaya Rini, Kana Goods presents various clothing models in the typical indigo or dark blue color, ranging from blouses, outerwear, dresses, and many more.
Rini's environmentally friendly concept stems from her concern about batik dye waste which could pollute ground water. From this experience, Rini started producing clothes using natural materials. For example, for fabric, he uses materials from cotton, linen, to hemp. Meanwhile, in terms of coloring, Rini uses rambutan leaves and skin, mango leaves, mahogany wood, and so on.
Indeed, the process of using natural materials will take longer than synthetic materials. Even in terms of price, it will be higher. Even so, for Rini this is a noble way to protect nature through preserving traditions. From her efforts, Rini received the nickname as a pioneer in reusing natural dyes.
Cottonink
Cottonink is an original Indonesian fashion brand that was launched by a pair of friends, Carline Darjanto and Ria Sarwono, in 2008. Cottonink carries a simple, casual concept by targeting its market at young people.
In 2020, Cottonink first launched sustainable fashion called Pastel Whimsical , through collaboration with the natural fiber brand, TENCEL ™. The fibers used to make fabrics and threads are made from wood grains from industrial forests that are sustainably managed and certified. This natural fiber is proven to be environmentally friendly because it can decompose back into nature.
Sukkha Citta
SukkhaCitta emerged from Denica Riadini-Flesch's concern when she saw that the wages of craftsmen in villages were far from adequate. He then founded SukkhaCitta in 2016 by implementing #maderight standards , namely that it must be able to support its craftsmen, help protect the environment, and be a continuation of Indonesian culture.
Initially, SukkhaCitta focused on handicraft production. Gradually, they tried to produce various clothing models which turned out to be able to make SukkhaCitta's name bigger. The sustainability concept implemented by SukkhaCitta is by using natural materials, such as dyes from fruit and cotton that are grown independently.
Arta Noor
Arta Derau is a Bali-based ceramic studio and brand founded by artist, Sekar Puti Sidhiawati, in 2018. Arta Derau produces various types of handmade ceramics with natural motifs and traditional batik, such as mugs, plates, vases, trays and many more.
In several of his experiments, Arta Derau collected many types of clay or sand from various places for ceramic production. From the results of this experiment, Arta Derau products are now widely known.
Well, the presence of local brands that bring sustainable concepts brings awareness to the importance of preserving nature.
So, have you started to move towards using environmentally friendly products?