who we are
Hi, Welcome to Olive & Iris!
Olive & Iris was started by two best friends who share a passion for home decoration and design. We believe that happiness can be created by small little things, simplicity is what makes life pleasant, and home is where the heart is. Thus, we work hard to source and create products that will bring joy to the homes and lives of our dear customers everyday.
Having grown up in a small town in a developing country in Southeast Asia, we are passionate about helping our locals and introducing our traditional products to the world. We dedicate our heart and soul to putting a modern twist to our local, oriental boho-style homeware and accessories. We want to make each piece easy to use and stylish, so that it blends in effortlessly with any home anywhere in the world.
Our mission
- We work to support our locals & bring our traditional products to the world
- We put sustainability at a core of our business. We use sustainable materials and production methods while incorporating best practices throughout our supply chain
- We aim to create positive changes through the production of beautiful and unique homeware & accessories
Sustainable Practices
Materials
We always try to source our materials locally and domestically. In doing so, we help and support the local community. Everything is bought at a fair price, which helps strengthen the local economy as well as empower small businesses. Furthermore, we are dedicated to using the most environmentally-friendly materials possible, including;
Rattan
Rattan is one of the most environmentally friendly materials. It is easily renewable, and the use of replacement for wood wicker helps preserve forests, preventing deforestation. In addition, rattan harvesting and sourcing helps provide jobs for local people, and therefore, helps maintain a sustainable economy.
Water hyacinth
Water hyacinth or Eichhornia crassipes is a free floating perennial herb of freshwater ecosystems. Water hyacinth is a major environmental concern in many countries as it is one of the most noxious weeds in tropical regions. Therefore, by using it as one of our materials, it will help to eliminate and control the growth and amount of the water hyacinth in our local area.
Bamboo
Bamboo is considered an eco-friendly material, because it requires less water and no pesticides for its growth and maturation and it is a very durable plant. It rarely needs replanting, and grows rapidly (harvested within 3-5 years). In addition, it produces 35% more oxygen that an equivalent stand of trees.
Rubber Wood
Use of certain types of wood can be damaging to the environment through logging and deforestation. Nevertheless, we choose to use rubber wood that is widely grown in our country for extracting their natural rubber. This choice of wood is safe and sustainable as they are old trees from the end of the rubber producing life.
We try to avoid materials such as stainless steel/steel, glass, plastic. As these materials are not derived from nature, the process of producing them are usually harmful to the environment. Their production processes have various environmental impacts, including air emissions (e.g. CO, SOx, NOx, PM2), wastewater contaminants, hazardous wastes, and solid wastes. Furthermore, these materials are not biodegradable, which means they can’t easily be decomposed.
Local Production
All of our products are handcrafted from local and natural materials. Each individual piece is sustainably and ethically made by highly skilled, dedicated artisans using techniques handed down through the generations. Traditional craftsmanship is infused into all our products, and each of our items reflects the passion, love and skill of the hands that made it.
Supplier & Partnership Standards
It is important that our suppliers & partners share the same values and meet our standards. We always screen for their social and environmental practices, and only choose to work with those using eco-friendly materials, green production processes as well as implementing fair labor standards.
Fair Wages for Artisans
Our local artisans is one of the reasons why we are doing what we are doing today. We aim to help them, to support them, and to grow with them. We ensure to give the best prices for their skills. Our long term goal is to help raising their earnings as we grow, as well as providing them essential knowledge and skills training.
Preserving the Tradition
As a region that is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, our tradition is dying out and really struggling to survive into future generations. We don't want that to happen. Our goal is to modernize our traditional products, make them cute and cool, and bring them to the world.