Elevating the eco lifestyle
Since sustainability and clean living are clearly the ways of the future, Rustan’s Home Division recently held an “Eco Living Elevated” event on the fifth floor Rustan’s Makati, where dozens of sustainable brands of fashion, home, beauty, kitchen and food were presented. Customers were able to sample some of the products and get major inspo on how to make their lifestyles and homes cleaner and greener.
“Sustainability is a big thing around the world right now, so we’re trying to push the awareness of people on using sustainable materials and being environmentally friendly,” says Michael Huang, vice president for Store Development and Expansion of Rustan Commercial Corporation. “I know it's been around for a while, but we also want to do our part in promoting products, companies and suppliers that use sustainable materials, make the products using sustainable methods, and trying to help promote clean living. There is really a call and a market for it, especially from the younger generation.”
Rustan’s sustainable fashion brands include John Hardy, Mikimoto, KARDO, Faherty, Sorbet Island, Longchamp, Freedom Moses, and Babysoy, to name a few.
A premier, homegrown clean beauty brand is For Keeps, founded by Maria Pia Paz Sy and Ana Kamila Niguidula. Their hand and body soaps, washes and massage oils preserve the nutrients and beneficial properties of virgin coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil and pure essential oils like pili kernel oil, in variants like Arise, Cleanse and Unwind (the most popular).
For Keeps’ Protect hand sanitizer lists non-drying sugarcane alcohol, aloe vera, calamansi hydrosol and a blend of tea tree, peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils to protect and hydrate.
For living and dining, brands such as Calfurn, Caljje, Ugu Bigyan, Vidrios Reciciados San Miguel, and Nature’s Legacy are some of the exceptional products inspired by nature.
Calfurn is a world-class furniture manufacturer from Angeles City, Pampanga that has been making export-quality pieces from indigenous and sustainable natural materials and fibers since 1976.
Caljje Arts and Crafts has been weaving high-quality abaca rugs and carpets since the ’70s, and is committed to preserving the environment.
Nature’s Legacy innovated Naturescast, a biodegradable and recyclable material made from rescued agro-forest debris held by a proprietary water-based binder that won the Gold Invention Award in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015, and is Cradle to Cradle Certified, achieving the highest Platinum rating for Material Health.
They also invented Nucast, a patented, re-engineered, recycled paper composite that can be used for construction and big to small home décor and accessories. It’s a practical alternative to traditional finite materials like stone and metal.
For the bedroom, bed linens from Malouf and Linen & Home are worth mentioning, together with mood candles from Aromabotanicals and bath products from L’Occitane and L:a Bruket, which awaken the senses.
For the kitchen, items from Kitchen Craft, Lacor, Jean Dubost, Charles Viancin, Stasher, Pebbly, Bambu, and My Drap took center stage, along with kitchen appliances that boast sustainability and elegance, such as Nespresso, SMEG, Delonghi and Dyson. Breville had a nifty toaster oven that could cook pizza, as well as an espresso machine conducive to making latte art.
Rustan’s customers also partook of single-origin Philippine coffees from Gourmet Farms.
“At our estate in Silang, Cavite, we have a restaurant and Country Store where we sell all our products,” says Judd Reyes, deputy managing director of Gourmet Farms. “What people don't know is that behind our restaurant, we have 11 hectares of farm practicing sustainable farming where we grow lettuce, culinary herbs, and we’ve also started edible flowers that you can mix in salads. That's why we're very supportive of Rustan’s sustainability event.”
Reyes says they do very low-carbon farming. “We use minimal machinery, and we still use carabaos to plow the fields. We have our vermicomposting area where we use worms to produce fertilizer for our nursery, so it's organically grown produce. Sustainability has always been in our DNA.”
For their part, Huang says that Rustan’s is eager to work with such eco-conscious partners and suppliers. “It's a win-win for all of us, right, so we help promote, we help push each other,” he says. “We'd like to invest in it, moving forward, to the extent that a fair share of our products will be sustainable.”
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“Eco-Living Elevated” will be on the fifth floor of Rustan’s Makati until the end of July. Be the first to know about the latest updates and offers on your favorite brands by joining Rustan’s Live Viber Community: http://rstns.shop/RustansViber. Follow RustansPH on Instagram and Facebook, and visit their website www.Rustans.com.
