Yikes, it’s been a while since I did a Green Motive post huh? I’m pleased to re-open the series with Huey and Wah of NottyPooch. Unwanted banners = creative, one-of-a-kind accessories. Such a great idea! Way to go guys!
Welcome. Tell us about yourself and your business
We are Huey and Wah, the two humans behind NottyPooch. We live in Penang, a small island in Malaysia with lots and lots of awesome food. We give new lives to used and unwanted banners by making them into eco-friendly, functional and eye-catching accessories. Occasionally we screenprint cool t-shirts of our own designs too!
What makes your business green?
Instead of letting those used/unwanted banners to go to the landfill, we collect them and give them new lives by making them into functional, one-of-a-kind accessories. When shipping our items, we always opt for Kraft or brown paper, and sew up the sides so we don’t have to use white glue. Once when we were at a local craft fair, we prepared a whole bunch of paper bags by cutting and sewing up old magazines!
Why is it important for you to offer products that are eco-friendly?
Re-using things has been part of our ‘family tradition’. We were taught to utilise what we have whenever possible. When we started this little business, we were very sure that we wanted to run it in a more responsible way – not only to customers, but to the environment too.
Have you found it easy to run an eco-friendly business? What difficulties (if any) have your encountered?
We wouldn’t consider ourselves a 100% eco-friendly business yet – though we’d love to think that we keep on trying. One major problem is that the local market isn’t really that sensitive to eco-friendly products yet. This has also made sourcing the right materials more difficult. The place we live in does not have a lot of eco-friendly materials to start with. Many times in between using an eco-friendly materials from overseas or to shop locally, we have to opt for shopping locally. An example would be how difficult it is to source organic cotton t-shirt locally and at a reasonable price. We’ve been keeping an eye on this for a while now, but haven’t got any luck yet – one of the reasons we are not ordering more t-shirts for printing, and intend to finish what we have now until we can comfortably get some organic ones. About 99% of the stationery available are is also not eco-friendly – that’s one of the reasons we minimize using white glue on packaging.
What plans do you have to further your green initiatives?
At the moment, we are just continuing to look for more eco-friendly materials to work with. If we cannot have the best solution, we can at least continue to minimize the not-so-eco-friendly part. In the near future, we are looking into donating part of our profit to a local animal shelter. In the far away future (well, hopefully not too far) when we are able to grow bigger, we would like to create a fair-trade working environment for underprivileged groups (eg: single mothers) in our community.
Lastly, anything else you would like to add?
Thank you Adele for this feature. I (Huey) have been enjoying reading your ‘This Self-Employed Life’ series because what you say is so true. I can’t wait to see your shop reopen with all fresh new items! :) - Thanks Huey, you are too kind.
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I am a freshly turned 40-year-old, who moonlights as a mom, wife, doggie owner and fitness nut. I am a self-taught fabric & surface designer, having segued over the past 10 years from other creative pursuits that involved building, painting and sewing (not all at once). I produce my own line of fabrics as well as offer custom surface design services to clients.
