When we talk about sustainability and climate change, we immediately associate our thoughts with big, lofty ambitions and initiatives from government agencies and big organisations.

However, can we also talk about how smaller businesses can contribute to this bigger picture? As a business owner of two small product-based e-commerce brands, I am often thinking about how to be more sustainable in my business practices yet maintaining the cost-effectiveness of it all.

Let’s face it: being sustainable could be expensive and negatively affect our bottom lines. I may not have reached the level that I want my businesses to be at in terms of sustainability, but I am taking baby steps.

Through design and mindset change

When we talk about sustainability to a normal consumer, they will probably be most familiar with the 3Rs that have been inculcated in us since young. But how many of us really went out of our way to put all that into practice? The lowest-lying fruit would probably be household recycling, but even then, the domestic recycling rate in Singapore itself stood at only 12 per cent in 2022.

The products that are designed for my two brands, Playand and A Mighty Mum, are specifically designed to be multi-functional for these purposes — to prolong the usage and lifespan (reuse) and also to promote lesser purchase since one item can fulfill many uses (reduce).

These 2Rs are harder to achieve, but through the multifunctional nature of my product designs, I believe that changes in consumer behaviour can be invariably achieved when consumers buy the products and cut down on the purchases of other products habitually.

Packaging vs protection

Another all too common problem faced by smaller business owners is costs associated with being sustainable. Being sustainable comes at a cost, and with small business owners already struggling with so many aspects of running the businesses, sustainability could be the last thing on their minds.

Also Read: Rewiring our world: How neuroscience unlocks the secret to sustainable tech

As a product-based business owner, I believe that packaging is an integral and essential part of my business. They matter a lot because not only do they protect the contents during transportation, they carry the brand name on them.

For A Mighty Mum, which is a clothing line, we have already taken steps to minimise our environmental footprint by ensuring that every piece of our clothing does not come tagged with a plastic/paper tag. We have considered switching to biodegradable or paper packaging to house each individual piece of clothing, but the risks associated with water damage during transportation would create an even higher wastage since these clothes cannot be sold and need to be discarded if soiled or damaged.

For Playand, we have cut out the use of printing explainer postcards in each package by printing them directly on the boxes itself. We are also in the midst of cutting out printed branded tapes since these have no additional direct benefit in making the brand stand out more.

A Mighty Haven social initiative

Lastly, we have also recently launched a social initiative — A Mighty Haven, where we collect preloved maternity, breastfeeding-friendly, work-appropriate clothing, baby clothing, and toys to redistribute to other mummies and children who are in need. The redistribution of clothings and toys will be done in a comfortable and inviting retail space, where these mummies in need can shop for three to five pieces of items for free.

In this way, we are saving these items from landfills and also giving the mummies in need a chance to shop joyfully without any financial guilt while preparing for pregnancy, breastfeeding, motherhood, or the workforce in general. If you reside in Singapore and would like to find out more about contributing to this initiative, visit this link.

Also Read: Building future sustainable business: The role of rural commerce platforms

As a mother of two young kids, I realised the costs of buying all these maternity, baby, and children’s clothes could be an astronomical sum to mummies who are struggling to make ends meet. I have come to realise that beyond my products and what I do within my business to be sustainable, I can also lobby the community of mummies and customers who are in my network to contribute to this social cause while promoting reuse and expanding the lifespans of these clothing and toys.

Why is there a specific focus on clothing items? Because textiles are one of the hardest to recycle among all waste, they often involve labour-intensive processes and consume a lot of energy and resources.

Starting small goes a long way

Being sustainable is a sustainable (pun intended) game. If we keep chipping at it in small incremental ways, it will one day amount to much. Collectively, if all small businesses can tweak or even pick one thing to change while keeping costs low in a sustainable way, the impact of the efforts adds up.

We may not have fanciful metrics to showcase or lofty ambitions to change the world, but we are doing what we can within our own spheres of influence and control, one baby step at a time.

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