Rattan, the Next Diamond of the Interior Industry?
It’s been more than a decade that many communities worldwide have been advocating for a change of behavior and policies to save our planet earth. As the earth is warming rapidly, all communities that are capable of making a change should make a change now. The furniture industry is no exception, as the industry itself contributes 30% of greenhouse emissions. Besides the shift in production systems and retail policies of this industry, professionals in the furniture industry have also continuously introduced and re-introduced more sustainable materials that have massive opportunities creatively and aesthetically, including AlvinT, and several other Indonesian designers that have been advocating rattan as one of the sustainable choices.
Historically, the usage of rattan in interior and household needs dates back to ancient Egypt, where ancient rattan weaving craft was found buried. But the rattan furniture and crafts we are seeing today across the globe are significantly spread due to colonialist history in Asia, including Indonesia. Indonesia itself is the biggest rattan exporter globally, where 70% of global rattan exports come from the archipelagic tropical country. This should’ve posed great opportunities for Indonesian creatives, both economically and creatively, especially in this time of need for sustainable change.
Yet, where great opportunities lie, there are also threats. Where there are strengths, there are weaknesses, or, simply put, there is a SWOT to this Indonesian rattan topic. We may have the strength of a rich rattan supply, which includes rattan from Sumbawa, Sulawesi, and the unique big-rattan core of Manau rattan from Kalimantan. On top of that, we have cultural and craft diversity due to our archipelago. Yet, we lack the investment of time, technology, capital, and will for collaborative efforts to make the rattan-based furniture and craft industry boom. We are more lured by the ease of exporting raw materials rather than taking more of the world’s demand into our own hands by producing well-designed, well-crafted, and well-branded products.
Design-wise, Indonesian rattan products can be considered highly generic. We can see the design of rattan baskets, chairs, and or toys from 50 years ago still dominating the local shop front. For the past decade, AlvinT has been championing its rattan-furniture design, and the lead designer, Alvin Tjitrowirjo, also advocates the material's versatility for creative works.
For him, alternating materials with rattan doesn’t mean compromising the quality or beauty of a furniture piece. On the contrary, with the rich tradition the rattan carries and the global awakening of eco-consciousness, the rattan can be the new definition of beauty and luxury that can be affordable as well. This, of course, requires the industry’s stakeholders' collaboration to invest, as we mentioned above. Then, how to kick-start it?
AlvinT Linger Bench made out of natural rattan
Based on our experience, research, and learning of other materials' journey from dirt to glitz— such as diamond— we’d need media efforts to improve appreciation and response towards rattan. The term media here includes marketing efforts from companies and governments, as well as critical views of fellow journalists to provide a check and balance of the industry itself. The market can learn to appreciate, love rattan, and seek after its products from media efforts. Hence, opening opportunities for economic improvement in the rattan context, from cradle to cradle.
As many have known, the beginning of diamond popularity was almost solely kick-started by DeBeers’ “Diamonds are Forever” advertising campaign in the early 1900s. For almost a decade, alongside a period of war and economic turmoil, the advertising agency, N.W. Ayers, hired by DeBeers, helped turn the economically worthless stone (diamonds are worth 50% less once it goes out of the store) into a psychological necessity.
N.W. Ayers conducted exhaustive marketing research about how diamonds are perceived in the American market and created elaborate strategies to change it. Diamond itself was perceived as a luxury item and only consumed by the higher end of the market, and N.W. Ayers marketed the stone to various economic levels to create bigger demand. If we apply this to the rattan case, it is highly possible to turn rattan from the perceived cheap and lowly class material compared to wood into a respected material.
On the other hand, there is a dire need for education intervention both on the grassroots and institutional levels, where knowledge, know-how, and entrepreneurship skills around rattan are disseminated. This will help the industry’s regeneration and sustainability.
In investing its effort in mining diamonds, DeBeers calculated that their market would be saturated soon enough if they didn’t try to balance the supply and demand. Although they did this in a more unhealthy way by monopolizing the mining industry, we can learn their intent to make a business happen that pushes themselves into doing something rather than waiting for other stakeholders to do the job.