This year, the exhibitions, workshops, and activities in the Chiang Mai Design Week 2024 revolve around the central theme of “SCALING LOCAL: Creativity, Technology and Sustainability.” Going along the same line, POP Market, an event where creative entrepreneurs from all across the Northern region showcase their crafts and products, is also grounded on the notion of ‘sustainability.’

As POP Market takes place only once a year during the Chiang Mai Design Week, the important question is how to organize the event, despite its temporary nature, in a sustainable manner to align with the main theme. This includes not only the sustainability of the products, but also that of their packaging, as well as the materials used in setting up the booths, the level of energy efficiency, and waste management in the event. All these efforts are to ensure the key message of the event is successfully delivered to everyone coming to this year’s market.

For this purpose, Chiang Mai’s Creative Economy Agency (CEA), in conjunction with Somdul Chiang Mai Group, conducted a training program for POP Market’s vendors earlier this August. Some 120 creative entrepreneurs who have been selected to participate in this year’s market (bringing along such a wide variety of products ranging from lifestyle brands, home decorations, accessories, fashion items, to food and drinks) were invited to join in a workshop with Kamonnart Ongwandee, designer, speaker, and sustainable fashion consultant from CIRCO Circular Design Trainer, and Sittichat Sukpholtham, climate change researcher and consultant from CREAGY, to seek the way to drive POP Market towards sustainability.

         The program of the workshop was divided into two days, providing a profound understanding of circular economy. On this occasion, Kamonnart hosted a workshop on ‘the Importance of Sustainable Design in Creative Economy and How to Convey Sustainable Values to Consumers.’ The second workshop, ‘Carbon Accounting/Basic Carbon Footprint Calculation,’ was conducted by Sittichat to equip participants with fundamental knowledge about carbon accounting and offer them a chance to try calculating the carbon footprint of their own business.

         Kamonnart began by elaborating the importance of the operation of businesses driven by the notion of sustainability, claiming that it is not merely a fad that would fade away over time. In fact, it helps create a distinct and appealing brand image for small business owners, so that they can remain relevant in the fierce price competition against mass-produced Chinese products flooding into the Thai market in recent years.

         “Right now, it is very important to present the brand image through storytelling, as it can set a product apart in the market. This can be in terms of material sources, connections with the environment and local community, as well as the manufacturing processes, the usages of the product, and the management of the used product to minimize impacts on the environment. Not only will these contribute to the worth of the products, they will also create value added for the products as well,” said Kamonnart.

         Sittichat then mentioned the significance of calculating carbon footprint not only for large corporates, but for businesses on all levels, as the understanding on this topic can help small enterprises save manufacturing costs and enable them to realize their strengths and weaknesses in their business operations as a whole.

         “The point of calculating carbon footprint is to keep track of the amount of energy used in daily activities. Remember that energy is also a huge part in the cost of business operation, from transportation fuel, electricity, to cooking gas. If you know the extent to which you use the energy, then you can cut down the unnecessary costs. You don’t even have to replace every electrical appliance you have with energy-saving ones. Just inspect the parts with excessive usage and address them one at a time,” stated Sittchat.

         Kamonnart further added that in the future, the knowledge about carbon footprint will no longer be something far removed from small entrepreneurs, since such governmental mechanisms as carbon taxes or Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulations (ESPR) have already been implemented on large corporates – the move which will soon trickle down to medium and small businesses.

         “The world is now in need of raw materials, products, and services that align with the ideas of a circular and low-carbon economy, especially when it comes to the increasingly ‘green’ procurement policies among public sectors, which will raise the demand for sustainable products and services in general.”

         “So, it is better to adopt sustainable practices in business operations now, and when the time actually comes, you will be ready to embrace the change. You can also leverage the sustainable approach to set yourself apart from competitors, using it as the key concept in product advertisement. In addition, it will be easier for you to expand to the international market, as more and more emphasis has been put on the issue,” said Kamonnart.

         During the workshop, smaller sustainability-driven brands of products and services both from Thailand and abroad were introduced as some examples of enterprises which have successfully found a niche in today’s market. Kamonnart also brought up some interesting models of temporary flea markets organized on the basis of a green and circular economy.

         The first one is Bamboo Family Market (taking place around Louis Intersection, San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai, on Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 4 PM). The market organizers attempt to pass on the awareness on sustainability from sellers to buyers, mainly by promoting local products made with natural materials and by implementing an upstream waste management system, in which sellers are asked to provide reusable food containers, with washing sinks and clearly designated waste sorting stations ready for use.

Another interesting example is Green Market (which took place during the Cry Mate Festival at Museum Siam, Bangkok, between 18 and 19 May, 2024). The event offered a service called Ecocrew, in which visitors first paid a 20-baht deposit for a food container, and then bought the container for another 5 baht. When they brought the container to purchase food items at any stall in the market, they would get a 5-baht discount in return for the amount paid initially. After that, when the customers returned the container at the returning point, they would get the 20-baht deposit back. In this way, customers did not have to pay extra for the container cost, and the earth was not burdened with non-degradable waste that could have been generated from the market.

“I think Chiang Mai and many other cities in the Northern region do have decent foundations for a circular economy. There are a lot of handmade craftworks made with natural and circular materials. The region is the source of organic produce with leading quality, and local resources are looked after and promoted. All these can be an advantage in establishing the ground for sustainability-driven sales in the long run.

“Even though the examples of waste management in the two markets mentioned here seem to come with quite a hassle both for sellers and consumers, they did prove to be a great appeal for both markets, and managed to spread the message about natural resource conservation among consumers,” stated Kamonnart.

Sittichat also stressed the benefits business owners will get from setting the direction of their enterprises towards sustainability. He pointed out that when entrepreneurs become increasingly aware of the issues, the scope of players in business operations will expand from just ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’ to all stakeholders in the value chain. This will broaden the perspectives of business owners, enabling them to be more informed about their strengths and weaknesses, as well as about the data and variables which can be utilized in business development.

“Remember that small business owners and consumers contribute to the majority of the global economy. If sellers cannot convey sustainability values to buyers, there will be impacts on everyone’s behaviors and lifestyles. So, I believe individuals like every one of us are the actual driving force towards a better world,” Sittichat remarked towards the end of the workshop.

         These are bits and pieces of the vision of the two sustainability activists, some of which will be materialized during the POP Market event in this year’s Chiang Mai Design Week. Let’s meet at Chiang Mai Old Town neighborhood from 7 to 15 December, 2024, and make your contribution in spreading the ideas of conservation with your purchase of cool creative crafts available in the event. See you there!