Islamic wall art and greeting cards, with religious intonations in line with green values in Islam.
Sakina Design‘s logo is green not only because the company creates Islamic design and green is an important color for Islam. Their logo is green because they are an environmentally conscious business… for partially religious reasons. The husband and wife design company that produces contemporary Islamic wall art and greeting cards feels that “as Muslims, we understand that Allah has entrusted us with taking care of the earth, and this trust entails utilizing resources wisely and minimizing waste and pollution.”
Jontie and Pik, the brains behind Sakina Design, started their company with the goals of bringing a contemporary feeling to Islamic home decor and staying true to their values. Jontie, whose family is originally from Syria, said that “once the decision was made to start the business, we really felt the responsibility that came with it… We were forced to think about how our decisions affected our customers, the environment and [our] communities.”
And so they decided to make their products and shipping practices as sustainable as possible.
Their wall art frames (pictured at the very top and to the right) are made out of recycled wood, which Sakina Design claims is even stronger than virgin wood.
The company that actually produces the frames also uses an environmentally friendly manufacturing plant, which includes furnaces that burn the leftover sawdust. The heat from burning the sawdust is then used to produce energy for the manufacturing process.
Their greeting cards, one of which can be seen directly above, are printed with soy-based inks on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Their papers are not bleached, either.
As for their shipping practices, their boxes are made out of recycled cardboard. All local suppliers and producers are used as well, to minimize long distance import carbon emissions.
::elan
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
