Shop responsibly! - a message from YKRA's founder
We believe strongly in protecting our environment, and using our business to do good. This is why we are against Black Friday, and irresponsible overconsumption. Buying things just because they are cheap is crazy, and is leading to over production, and the unnecessary destruction of our environment in the name of short term profit.
Every day we hear the news about animals going extinct, forest burning uncontrollably, polluted rivers and smog filled cities. Yet we act as we had nothing to do with these issues.
This week, the EU parliament has declared a Climate Emergency. While we are happy that world leaders are finally accepting the facts, action can only come from the bottom up. As long as most people choose cheap prices over responsible consumption, nothing will change.
Just take a minute and think about the destruction that just one crazy day of discounted shopping is causing the Earth: From the open air mines where rare earths are extracted, leaving scars on the planet that will never heal, to the seafaring cargo ships burning bunker fuel to transport natural materials to the factories in China, where workers in poor conditions toil in smog filled cities over your plastic gadgets that will end up packaged in yet more plastic, to be shipped once again to a warehouse causing even more emissions. And you are still a long way from receiving that product! If you order it online, it will be packaged in yet more packaging, picked up by a diesel truck to be flown to your country, then back to another diesel truck to finally reach you. Did you order the wrong size? Need to replace a faulty item? Here we go again! And this was just one product.
Just in the US, 165 million people plan to shop for discounted products this weekend! Imagine all the destruction, that just one day of shopping is causing the Earth. And for what? Do you really need that shiny new product, or will it just end up in the landfill next year?
The fact is that we humans are destroying our planet, and unless we change the way we act personally, we are doomed. This is why YKRA is not offering Black Friday, and seasonal sale discounts: we want to be part of the solution and not the problem! Our products are not worth less, just because big companies are looking to make a profit by tricking you with discounts. We avoid having to get rid of unsold stock, by not producing excess stock in the first place. As we produce our products by hand, we will think twice about how much we really have to keep on stock, and our retailers have to pay upfront when they order, so they are also motivated to shop responsibly.
We believe in making easily repairable, well-againg products, so you will use them for longer. In general this is the best thing you can do to reduce stress on the environment: Buy great quality products, and use them for as long as possible. Repair what you can, recycle what you can’t!
Instead of plastics, we use natural materials that will completely break down one day. We don't want to create products that will still be floating around in our oceans in 500 years. We should leave this planet in a better shape then we found it. If you can, avoid plastic in your life, because it will outlive you by generations, making the problem even greater over time.
To minimize our carbon footprint, and to create jobs locally, we manufacture here in Eastern Europe. This is important because it means that we are greatly cutting down on the carbon cost of each product made. While we don’t need to ship the items from Asia, this also means that we have to pay fair European wages and our production is much more expensive than our competition. When you buy a cheap product at a discount someone else is paying the price.
I do not believe that profits are more important than our values, or the future of our planet. This is why we are committed to the cause of using our business to protect the environment. We should all be taking steps every day in the right direction, to make sure we can leave our children a better world than the one we live in today.
This weekend, instead of shopping, why not spend time with your loved ones outdoors in nature? This is what we are doing!
Thank you for being a responsible consumer!
Balázs Lakatos
YKRA Founder
