HARITH RIDZUAN
Founder of The Green Factory
Harith Ridzuan never aspired to run the family business. The eldest of 10 siblings, the 36-year-old Ampang native had always wanted to be a scientist but was groomed from a young age to take over One Tech, a furniture business founded by his parents in 1993. When Ridzuan formally took over the reins in 2012, he took it upon himself to review the company’s outdated business practices and revamp its furniture design.
As he was searching for a new direction, he wondered how much the furniture industry contributed to the country’s deforestation problem. “Malaysia has one of the largest wood industries globally; however, we are not known to be sustainable. I observed there is a lot of wastage in the industry,” explains Harith. “I saw there was an opportunity to shift the company’s direction to become more sustainable.”
Though he had had no insight into the green furniture industry, through his research, Harith grew increasingly passionate about sustainability, championing green manufacturing and sustainable woodworking.
His efforts started small: he noticed there was a lot of excess wood at his furniture factory, so he would later take them and create furniture, kitchenware and decorations. Harith would later set up The Green Factory, becoming Malaysia’s pioneering manufacturer of sustainable wood products. He says upcycled wood is unfairly portrayed as inferior to “new” wood but assures us that it remains solid and high quality. The only difference, he says, is that upcycled wood may have nail holes that may affect its appearance, but otherwise, it is as good as new.
Harith says The Green Factory counts hotels like the Mandarin Oriental, Alila and Ruma as clients, adding that the products are also popular in cafés around the Klang Valley.
He builds recycled wood products prototypes in his 1,117 sq ft workshop which also serves as a training centre. The company aims to increase the adoption of sustainable production of timber products in Malaysia; this includes sourcing eco-friendly materials, using green designs and waste management.
Though he spends most of his time these days managing the company, Harith occasionally drops by the workshop to experiment with new ways to repurpose discarded pieces of wood and turn them into beautiful products. Part of his passion and objective, moving forward, is to train the next generation of green carpenters. Harith believes it is never too early to start thinking about succession planning; he already has a 100-year succession plan to future-proof the business and, much like his father, talks to his young children about the business—though he does not want to force them to join the company if they do not want to.
“The bottom line is, if you want to see substantial socioeconomic impact, then it takes all parts of society to drive that level of change”
—NAJMIA ZULKARNAIN, UNPLUG AND REAL.M