Lertvit Pumipitak, Senior Executive Vice President - Property Management Department at Central Pattana plc, said: "We believe the real driver of the economy is communities, and everyone in a community needs to play a part in helping strengthen the local economy as part of the 'Community Owning the Economy' movement. Therefore, as part of the community, Central Pattana's shopping centers also need to take part in helping the local community grow in a sustainable manner and helping generate income and jobs for the community. As Central's shopping centers are seen as a 'Center of Life' for many communities, the company is committed to helping grow the local economy of the communities in which it operates using its expertise.
"In the past, organic products were popular mostly in the niche market and were mostly used by five-star hospitality businesses. As Central shopping centers are touch points for both Thai customers and foreign tourists, we believe that these high-quality organic products should be used by our customers so that Thailand's organic product market can grow. Central Pattana's partnership with Patom Organic Living has created a co-model that will benefit society in a sustainable manner, with all parties involved benefiting from this model while helping circulate income in local communities and among farmers' networks nationwide. The model also provides an opportunity for customers to try out the organic products and become more health-conscious. Central's adoption of organic products at its shopping centers also marks the first in the retail sector and the model can be upscaled at various branches nationwide. This can be considered a positive change for all, reflecting the brand purpose of Central Pattana, which is imagining better futures for all."
In the initial phase, 13 Central shopping centers will transition to using three organic products ?- sanitizing hand gel, hand wash and alcohol cleaning solvent. The 13 shopping centers are centralwOrld, Central Village, Central Ladprao, Central Westgate, Central Bangna, Central Chiang Mai, Central Chiangrai, Central Lampang, Central Khon Kaen, Central Phuket, Central Samui and the new Central Si Racha and Central Ayutthaya. In adopting this change, Central Pattana has considered three things beneficial to all three concerned parties, as follows:
- For customers' benefit: Switching to organic products will offer better safety for customers as the cleaning products are free of chemicals and made from ingredients that meet the organic agriculture standards of IFOAM, EU and CANADA.
- For communities' benefit: Helping to generate income for communities and farmers' networks nationwide and strengthening the local economies - with 3% of annual sales going toward the Sookjai Foundation to help drive the growth of organic society.
- For global and environmental benefit: Helping to protect the world and the environment with the organic agriculture movement, which comprises items good for the earth and air, and helping to reduce waste in the long term through the use of product refills.
Anak Navaraj, third-generation heir and director of Patom Organic Living, said: "Our partnership with Central Pattana will promote organic products and enable more customers to have access to our products. The partnership will also benefit the agricultural sector overall from upstream to downstream. Our products are made from organic ingredients like lime, which contains natural citric acid that can remove stains and dirt and essential oils that can help improve respiratory health, as well lemongrass, which is known to have skin-purifying properties and be gentle to all skin types. Moreover, lemongrass contains citral and limonene, which are anti-bacterial and anti-fungal components. In the future, we plan to build on this model together with Central Pattana to create sustainable communities."
"Thailand's organic product market is likely to continue to grow and has the potential to reach a value of 5.4 billion baht in 2021, driven by health-conscious trends among consumers. Young people now pay more attention to choosing products that are mindful of the community and environment. Organic products now play a bigger role in the lives of millennials and Gen Z as well as the aging society, who want a better quality of life for themselves and their families. This collaboration is also part of Central Pattana's efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) #11 (to Build Sustainable Cities & Communities), and #12 (to Ensure Responsible Consumption & Production)," added Khun Lertvit
As the economy and sustainability go hand in hand, we are very mindful of the choices we make so we can better care for our customers, our communities, Thai people, and the environment in order to create a business network that will support a sustainable society.
Source: Central Pattana
