How do you design a plant hanger made from better cotton? When meeting with the female artisans that designed the plant pot hanger that’s part of our new BOTANISK collection, Maria O´Brian, Creative Leader at IKEA of Sweden, and her team were shown a macramé technique. The women usually use the technique when working with banana fibres – but it also works wonderfully with cotton.

Just like the colours, the materials in the BOTANISK collection have been picked to reflect the botanical theme of the collection. You will find products made in natural materials like jute, better cotton and banana fibre, and even clay.

At present, one of the partners, social enterprise Industree, creates jobs for around 1,050 co-workers, 950 being women basket weavers – and that number is growing. ”Ideally, I’d like to get to a position where I can employ a hundred people and help others get to where I am today,” says Kavitha Nagaraj, who less than a year ago had never worked outside her home. She started working as a weaver, and is now responsible for quality control at the Industree production hub in Madurai. Earning an income makes everyday life a little bit less stressful and gives her and her husband the chance to send their two sons to a good school. When creating beautiful products with a bigger purpose, the future does indeed look bright.