How The Gardens Mall Has Been Doing Sustainability Differently
These days, sustainability is everywhere. Printed on tote bags, written into ad campaigns, and used as shorthand for just about everything. We’re constantly encouraged to make “better choices,” but often it feels like we’re just going through the motions. A recycled cup here. A meatless Monday there. Enough to say we tried.
Since 2023, the mall has quietly been running a food waste composting programme. No flashy billboards. No headline-grabbing pledges. Just an ongoing effort with more than 21 of its restaurants and grocers to turn food waste into compost, over 386,000 kilograms of it so far. That compost is now used throughout the mall’s landscaping, feeding the greenery most shoppers pass without a second thought.
Green Moves at The Gardens Mall
This June, they’re pulling back the curtain on that work with Green Moves, an exhibition on the Ground Floor that runs until 4 July. Rather than talk about sustainability in abstract terms, it shows you how it can exist in the everyday. Not just in big ideas, but in small habits, repurposed materials, and quiet choices.
It begins with a question: What if waste wasn’t the end of the story?
What if those scraps, leftovers, and expired groceries could be transformed, not into guilt, but into growth? Through Green Moves, you’ll see how sustainability can take root in the everyday. The exhibition reimagines familiar spaces. A mock café, a grocery setup and uses them to show how simple decisions, made consistently, can make a difference. But it’s not just about looking. It’s about doing.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPERIENCE
Weekend Workshops at 3PM
- Turn used coffee grounds into natural mosquito-repelling incense
- Make your own scented candles from leftover cooking oil
Complimentary Compost & Seeds
- Daily compost fertiliser giveaway, while stocks last
- Edible plant seeds giveaway on weekends at 1PM and 5PM
L’OCCITANE Redemption: A set of L’OCCITANE bath products in a cotton pouch when you spend:
- RM600 with a Maybank Credit Card or The Gardens Club Membership
- RM700 with other payment methods
*Valid at selected stores only; while stocks last. T&Cs apply.
#GreenMoves Social Giveaway
- Post a photo in an earthy-toned outfit at Green Moves
- Share your personal green tip
- Tag #GreenMoves and #thegardensmallmy for a chance to win vouchers from sustainable brands
Real Sustainability Isn’t Loud, It Lasts
The message behind Green Moves is simple, but important: sustainability doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be aesthetic. And it definitely doesn’t have to be perfect. Sometimes, it’s just about looking at the things we usually throw away and asking: what else could this become?
The Gardens Mall isn’t new to this conversation, they’ve been doing the work quietly for years. But this month, they’re letting you step into that journey and be part of it. Whether it’s joining a workshop, picking up a handful of compost, or simply walking through the space and seeing things a little differently, it all counts.
The best kind of sustainability doesn’t start with a campaign. It starts with intention, and small, thoughtful moves that build into something better.
Find out more about Green Moves at The Gardens Mall
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