My sisters have been testing products like crazy, and have instant access to health stores where they can purchase organic goods and eco-friendly beauty products and household cleaning supplies. They’ve successfully made the switch to eco-friendly products, and me? Pfft. I know I’m not alone in wanting to see more green and organic products here, but unfortunately, not a lot of entrepreneurs have pointed their business plans in that direction. There are some health stores here that do carry green brands from abroad, but, predictably, those are extremely expensive. Paying 500 pesos for a toothpaste doesn’t seem worth it when regular toothpaste normally costs 80 pesos here.
So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled on a beauty brand that is not just eco-friendly, but locally made and affordable too: Human Nature.
Human Nature is the brainchild of Anna Meloto-Wilk, her husband Dylan, and her sister Camille. It first broke out in the market in November 2008, but Anna and her family are no strangers to doing good for the world. Her father Tony Meloto was behind Gawad Kalinga, a program responsible for helping reduce poverty and providing livelihood and housing for more Filipinos, and Anna and her family were able to develop a stronger awareness of issues and the living condition of so many people.But even before Gawad Kalinga and Human Nature, Anna has already had a strong appreciation of nature, thanks to her passion for hiking and trekking in the great outdoors. It was due to her husband Dylan that Anna began to think even more seriously about the way she lives, the products she buys, and what her activities and purchases leave behind for the planet. Living in California has helped Anna learn more about living an eco-friendlier life, making greener choices for her home and especially her children. A brave new step she took was saying yes to disposable nappies, a challenge for practically anyone; Anna remembers with a laugh how she used to cry while washing a soiled nappy during those first few weeks. She kept going anyway, and realized how much better it is to wash diapers rather than use hundreds of diapers throughout all of her children’s diapering years.
Things changed when she and her family went back to the Philippines, where it wasn’t so easy to find and buy eco-friendly products. Specialty stores do carry brands such as Tom’s of Maine and Desert Essence, but their prices make them impractical to buy. That was when the seeds for Human Nature were sown.
Part 2 tomorrow
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