Human Nature has become the first Asian brand to win in the prestigious Sustainable Beauty Awards.
Organized by Organic Monitor, a globally-recognized specialist research and consulting company for organic products and related industries, the Sustainable Beauty Awards attracts hundreds of entries yearly. Winners were unveiled during the European Edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Awards at the Paris Marriott Champs-Elysées in Paris, France on Oct. 24.
Sustainability Pioneer Award is given to a beauty industry operator who has blazed trails in manufacturing techniques and processes, use of novel materials, carbon management, energy management or has led in social aspects. Human Nature took home the Sustainability Pioneer Award for its social entrepreneurship work in Asia.
Launched in 2013, the Sustainable Beauty Awards echoes how green issues have gained prominence in the personal care and cosmetics industry. Other categories include Sustainability Leadership, Sustainable Ingredient, Green Formulations and Sustainable Packaging.
The eight-year-old Filipino brand bested industry leaders such as Éminence Organic Skin Care and Givaudan, a 250-year-old French company producing scents and flavors. Weleda, a German company that has been producing natural products since 1921, was a runner up for the category. Past recipients of the Sustainability Pioneer Summit included Cruelty Free International and L’Oreal USA – Garnier.
“We didn’t realize that our small company, which is just eight years old, would come this far. We just wanted to do something good, something right, and this award is an affirmation of what we are doing,” said Human Nature marketing head Wowie Meloto-Gonzalez during the awards reception.
Anna Meloto-Wilk, president and co-founder of Human Nature said that “today we can truly say that made in the Philippines is equal to; or maybe even better than made in Germany and made in France.”
In 2011, Human Nature became the first Filipino company to receive cruelty-free recognition from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The company was recognized by the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation as a Champion for Social Entrepreneurship in 2012.
Meloto-Wilk said the Sustainable Beauty Award is a “testament to the creativity, ingenuity and hard work of the Filipino people. Our little country in the Far East, despite the problems that we continue to grapple within our society today, is paving the way to the future for kinder, more sustainable businesses especially in our industry.”
The interests of the poor, from making safe and genuinely natural products more accessible to setting a more dignified standard for labor practices in the Philippines, is at the core of all everything Human Nature does.
The Philippines is one of Asia’s most populous markets. In the Philippines and in many other developing nations, genuinely natural and sustainably-made products are usually at a much higher price point than readily available synthetic counterparts.
Human Nature is the only Filipino personal care brand that is a member of the Natural Products Association of America, which holds its members to the strictest standards of naturalness anywhere in the world. In addition, 44 Human Nature products bear the Natural Products Association Natural Seal, giving it the distinction of having the most number of certified genuinely natural products in the world.
Human Nature believes that a significant difference in social impact and environmental sustainability is only possible when everyone can enjoy safe, high-quality natural products.
In reaching out to and partnering with both “traditional” businesses/retailers and social enterprises, Human Nature is working to scale sustainability by influencing systemic change in how they conduct business.
“The path we have carved has been fraught with difficulties like cutting through rock but just like the explorers who discovered the new world… but our sacrifices and contributions will ensure a more loving and caring society for our children,” said Meloto-Wilk.
