“From the beginning, we were committed to hiring the working poor,” said Anna Meloto-Wilk. That was in 2007, when she and her sister, Camille Meloto, founded Human Nature, a unique social enterprise that produces health and beauty products.
The sisters were certain that they would employ the poor and would give them significantly higher incomes than they could earn elsewhere. “But we don’t see our responsibility ending at just giving them jobs, we want to help them escape poverty,” said Meloto-Wilk.
Human Nature started by giving workers almost double the minimum wage, opening new possibilities for them—the ability to send their children to school, for example.
The company also fosters a healthier lifestyle for employees, providing paid vacation, health insurance and wedding assistance for those who have postponed marriage because of a lack of funds. This year, Human Nature plans to build a day-care centre and a school for employees’ children.
Human Nature’s ethos also includes using only locally sourced ingredients to produce its health and beauty products. Farming remains one of the country’s poorest sectors, and Meloto-Wilk and her team now partner directly with those communities, many of which have been able to build schools and day-care centres thanks to the company’s support. Human Nature also helps farmers to produce more and sell to other companies.
Human Nature now has almost 500 employees reporting to its Laguna and Quezon City offices, works with suppliers in 20 local communities, has 34 stores nationwide and exports to five countries. It has also earned numerous awards; in 2016, it became the first Asian brand to win the Sustainability Pioneer Award from Ecovia Intelligence, a global consulting firm for the natural and organic beauty industry.
Yet despite these achievements, Meloto-Wilk believes there is still much to be done, not only in creating safe and ground-breaking products but also in promoting women in business.
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Source: Egypt Independent, 8 March 2018