Saving the world by starting small, starting now
LEADING health, beauty and wellness retailer Watsons Philippines has been one with the world in making the Filipino consumer’s way of life more sustainable, more environmentally sound and more socially aware.
In recent years, Watsons has mounted various initiatives, designed to influence the mindset and habits of its consumers toward more conscious and sustainable practices.
Watsons introduced the Sustainable Choices section in its offline and online stores nationwide. By carving out these spaces, there was increased visibility and emphasis on products and brands that were considered to be under the clean beauty category, that were made with better ingredients and better packaging, and that were utilizing product refill packs. The goal was to encourage customers to choose these sustainable options to help lessen plastic consumption and reduce environmental impact.
Through this program and education efforts to customers online and offline, shoppers were now made more aware of sustainable concepts and ideas such as FSC-certified packaging and ethically-sourced ingredients. Call outs such as this would soon no longer be a foreign concept.
“There is now more openness [to] and acceptance [of] sustainable products. We even notice that Gen Z customers demand it,” said Sharon Decapia, the assistant vice president for Marketing, PR and Sustainability of Watsons Philippines.
“I also noticed that more and more people are bringing their own reusable bags to put their purchases in. Some are no longer asking for paper bags from our cashiers because that’s how they’ve been doing their part to help save the environment,” added Decapia.
When the matter was about saving Mother Earth, no effort was ever too small.
Jared de Guzman, customer director of Watsons Philippines, put it best when he said, “Even small efforts [such as] buying sustainable products can already make a huge difference. It’s just a matter of changing our habits, mindset and giving brands [such as] Naturals by Watsons from our Sustainable Choices category a try,” said de Guzman.
Watsons has also effectively put in place practical ways to allow its consumers to further support Watsons corporate social responsibility initiatives such as the Give A Smile program with Operation Smile Philippines. Through donations made in-store via the coin cans found near cashier areas, consumers were able to help fund the surgeries of children born with cleft or lip palate conditions from underserved communities. Since the program started 10 years ago, over 2,300 smiles had been transformed. By 2023, the goal was to sponsor 3,300 surgeries.
Filipino consumers had a long way to go when it came to sustainability education, but Watsons was optimistic that they would get there sooner than later.
“We all want to live in a cleaner, more sustainable, kinder [and] more empathetic world. That’s why we at Watsons will just keep doing what we’ve been doing the past years. Expect more programs soon,” said Danilo Chiong, managing director at Watsons Philippines.
If consumers wished to learn more about Watsons’ latest sustainability offerings, causes and upcoming events in which to participate, they should visit the nearest Watsons store or check out the Watsons App, which was available for download through the Apple App Store for iPhone users or Google Play for Android users.