IVOR XIAN Z
“THE LACK OF AWARENESS AND CONCERNS OF CUSTOMERS IN MALAYSIA AS MOST OF
THE TIME THEY LOOK AT THE PRICE RATHER THAN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF EACH PRODUCT
”
Can you tell us a li le bit about HYGR and what motivated you to sta it?
HYGR (H-Y-G-R), a local personal skincare brand that focuses on natural-derived ingredients, cruelty-free & eco-friendly products that aim to bring a positive impact to the environment with minimal packaging. We have a variety of products ranging from natural deodorant, lip balms̶which are both handmade by us, and other zero waste related products. My partner, Hoi Meng and I started HYGR during the Movement Control Order (MCO) back in 2020 with the initial goal of coming up with products that can solve other people’s problems like body odor and cracked lips. We tested on ourselves and it worked wonders which we then decided to sell on shopee and our website.
What was the trigger for you to change your lifestyle towards a sustainable and zero waste one?
The pain of having to throw away my used plastic skincare bottles, especially the travel size bottles that served a purpose for only a few days. Although we have a recycle system in Malaysia, we don’t know how much enforcement has been carried out in segregating them apart from the trash and whether or not the plastic items are properly disposed of. The best way is to reduce the usage of plastics or better yet, use other alternatives̶paper! Our lip balms and deodorants are in solid balm form and the best part is that it’s biodegradable! All the consumers have to do is soak it in water, bury it into the soil and watch them disappear over time.
As a conscious lifestyle advocate, what are the most pressing sustainability challenges in the industry today, and how could they be addressed?
Firstly, The lack of awareness and concerns of customers in Malaysia as most of the time they look at the price rather than the environmental consequences of each product. Secondly it’s the high cost of having eco friendly packaging that’s twice the price of basic plastics.
Now that people are more aware of the environmental issues and want to reduce their influence on the environment. What advice can you give them? Where should they sta ?
Every small step counts. Imagine one person using one lip balm paper tube, that would be one less plastic lip balm tube used. It would definitely make a difference if 7.7 billion people in the world decided to make a change.