Natural Essentials LLC

2016

Responsible SMEs In Asia

Natural Essentials LLC

Responsible SMEs In Asia

2016

Natural Essentials LLC

“The company is also a keen champion of female entrepreneurship for those women who have neither the opportunity nor the means to market their handmade products. It uses recycled paper gift baskets made by female entrepreneurs for the Lhamour organic product range.”

This two-year-old Mongolian company produces skincare and organic products that generates a sizeable amount of revenue to the tune of over 60,000 USD. What is also remarkable about this consumer-goods powerhouse is their 100 percent commitment to a no-waste policy that is embedded in their production processes.
This is possible when every bit of raw material is utilised and used in the end product. This no-waste policy sets Natural Essential apart from other production facilities, where, for instance, in the food industry, potato or onion peel is thrown away during the peeling process. Natural Essentials also uses plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables as their raw materials for products, but even with a certain amount of unavoidable waste, the company has creatively and cleverly managed to create products out of this minimal amount of waste. For example, soap extras are used to make another batch of soap. When the company does cold-pressing of sea buckthorn, the by-product is repurposed as valuable cattle food. These are a few instances of how the company is able to successfully implement an actionable no-waste policy.

Another policy employed by Natural Essentials is the decision to use as little plastic as possible and to consciously use recycled paper only. Their commitment extends to their public messages to consumers to adopt the regular use of recycled paper. This was challenging to take on as the perception in Mongolia, as the company reveals, is that recycled paper is unattractive to consumers. The company was determined to change that perception and through creative design, employed recycled paper in their packaging and was subsequently rewarded with an award in 2015 for the best packaged and designed brand, by the Foreign Ministry.
The company also consciously extends its green commitment by not giving out plastic bags and not printing brochures. Communication is either done at the flagship store or through their website and social media.

While green policies are commendable, so too are Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. Natural Essentials begins their social responsibility action by allocating 20 cents from the sale of each product to charity and other CSR activities. In the first year of operations, the company collaborated with a dental NGO to provide free consultations and check-ups for young children from a suburban elementary school. While the company purchased all the necessary equipment for the check-ups, the kids were given lessons on how to maintain proper dental hygiene. Thanks to the popularity of the pilot project, the second year of the project has been widened in scope to reach even more beneficiaries (thanks to the allocation of funds having swelled from increased sales) and more Natural Essentials employees will be involved in the second round.
The company is also a keen champion of female entrepreneurship for those women who have neither the opportunity nor the means to market their handmade products. For example, the company uses recycled paper gift baskets made by female entrepreneurs which are used for the Lhamour organic product range. The women who make these baskets typically sell one or two on their own but through Natural Essentials, they are able to earn more as the company promotes its Lhamour gift baskets, which, as sales increase, results in more gift baskets being made, and thus, more earnings for these small-scale women entrepreneurs.

Empowerment, education, zero-waste and recycling: Natural Essentials is proof that beauty is more than skin-deep.

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