DID WE CHANGE THE BUSINESS STYLE?This was asked by a customer, who saw more and more Eco related posts and texts on our Social Media pages. The answer is a bit complicated.................I would say "Yes, there is a change happening". On the other hand...."No, we have been concerned about environmental issues already and our personal and business philosophy was and is in line with the new Eco-wave". We already bought our products from suppliers with certain values, from suppliers who take care of people and the planet, from suppliers who want to be / make a difference in this world. Suppliers who are making their own products with love and care..............slow business. Besides all this..............we care about our oceans, beaches, animals, nature reserves! We already bought some Bio cosmetic products, we already bought some products made with natural pigments etc. But the actual change started last year when we did our daily walks with the 3 dogs on the beaches in Sitges and area. And we started picking up some big plastic trash items which we found on the beach, this changed into a daily mini beach clean up. Where we found plastic straws in unbelievable big numbers. That made us think about an alternative for the plastic straws. Last year during my visit to Phillip Island - Australia, I mentioned the bamboo issue to Youki, my dear friend, who is drinking through straws on a daily base, due to a disability. That made me even look more into the subject. And I found a good supplier for Bamboo straws. And not only straws, they also had the Bamboo toothbrushes, all Eco certified, sustainable, compostable, no use of plastic etc. So that was one change of direction. MEETING LIKE MINDED PEOPLEWhen you start selling this kind of products, you get in touch with another kind of customer profile. This brings more awareness and information for example about other Eco products, activities, groups and suppliers. This is how we found the Ecovela candle and the produce bags of BitsyBags,through the markets. Products which we also took in our collection. And with big success. And people might say that all these new products have nothing to do with beach life. I might disagree, it has everything to do with people who love the beach and sea. Who want to take care of the future of the oceans. A lot of plastic products are found in the oceans. And every little bit you do to change this plastic pollution, will make a small change. This below "quote image" says it all. It is the same about saying "what I can do is so little compared to the size of the plastic pollution". But what if 8 billion people think like that, the difference would be huge, if they all step in. (image shared from the Facebook page of "Bamboo and Coconuts" NO FINANCIAL BENEFIT, BUT PERSONAL "FEEL GOOD" BENEFITAnd no, this Eco business is not very lucrative for me. It costs more money than I make. But that is not important.
Every customer who goes home with one of these products, makes me happy and feel good. I believe in the ripple effect, people will spread the awareness. No, we are not going totally Eco, Bio, Vegan, natural etc. with all our products! But yes, we are trying to get more and more of this kind of products, if we do think they fit within our business philosophy and product collections.
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My name is Anneke AND I STARTED in January
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