Recent times have led to a growing preference for sustainability among businesses as more and more are being urged to set aside old practices that were proven harmful to society in favor of those that are more aligned with the calls for environmental care.
Health, wellness, and beauty retailer Watsons Philippines continues its goal of promoting sustainable living through initiatives in its business practices that cater to caring for the environment.
One of its efforts geared towards environmentally conscious initiatives is the “Sustainable Choices” program which features a selection of products that provide customers with sustainable alternatives through lines of “Clean Beauty,” “Refill Reuse,” “Better Ingredients,” and “Better Packaging.”
Products in the “Clean Beauty” line are those that are made with ingredients that have a reduced impact on the environment. The “Better Ingredients” line pertains to products that use paper or palm oil from responsibly managed plantations and non-formulated products that have a reduced amount of plastic content.
Those in the “Better Packaging” line are products with packaging that are made from sustainable materials as well as use recycled plastic or paper. The “Refill Reuse” line offers refill packs and stations that urge consumers to reuse the products’ original containers instead of throwing them away after using all of their contents.
Other initiatives of Watsons Philippines include a “Reuse with Watsons: A Sustainability Art Exhibit,” which featured artworks that embodied the importance of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) through the use of plastic bottles, wrappers, papers, tissues, and many other upcycled materials.
The retailer also conducted several medical missions like the “Alagang Pangkalusugan Medical” missions which provided free medical consultations, blood tests, bone screenings, hearing checks, skin and hair analyses, ECGs, and X-rays. It has also recently participated in a medical mission in October which allowed 60 patients to receive cleft lip surgeries from medical professionals from the non-profit organization Operation Smile.
Watsons Philippines partnered with Punlaan School to provide apprenticeships to women aspiring to be pharmacy assistants.
This year, Watsons Philippines is set to continue providing initiatives that will benefit the three pillars of its sustainability program which are its consumers, the products it offers, and the planet. Such initiatives include encouraging the use of reusable bags among consumers as well as adding more to the number of volunteer employees to the retailer’s medical missions all over the country.
“We’re very proud of the steps we’ve made in jumpstarting our journey for sustainability… we recognize that it’s not a one-off campaign. It’s a commitment to continue to drive the conversation and ensure that everyone will be inspired and encouraged to take action,” said Watsons Senior AVP for Marketing, PR & Sustainability Sharon Decapia.
Watsons Philippines is also set to open its first green store in Laguna which is designed to be more sustainable not only through its products but also through how it will be solar-powered. It is also aiming to use 100 percent recycled materials in its products by 2025.