Anna Meloto-Wilk of Human Nature: Beauty Products with Heart

The Mompreneur: Anna Meloto-Wilk

Her Business: Gandang Kalikasan, Inc. (makers of Human Nature natural personal care products)

Why She Loves Being a Mom: I am surprised by all the awesome things that kids do and say every day.

The Idea: My husband Dylan and I, together with my sister Camille, were in the US in mid 2007 till early 2008 to advocate for Gawad Kalinga. Whilst there, Camille and I noticed the growing eco-lifestyle trend and that green labels were no longer niche products but were starting to mainstream. Dylan also noticed that a lot of the raw materials for natural products could be grown in the Philippines. With these observations we set out to start a company that could provide Filipinos with top quality and affordable natural and eco-friendly products and provide better livelihood to local farmers. We came home in mid 2008 and Human Nature was launched in November of that same year.

The Inspiration: The brand Human Nature was conceptualized by my sister Camille, who is also one of the founders of Gandang Kalikasan. She was inspired by the play on words of how humans should love nature because we were designed by God to be stewards of his creation and in so doing, nature will love us back by providing us with everything that we need. Humans are at the heart of nature and we should use these resources responsibly by caring and providing for the poor.

 

Click here to read more about what makes Human Nature unique, Anna's advice for aspiring mompreneurs, her thoughts on motherhood and her eco-lifestyle, and where to buy Human Nature products.

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Read more about what makes Human Nature unique, Anna's advice for aspiring mompreneurs, her thoughts on motherhood and her eco-lifestyle, and where to buy Human Nature products.

 

What Makes it Unique: We are a social enterprise that aims for profit optimization and not profit maximization. We take pains in making sure that our supply chain benefits the Philippines, especially the poor farming communities, by buying at fair and just prices. We also source our packaging locally because we want to support the local economy.

Our products are very affordable because we want to make all natural products accessible to all Filipinos. We use the best quality raw materials and our products are the same or even better than the imported luxury organic brands but we choose to sell them at lower prices and we make the sacrifice in profit in order to provide Filipinos with effective but greener and more ethical alternatives. 

Advice for Aspiring Mompreneurs: Being a mother should always come first. Those kids are the biggest responsibility we’ll ever have in our lives. When balancing gets tough, don’t be afraid to ask for help from your spouses and from family. We can’t have it all—career, family, and recreation. We have to make sacrifices whether it’s lack of sleep, a less tidy house or less time for yourself or with your spouse. That’s just the reality and if moms will expect everything to be perfect in all aspects of their life, all the time, we’re in for a lot of disappointment. Some aspects can be perfect some of the time whilst the others have to wait till you can bring your full attention to them.

On Motherhood and Her Eco-Lifestyle: I have breastfed all my three children for at least 12 months each and that has been the best investment I have made on my kids. Motherhood was also the inspiration for starting Human Nature. I only started my eco-lifestyle when I had my first child when we discovered that disposable diapers take 500 years to biodegrade so we chose to use cloth diapers instead. Since then, we have re-oriented our whole lifestyle to greener and more ethical daily choices.

Where to Buy: Customers can order online at www.humanheartnature.com. We have 14 branches all over the Philippines and you can check out the locations on our website. Our main office is at 463 Commonwealth Ave., QC.

 

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