How The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Are Impacting Brands

In 2012 the UN announced the birth of their Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facing the world by 2030. All 17 goals work together in harmony, which means the success of one goal directly influences the other. The United Nations explains it this way: 

Dealing with the threat of climate change impacts how we manage our fragile natural resources, achieving gender equality or better health helps eradicate poverty, and fostering peace and inclusive societies will reduce inequalities and help economies prosper. In short, this is the greatest chance we have to improve life for future generations."

Since then, these Sustainable Development Goals have helped to highlight core issues surrounding sustainability within different industry sectors, pushing brands to implement lasting sustainable practices into each element of their business from production, packaging, distribution, consumer consumption, and the after life of the product.

Here at Wǒ, we are continuously striving for ways to enforce a holistic approach to sustainability. Looking through these Sustainable Development Goals, here are some ways we are currently implementing them into our brand vision and team culture.

Reduced Inequalities

Diversity sits at the heart of Wǒ, we wish to create a community that embraces each individual’s unique story, characteristics, and culture. Wǒ which means I, or myself in Mandarin, enforces that we strongly believe in our vision- to bring innovative skincare that does not put people into boxes, but celebrates differences. Our team currently consists of a wonderful mix of races, ethnicities, and nationalities that bring a depth of knowledge and perspectives into our brand.

Quality Education

Curiosity, increasing awareness, and the desire to learn are the first key steps to understanding how sustainability affects us all. We are continuously learning more ways to improve and make a difference within our community. We created our Journal Page as a resource that allows an easy and accessible platform for anyone to learn an array of topics from sustainability and the environment, cultural diversity, skincare, and holistic wellbeing.

Gender Equality

We pride ourselves in being a majority female based team, with all of our department heads consisting of strong, brilliant, women with years of expertise in their respective fields. Our aim is to create a workplace that encompasses the values of equality, giving an equal opportunity to all.

Responsible Consumption & Production

Our 100% recyclable packaging is made from 80% PET (Polyethylene terephthalate). We carefully chose not to add any varnishes or glosses to the packaging, as it makes the recycling process harder for the afterlife cycle of the product. With most packaging in the beauty sector consisting of double walled jars, pumps, varnishes, or sticker labels which are non recyclable, consumers are forced to pull apart these pieces to successfully recycle the remnants of the packaging. We believe that simplicity is key- ensuring the packaging and skincare is fuss free.

Our Daily Base™ are specially formulated to be 3 in 1 (Cleanse, Hydrate, Condition) which means when you purchase from this range, you’re purchasing ⅓ of the amount of product with other brands. Paired with our monodose packaging, you get measured doses of your skincare which means you greatly minimise excess product waste, and no stress about overloading your skin, or on the other side of the spectrum- not using enough products.

Our Skin Diagnostic algorithm calculates your inputed answers and creates a skincare routine from our range that is completely tailored to you. This means you’ll know that the products you use are selected based on the unique needs of your skin characteristics. Compare this with purchasing based on assumption, which can result in throwing away bottles of skincare that is not right for you!

There will always be areas for us to improve, but we are constantly looking into the future to find more ways to increase our sustainable practices through innovation, expert advice, research, and finally action- to create skincare that is accessible for everyone without misusing earth’s natural precious resources for future generations.

Author - Grace Marlene