Buy Filipino while being green

MANILA, Philippines - Who would’ve thought that something so right out of the jungle would be found in a tony shopping center frequented by Manila’s elite and foreigners? But there they sit – bottles of gugo shampoo – on a store shelf at Serendra at Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Made from the bark of a large tree that grows throughout the Philippines, gugo (scientific name: entada phaseikaudes K meer), has been used as a shampoo by Filipinos since the pre-Spanish colonial era.

During the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902, U.S. soldiers derisively referred to the Filipinos as “gugus”, the same way American troops generations later referred to the Germans as “krauts”, the Japanese as “Japs” and the Vietnamese as “gooks”.

Nobody knows how many people today still use gugo given the unrelenting barrage of shampoo commercials from multinational companies. But because of Echostore, which markets gugo shampoo under two brands, Filipinos are rediscovering their culture and heritage. Pre-Spanish colonial history meets the 21^st century. By the way, gugo is also a natural hair tonic and one of Echostore’s best sellers.

“Everything on the shelf has a story,” says local coffee champion and social entrepreneur Chit Juan, who founded Echostore (www.echostore.ph) with friends Reena Francisco and Jeannie Javelosa. The idea behind Echostore is to promote Filipino products by helping bring them to the big league. And by helping the little guy, they hope to grow the fragile domestic economy that forces thousands of Filipinos to seek jobs overseas.

This is what Juan did when she co-founded Figaro Coffee Company in 1993, the Philippines’ answer to Starbucks. If not for Juan, a coffee lover with a passion for Filipiniana, Filipino “barako” coffee would’ve faded into history the same way other products that the Philippines was once known for, such as cigars.

Juan toured the Philippines and scouted for local coffee producers. Along the way she discovered locally made products that caught her interest and saw a recurring pattern: excellent product produced, but selling poorly, virtually no marketing.

In 2008, Juan relinquished the top seat at Figaro after a hostile takeover. However, she remained true to her love of country and coffee, championing the barako through the Philippine Coffee Board (www.coffeeboard.com.ph), which certifies local coffee producers with its Kape Isla stamp of approval.

It turned out to be a blessing. Juan doubts she would’ve found her calling as a social entrepreneur and that Echostore would’ve become a reality if she still had the job of steering Figaro as CEO.

Although Echostore is still a business, it also feels like a hobby for Juan because she knows that she is helping not only coffee farmers this time. Echostore’s Serendra branch shares space with Kape Isla, which used to have the whole place to itself. “That’s what I love about a new business. There are so many opportunities to think outside the box,” she says. “It’s like I’ve been given a gift or something that I can age with gracefully. It’s like golf. You can play it for life.”

Enter the store and you will find Echostore products occupying shelves on the right. On the left is a shelf boasting several local coffee brands. If you want to enjoy a cup of a particular brand, just order one from the barista. The place is still a coffee shop.

There are many good local products out there but just can’t make it because they cannot shout above the din of advertising from well established competitors, she says.

Giving these products shelf space in a major shopping district such as Serendra, where rent is at a premium, is already a major boost. Some of the products’ manufacturers, many of whom are cooperatives or communities, need more than shelf space. Echostore provides marketing expertise through its corporate social responsibility program. At the display window are lovely baskets made by home-bound mothers supported by Ayala Foundation.

Echostore also came about because of the growing urgency to preserve the environment and fight off the threat of global warming. As its name plainly states, the store focuses on green products such as soaps and cleansers that use all-natural ingredients.

Juan and her co-founders noticed a growing trend toward products that make you feel socially responsible. “I don’t think it’s age related because young people now are also making a switch,” she says, attributing much of the trend to today’s information explosion.

Take baskets and reusable bags for example. Plastic bags became widespread not only because it was very light and yet strong, it was convenient. Fear of climate change and global warming are now changing buyers’ attitudes. Stores are reverting to paper bags and baskets. Not only is it green, the switch makes good public relations.

“My generation, the baby boomers, were born at the time when people used a bayong (a type of woven basket) when going to the market,” says Juan. Echostore is about going back to the basics and to products that were very good ideas. “We would like to provide options.”