Godiva gives back to nature

Godiva Inc., a skin care company, has started a campaign for the environment as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. It is the first CSR initiative for the company.

In an interview with The Star, Godiva president and chief executive officer Fred Reyes said the so-called zero waste campaign is an initiative of the company because “it wants to give back to nature what it has taken from nature.”

“We take something from nature, so we also want to give back something. This is our way of doing it,” Reyes said.

As such, Godiva launched the “Zero-Waste Tayuman” project in Tondo. The project aims to reduce the waste problem in Tayuman by educating community leaders and volunteers on the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or Republic Act 9003.

As part of the project, Godiva funded the training on the proper management of Tayuman’s biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes. As part of the campaign, Godiva will help provide MRFs or Materials Recovery Facilities within the 44 barangays of Tayuman. The facilities will help the community in the proper management of their biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes.

Godiva co-sponsored the educational component of the project, which included training and action-planning seminars by the barangay leaders, parish volunteers and other community representatives.

Godiva has partnered with the non-government environmental group Alaga LAHAT which spearheaded the project.

Reyes said the project was well received by residents of Tayuman. “You’d be surprised by the reception of the people. They are passionate and very much concerned about the environment,” he said.

Out of the 44 barangays, eight barangays have already participated in the project.

“Eight is a good number. We’re hopeful that there will be more,” Reyes said. Godiva and Alaga LAHAT launched the project in June.

Aside from the Tayuman project, Reyes said Godiva may replicate the campaign in other areas, depending on the success of the first one.

At the company’s plant in the Food Terminals Inc. (FTI) property in Taguig, Reyes said Godiva also practices zero-waste management by selling its waste to small and micro-enterprises who are into the recycling business.

Godiva, Inc. is a skin care company which has pioneered the use of licorice extract as the main ingredient in its products. Before the incorporation of Godiva, its sister company Chemworld became one of the largest importers of skin care ingredients in the Philippines.

In 1994, Chemworld promoted licorice extract as the best whitening ingredient one can get from nature.

However, due to the steep cost of licorice, the major skin care companies initially approached by Chemworld veered away from—and even rejected—the licorice whitening concept.

Recognizing the vast potential of the ingredient and its proven highly-effective whitening properties, the majority owners of Chemworld formed Godiva, Inc. in 1996 to produce and market Godiva Natural Skin Care products.

The company has thus stirred the market through its natural skin care lines that have built a reputation as safe and highly-effective. Its Licorice Skin Whitening line alone showed marked effect in just a week, with dramatic improvement in eight weeks.

Godiva believes that there are no secret formulas in the skin care industry and there are no secret ingredients that are not accessible by other companies. Unlike other firms which hide their ingredients from their labels, Godiva is the only local brand that lists all ingredients on the label, offering value-for-money and high-quality natural skin care products to its valued clientele.