One of the main reasons Varenya and I wanted to own our own company is because we wanted to create a direct and positive impact on our environment and our community. We saw how most large corporations, with all their power and influence, were too big to change quickly and reverse the environmental and social damage they are causing. Some, to this day, don't seem to care about the negative impact they're having.
We had enough of this pattern and decided to do something about it. We created Lotus.Eco to embed the concept of 'doing business for good' into everything that Lotus.Eco does.
But what does 'doing business for good' mean to us? Well, as founders with backgrounds in banking and accounting, we both know that business and trade is essential for humans to function. Have a read about how trading economics worked in ancient times; it's fascinating to see how far we've evolved and how complex and essential trading has become (here and here as a starting point).
Trading and doing business has an obvious benefit for the parties involved, so from this perspective doing business is good for both parties. However, what if one party wanted to buy guns from another party for the purpose of genocide? I know this is an extreme example, but I hope it helps to illustrate my point that not all business is conducted for good.
If trading and business is necessary for humans to function, why not do business for good?
Without getting philosophical about what "good" means, we generally have a prevailing zeitgeist as to what "good" looks and feels like. We understand and respect that everyone still has varying interpretations of what "good" is, so on our 'Who We Are' page we've tried to define what Lotus.Eco means by "good" in the context of what we do.
On a practical level, we chose to focus our energies on menstrual products first because to us, they enable those that menstruate to stand on a more level playing field with those that don't menstruate. Menstrual products are a way to destigmatise menstruation; to promote menstruation as a process that is rejuvenating, essential to creating life and spiritually sacred.
On a symbolic level menstrual products represents the freedom that one may enjoy when menstruating. The power to choose the course of their life when they menstruate, whether that be a choice to continue schooling or to go for a swim. When a person learns that their body doesn't have to determine or limit their potential just by using a menstrual product, there may be an empowering effect that causes them to apply that same mindset to their social, political and economic circumstances. This is how we'd like to "do business for good".
- Liya
0 Comments
There are not comments yet. Be the first one to post one!