#CommerceMonth: Empowering consumers to make green choices

Robyn Smith

Where does your passion for product ethics and sustainability come from? What inspired this venture eight years ago?

I started this business because I really wanted people to find a haven in our hectic world where they could shop in peace. We all deserve to know exactly what it is that we are buying – this determines so much of the kind of world we wish to live in. I believe that you deserve to be able to purchase products where full product description is enclosed from absolutely honest ingredient lists; to country of origin and the cruelty free status of the item. The products that we choose to buy have a massive impact on the health of every creature on our planet. It’s a really big deal that we are all empowered to make the best purchasing decisions that we can.

Apart from the products themselves, how do you keep your business green?

One of the five values that we live and work by is responsibility and that guides all our decisions in the business. Responsibility for us is about always taking the highest road and this translates into the fact that we repurpose all paper in the business for packaging; we only use biodegradable packaging in our orders; we even re-use boxes from stock that has come into the business into orders that leave the business. We obviously recycle and do all the usual green business practice like using recycled printing paper and drinking organic coffee. Any marketing material is printed onto recycled paper and we make a point of only creating marketing collateral that adds value.

We also encourage our customers to make donations to Food and Trees for Africa and Greenpop reforest projects when they checkout. It is an informal but very simple way that they can help keep their purchases more carbon friendly.

How much of a role does social media and content creation play in the marketing of your business? How have you used these marketing techniques to grow your consumer base?

We primarily grow our customer base by word-of-mouth – that is, we aim to over-deliver all the time so that our customers help recruit new customers for us. As a result, our social media efforts are more to build our brand and give our customers a sense of community. We are a very content-centric organisation though – so much of the work we do is around educating our customers on how they can live greener lives and so we put a lot of resources into our blog and newsletters, which of course is shared via social media.

For local businesses, what's the easiest way of getting their products on your virtual shelves? What is the local organic supply and demand market like from your point of view as a business owner?

We ask any potential suppliers to send ingredient lists of their products to our purchasing department at az.oc.erutan-ot-lufhtiaf@sesahcrup. This is the most important part of the vetting we do of new suppliers. Once we are confident that the product is as safe as it claims to be, we will further the conversations with requests for samples, prices and terms. The local organic and natural industry is amazing – we see fantastic green innovation all the time and there is an abundance of products. The market is still quite a cottage industry but it is maturing with time.

What is the biggest challenge for you in running an online shopping store in SA?

I would say that the delivery infrastructure in the country is probably one of our biggest challenges. Although there are constant improvements and I do feel positive about the future, we would obviously love to be able to offer our customers more delivery options and faster lead times.

Is there any possibility of Faithful to Nature trying out a bricks and mortar store in the future?

We talk about this often but I don’t think so. There are so many other future projects in the pipeline that we feel have stronger advantages over a brick and mortar business. We truly believe that e-commerce is the future, as it is so much more convenient and efficient.

What are your expansion plans, if any?

We are looking to be able to serve more of Africa. We are also constantly growing our catalogue with the dream of being the “Green Amazon” of Africa. We are also looking to get more involved in the manufacture of green products to ensure that the growing demand of products is met with a very healthy and consistent supply of ethical product options.

Robyn Smith is the founder and director of South African online organic and natural store, Faithful to Nature. She started the business in 2007 after returning from a stint in London where she worked as an innovation consultant, supporting top businesses across the world with insights and learnings on creating a sustainable innovation culture within their corporations.

For more on Faithful to Nature, go to www.faithful-to-nature.co.za.