It all started with the idea of a simple, solid and sustainable hand cream that's not only good for your skin, but also good for the environment. That's why we asked ourselves: what is one of the biggest problems right now? And the answer was clear: the decline in biodiversity.
For that reason we decided to plant wildflower meadow with every cream sold. Why? Too few companies get involved with biodiversity. And on top of that, wildflower meadow is a refuge and safe space for birds, insects and many other animals, as well as a fast-growing and efficient CO2 store that's good for the topsoil. So since we started at the end of 2020 we've planted 3m² per product, and that has added up to more than 230,000 m² in total and a contribution of over 50,000€. That's 30 times the area of the entire paved surface of Cologne Cathedral. And that thing isn't just tall – it's wide too.
For that reason we decided to plant wildflower meadow with every cream sold. Why? Too few companies get involved with biodiversity. And on top of that, wildflower meadow is a refuge and safe space for birds, insects and many other animals, as well as a fast-growing and efficient CO2 store that's good for the topsoil. So since we started at the end of 2020 we've planted 3m² per product, and that has added up to more than 230,000 m² in total and a contribution of over 50,000€. That's 30 times the area of the entire paved surface of Cologne Cathedral. And that thing isn't just tall – it's wide too.
Now we have to face reality and accept that our approach was a bit too idealistic. We have to adjust the impact contribution and from now on we'll plant 1m² per product instead of 3. There are several reasons for this, which we'd like to list here:
- To pre-finance our goods and to keep existing, we too have to turn to banks, and with 15% of our revenue going to wildflower meadow, getting a loan unfortunately becomes difficult.
- There's still no legal structure that favours an impact-based startup like ours. So we „buy“ the wildflower meadow and, instead of getting a tax break, we even have to pay taxes on our wildflower meadow.
- We've invested almost 15% of our revenue in wildflower meadow – and that's even though we're not yet profitable.
- The Corona pandemic and the closure of brick-and-mortar retail didn't pass us by without leaving a mark either, and raw material prices (paper, metal and oils) have in some cases risen by 100%.
Does that mean we'll plant less wildflower meadow?
We hope not, because through the growth we're aiming for and the goals we've set ourselves, we expect to reach even more people and, all in all, to plant more wildflower meadow with plastic-free natural cosmetics than we did last year.
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