Mama Miah!

Every 3 minutes, a child with a cleft and lip palate is born. In the Philippines, 1 in 500 children born has a cleft and lip palate condition, a gap in the mouth that did not close during the early stages of pregnancy.

Every year, about 4,500 Filipino babies are born with this condition.

Operation Smile Philippines has helped change the lives of many children born with this condition since 1982.

Health, wellness, and beauty retailer Watsons Philippines has been a partner of Operation Smile Philippines for the past nine years and have helped transform the life of 1,986 patients. This year, as part of its mission, to Look Good, Do Good, Feel Great, Watsons teams up with OSP again to bring perfect smiles to children affected by cleft and palate. 

"The partnership was paused in 2020 because of the pandemic but this year, we are back with Smile For Good. Of course, we will be very mindful of the physical distancing restrictions, but our desire to continue to bring smiles to the children has not wavered," said Viki Encarnacion, PR & Sustainability Director of Watsons. 

"We are very proud to be partners with Watsons on this project for nine years running. Their dedication to transforming lives despite the pandemic is really admirable and Operation Smile is happy to be doing this with them," said Emiliano Romano, Executive Director of Operation Smile Philippines.

This partnership in the Philippines is part of ASW’s global commitment to bring 10,000 perfect smiles in partnership with Operation Smile. It aims to educate the public and raise awareness about cleft/lip palate conditions.

Aside from partnering with Operation Smile, A.S. Watsons Philippines is engaging with its employees, strategic partners, and customers contributing time and financial support in order to sponsor as many free surgical missions to continue changing lives, one smile at a time.

Aided by technology, Watsons Philippines pharmacists and employee volunteers will conduct hygiene orientation seminars online for the patients' families on the subject of post-operation feeding, oral and lip care. Watsons will also provide Hygiene Care Kits with oral and hand care products to the 50 kids post-operation. 

It takes as few as 45 minutes to provide a bright, beautiful new smile and a healthier, happier future for a child born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. Visit Operation Smile Philippines to know how to help make a difference in these children’s lives.

Recently, Watsons Philippines has collaborated with Plastic Bank to help reduce plastic pollution and alleviate poverty by creating livelihood as part of its Sustainability Program.

Plastic waste is a big problem for the environment and humanity in general: Every minute, one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean. If this continues unabated, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans in 30 years. 

Sadly, the Philippines is one of the top 3 contributors to this plastic problem. One of the major contributors to plastic waste is single-use plastics which come from retail products and lack of landfill resources, but among those things, I think the people are mostly responsible for this waste.

Sustainability has always been part of the Watsons DNA. Recognizing that the ocean stores a quarter of CO2 from the atmosphere and up to 93.4% of heat caused by the greenhouse effect, Watsons is committed to reducing the overall impact of its own-brand plastic packaging so that it may contribute to ocean protection.

The A.S. Watsons Group has banned the use of microplastics in its own brand of rinse-off cosmetics or personal care products since 2014. By the end of 2019, this ban has been extended to all brands so no rinse-off cosmetics or personal care products from any brand are sold at any Watsons stores.

Watsons Philippines offers its customers four Sustainable Choices: Clean Beauty (mindfully created products without “unwanted” ingredients), Refill and Reduce (refilling bottles and reusing containers), Better Ingredients, and Better Packaging.

Through its Impact Program Collaboration with Plastic Bank, the health, wellness, and beauty retailer will continue to Do Good for the Oceans by committing to the prevention of 50,000 kg of plastic bottles from entering the world’s oceans - the equivalent of 2.5 million bottles over the first 12 months.  

 “At the heart of Look Good, Feel Great is Do Good. Watsons has always been at the forefront of sustainability and this collaboration with Plastic Bank only further reinforces our commitment to helping make this world a better place,” said Viki Encarnacion, Watsons PR and Sustainability Director.

“We are happy to team up with Watsons Philippines - a company that shares our vision of creating a regenerative economy. This collaboration showcases our unified goal of stopping ocean plastic while creating more opportunities for people living in vulnerable coastal communities,” said David Katz, Founder, and CEO of Plastic Bank.

As citizens of the Philippines, we are responsible for every plastic waste that goes into our oceans. We have to do our part too and help our LGU's and our community by recycling things at home. Recycling would then be easier if we segregate our waste properly from biodegradable non-biodegradable. By doing this, there will be lesser wastes that go into our landfills, most especially if biodegradable wastes are put into good use like making it into fertilizers.

Have you been doing these things too? :)

Check out below so you'll know. ;)

With more and more people aware of the current environmental challenges we face, like climate change, brands such as Watsons have made it their duty to listen, search and adapt in their own way.

Thus, the campaign SUSTAINABLE CHOICES by Watsons was created. Launched to promote products that will fit into customers' sustainable lifestyles, Watsons hopes to create a ripple effect that would make people inspired to do the right thing for themselves, and for everyone to keep making sustainable choices in their daily lives. 

Sustainable Choices will help customers “Look Good. Do Good. Feel Great” and, in the process, reduce their environmental footprint as the retailer puts sustainability at the core of brand development and sourcing, from packaging to ingredient choices.

These are aimed to help shoppers make Sustainable Choices by providing them with better options, including Clean Beauty, the use of Better Ingredients, and Better Packaging and Refilling, as part of a long-term commitment to protecting the environment anchored on four pillars-Community, People, Customers, and Planet.

Clean Beauty

Carrying a wide range of Clean Beauty products available at affordable prices, the store's Clean Beauty products contain better ingredients that are sourced responsibly with an eye toward sustainability. These products don’t contain ingredients like Hydroquinone, Triclosan, Quaternium-15, Chloroacetamide, Triclocarban, Phthalates, O-phenyl phenol, Borates, Methylene glycol, and Microplastic beads. Watsons Philippines recognize brands and products that were carefully created to benefit consumers, the community, and the planet. For a list of Clean Beauty products, check this out https://www.watsons.com.ph/clean-beauty.

Watsons Philippines believe in reusing so it will make refill packs available for purchase so they can reuse the original containers of shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and other personal care products, enabling them to create a habit that helps reduce waste going into landfills.

With over 8 million tons of plastic being thrown into the ocean every year, the retailer is taking a proactive stand on the use of less plastic and choosing a better plastic for packaging. 

Palm Oil and its derivatives are used in 70% of beauty products, and with its yield being far better than any other crop, there is no way to remove it from formulations. The problem with palm oil is that it is extremely harmful to the environment.

Watsons Philippines is committed to sourcing, offering, and promoting the best possible product options, made from ingredients that are sustainable and responsibly managed such as Sustainable Palm Oil. (Roundtable for Sustainable Plan Oil/RSPO-certified). By putting systems in place to promote sustainable palm will lead to less deforestation, a more sustainable health & beauty industry.

Biodegrading of plastic bottles takes 450+ years, while plastic bags take a grueling 20+ years, adding grave impact to the environment. Watsons Philippines promotes products packaged in recycled containers by encouraging the use of 100% sustainable paper packaging that comes from sustainably and responsibly managed forests and plantations or using bio-based or post-consumer recycled plastics. In stores, it has been encouraging shoppers to refuse single-use plastics wherever they go and instead, bring their reusable shopping bags or use eco-friendly totes.

Look Good, Do Good & Feel Great with sustainable choices 

“Sustainable brands and products recognized by Watsons should go beyond ingredients that make users beautiful inside and out. They must also uphold ethical business practices and encourage initiative in buying and sourcing ingredients. These brands should also look toward minimizing waste in their supply chain as well, and where and when possible, we are also looking at their use of packaging and their recycling and upcycling programs. It's rallying our partners and suppliers to Do Good with us,” said Viki Encarnacion, Watsons' Public Relations and Sustainability Director.

Watsons believe beyond its customers; everyone can make an impact by making simple sustainable choices every day. By embodying the “Look Good. Do Good. Feel Great” ideology, it helps us all ensure that our planet looks good for future generations by doing good today and every day!

For more information, you may visit https://interactive.watsons.com.ph/sustainablechoices.