1.What was the inspiration that started Sana Jardin?
My grandmother, Mary Pomeroy, was a pioneering visionary in the 1960’s who co-founded The United States Delegation for Friendship Among Women. She gifted me with the desire to work towards social justice and empowering women economically. I used to work as a direct practice social worker on the west side of Chicago with struggling families and individuals, and I soon realised I could have a greater impact if I focused on helping these groups on an institutional level by enabling them to access to financial opportunity. Sana Jardin was created with the belief that this bottle of perfume can transform lives and change the way business is done.
2. How do you engage sustainable business practices in the production of your products?
Sana Jardin is ethical in as many touch-points as possible. Supporting people in the supply
chain as much as possible, is important in any, and every, industry. I think fragrance offers a
unique opportunity to do this as perfume production employs low-income people from
developing countries so there is a built in community to provide social impact services that
will enhance the quality of their life. We provide a closed loop system that enable our
female harvesters in Morocco (who exist on seasonal employment only) to upcycle floral
waste into their own line of products which they sell nationally. Through having full time
work their income has gone up by 250%.
3. What are your most popular fragrances?
Sana Jardin has seven eau de parfums and our current best sellers are Berber Blonde and
Sandalwood Temple. I created Berber Blonde because I could never find a natural, glittering
orange blossom fragrance. I wear it every day and it makes me feel like I am encased in a
halo of healing sunshine that leaves a trail of magic. Sandalwood Temple has notes of East
Indian sandalwood with creamy Madagascan vanilla. For the thousands of years sandalwood
has been used to open the third eye and enable you to transcend to a higher spiritual realm.
4. As the number of players in the beauty and cosmetics industry continue to increase, how to do you plan to stay ahead of your competition?
This is a time where consumers are increasingly aware of the significance and importance of
social and ethical issues that can be affected by their own consumption. At Sana Jardin we
give the wearer a role to create a cycle of change and through this we empower all women
in this circle, from harvester to consumer. There is integrity behind every aspect of the
business I believe if we stay authentic to our core values then hopefully we can be example
for other brands to follow and make the beauty industry more sustainable and transparent.
5. What is your advice to small business owners of today?
I feel like one of the most important things we can focus on as business owners in general is
to be more responsible citizens to this planet. I feel there is an increasing relationship
between commerce and sustainability, the two are no longer mutually exclusive.
Sustainability is becoming good business and my advice to small business owners is to not
shy away from this. Sana Jardin demonstrates it is possible to offer a beautiful product with
a powerful consumer choice.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with Sustainable Inc! For more information about Sana Jardin please visit their website here: https://www.sanajardin.com/en/
Disclaimer: Sustainable Inc. does not endorse businesses or their practices. The purpose of this blog is to provide information to readers.