Story of Indochine Natural Shared by Dr Mike Thair, co-founder and owner of Indochine Natural Indochine Natural operates under a set of ethical business principles that started as a practical necessity in working with a commune of 50 farmers in Vietnam during 2007, and has now evolved into the first Fair Trade registered company in Malaysia certified by World Fair Trade Organization. Central to Fair Trade is the creation of opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers. Indochine Natural has worked with small farmers in Vietnam producing loofah bathroom products, and more recently intellectually disabled in Malaysia producing a dish wash soap made from recycled cooking oil that is now being exported. Capacity building is another principle to facilitate long-term business relationships by enabling small producers to improve their management skills, production capabilities and access to markets. When Indochine Natural first started working with a group of intellectually disabled soap makers in Penang, their production capacity was not economically viable and they had very limited market access. Today they can produce hundreds of dish wash soaps daily, and these are exported. With the assistance of Indochine Natural, they are now producing an eco-friendly general household cleaning liquid made from recycled cooking oil.
In adhering to these principles there are a number of benefits arising from Fair Trade. We are of the opinion that Fair Trade is simply just good business practice. The most direct beneficiaries are the producers who have safe working conditions, reasonable hours, and are paid a “living wage�. For consumers, they can be assured that the products do not contain hazardous materials and workers have not been exploited. In short, Fair Trade is good for people and good for the planet. indochinenatural.com World Fair Trade Organization: www.wfto.com