Weecos aims to be a global player in the field of sustainability, sustainable design and to have an impact on society. To enterprises, we want to offer a trustworthy marketplace and to consumers, we want to provide information on conscious consumption and sustainable lifestyle.
However, being an entrepreneur, especially in the field of sustainability and responsibility, is anything but easy. As the company representatives, Anna Kurkela and Hanna Lusila have faced a lot of prejudices and difficulties handling complex information and measuring the impact. Seeing the significance of their work has always encouraged them forward.
Sustainable business choices are a daily discussion topic in the office of Weecos. We require acting in a sustainable way both from our entrepreneurs and ourselves. It is also important to stop and observe our own decisions weekly.
“The bigger we grow, the more we must pay attention to our own actions and choices. We are looking for partners, for example, who share our values and act according to them,” Anna and Hanna emphasise.
For a small company, acting in a sustainable way is not always possible. Like others, Weecos has also encountered the limitations of a small business several times, for example, when it comes to material sourcing. It is not always possible to do what you want and sometimes you have to compromise on some aspects. Therefore, Weecos is ambitious and wants to grow as an international company since it is the way to have an impact on society through business.
“In order to really have an influence on social and environmental matters, our business must grow big. The bigger we are, the more good we can do,” Anna claims.
Another goal is to raise the awareness of people. Anna and Hanna hope that in the future eco products will be regarded as high quality, fresh and good-looking alternatives. It is not only once or twice that they have confronted prejudices and wrong associations concerning eco-lifestyle. According to Hanna, many people think that eco-products are of lower quality and ugly.
Often people also assume that you have to make a binding either–or choice concerning eco-lifestyle, which is not true. Therefore, it is important to continuously maintain the discussion on sustainable and conscious consumption.
“We do not want to offer ready or quick solutions. We want to offer information to back up the choices and decisions of the consumer,” Anna says.
“We also learn new things all the time and we aim to become better. But at the same time we are aware that compromises must be made and it cannot be assumed that everything is complete and perfect in one day,” continues Hanna.
“And what does being perfect even mean? The information can be very contradictory and incomplete,” Anna adds.
The two entrepreneurs have also faced challenges when it comes to measuring the impacts of their actions. Some sectors are easier to measure than others. But how to measure, for example, the environmental costs throughout the life cycle of a product? Or the fact that Weecos is creating employment for women indirectly and in this way influence society? And what is the real impact of the customer’s purchasing decision – does a consumer leave something else in the store after buying a product from Weecos?
Anna and Hanna believe that even the smallest actions matter. Some choices have a direct impact, while other choices only show in the long term. In addition, the choices we make show our own attitudes towards consumption and nature. These choices might affect the public opinion and society. It is said that the world is changed one product at a time.
Fortunately, some impacts, made by these two women, can already be seen. Throughout their sustainable marketplace Weecos, they have been able to help entrepreneurs to find customers and customers have found products that are made in a sustainable way by people who know their supply chain.
“It is absolutely great that there is more meaning in our business than just money-making.”