Earth Heir CEO Sasibai Kimis on what it takes to run a social enterprise
People are funny creatures. They like to talk about doing good things and people who are doing good, however, few have in-depth of understanding what it takes to be those people. The people who stand out from the rest, simply because the choices they make are for the betterment of their world, of mankind itself.
To shed some light on this rare breed of humans, I spoke recently to two of them who happen to run Earth Heir, an award-winning social enterprise. Also an ethical fashion brand, it was founded by Sasibai Kimis (who is its chief executive officer) in 2013. Chief operating officer Wong Xiao Cheng came on board in 2016, and together, the two women have successfully made Earth Heir a well-known ethical fashion brand in Malaysia and within the Southeast Asian region.
To do justice to their work with Earth Heir, I have split the interview. Part one details Sasibai's experiences of running the social enterprise. Part two of this interview has Sasibai and Wong sharing their aspirations for the ethical fashion movement and ecosystem in Malaysia.
Tough beginnings
The journey hasn't been smooth sailing for the Earth Heir team, particularly for Sasibai, who had no entrepreneurial or fashion background prior to starting the brand. "Those are things I had to learn. In the first three years I was doing this part-time and working from home. I was working odd hours and in a way I needed to because I had family matters to attend to," she recalls.
She also started to question herself. "I started this to help artisans but I was questioning if I was really making an impact. I realised that because this was new in Malaysia---the idea of ethical and sustainable fashion and ensuring the people making the products were treated well and fairly--- these things were not commonly understood by the public or even requested."
Sasibai admits that there were times she wondered why she was bothering to build the ethical fashion ecosystem in Malaysia and if anyone really cared. "Many times during these past five years have been like that; that we've been doing many things that felt thankless," she says, referring to the work they've done with Fashion Revolution Malaysia (of which she is the country director), as well as for Earth Heir.
The growing pains however, eventually passed. "Now, after five years of sowing the seeds, now when people think about sustainable fashion, we're one of the key players they recognise," she says, adding that "the years of going through the desert" have been worth it, with people now seeing the brand as a champion in this field.
To a question on winning over doubters, she replied that there have been some. "In the early stages, we had some products that didn't perform up to the quality that we expected. For example, when we were selling silk scarves, customers machine-washed the silk scarves and dried them in the sun, which ruined the material. In retrospect, maybe we didn't do such a good job of letting customers know how to care for them."
However, her biggest doubter was herself. "I didn't know if we would survive. Five years on, we're still managing to make ends meet every month. This despite me not being able to pay myself a salary for the first three and a half years."
Today, the business is able to pay everyone on the team. "We need to grow beyond survival, we've figured out the business model and do that well," she says.
Realigning the focus of the business
The business itself has evolved somewhat, according to Sasibai. Although Earth Heir started by working with artisans in different countries, its focus is now on Malaysia. "We realised that trying to work with artisans in so many different countries was not the best way, taking up too much of our time and resources. And you're not able to have a deep impact in any country," she explains.
They then shifted their focus to Malaysia, realising that there aren't many strong heritage and craft players here. She points out that while there are ethical brands like Tanoti for songket and others for batik, at the time there weren't players focusing on weaving natural fibres such as mengkuang and rattan.
"When I was working with Cambodia, India and Thailand, I realised they have a really strong textile heritage. Now that we're focusing on Malaysia, we're concentrating on what is available here and less on textiles," she says.
In terms of product range, they've been working with the Orang Asli and refugees, doing a lot of different products. "The MADE51 jewellery range done by the refugees has clear focus and pricing, it's the first product range we've been fully involved in, from start to finish."
"We work with artisans who process the materials and although we're involved in the design, we're not in control of the raw materials pricing, we usually negotiate with the artisans and pay them what they ask. So this was a different experience for us, being makers and not just designers," she adds.
Earth Heir also has a Gifts For Good range, for B2B clients. "They are not all handmade products. We can now make custom handmade products and a pen or tote bag to go with them. We've started to offer this range to corporate clients and this is easier to scale, in terms of time and cost-wise. We're also able to better serve the needs of the client this way."
Sasibai emphasises that although some of the items in the range may be machine-made, buying the products will support the work they do with artisans. In addition, 1% of what a client spends on this range will be invested in planting trees.
Future plans and aspirations
Sasibai also shares the direction that she and her team are taking Earth Heir in. For starters, they are working on changing their product range and design. "We need to slim down our product range to products that are distinctive to us, that are uniquely ours," she says, citing the MADE51 jewellery range as an example of a product that they were involved in, from design through manufacturing.
"Brands like The Batik Boutique and Biji-Biji Initiative have managed to control their costs because they control the whole supply chain and process. So we're trying to choose the key products to focus on and zero in on the supply chain."
She gives the example of mengkuang-weaved products. "We're working with an agency that can help groups to grow and harvest the mengkuang, do the weaving, etc. Of course we have to train people, but if we invest in this, we can make products that are uniquely us. We will have greater control over the final product," she explains.
The plan is also to have an Earth Heir retail outlet someday. "We hope and dream we can have our own retail shop to showcase our products. That will be really wonderful to have," she concludes.
Next: Part Two of the interview has Earth Heir CEO Sasibai and COO Wong Xiao Cheng sharing the realities, as well as their aspirations for the ethical fashion movement in Malaysia.