“… the company's roots are in herbal medicine. WALA was founded in 1935 by Rudolf Hauschka, a Viennese chemist who sought to develop remedies using only natural ingredients. In 1967, it added the skin care line, named after the founder, who died two years later.”
Dr. Hauschka is experiencing success today as consumers increasingly seek out socially and environmentally friendly products:
“Sales of WALA Heilmittel, the maker of Dr. Hauschka, have more than doubled in the last five years, to nearly $150 million, about 8 percent of that from the United States, where it also sells herbal remedies. The 73-year-old company, which labored for decades in obscurity, now finds itself in the sweet spot of a booming market for green cosmetics.”
The firm’s level of social responsibility extends far beyond its product line, however, appearing to have successfully integrated a CSR perspective throughout all aspects of operations. The company is run:
“… almost as a collective, with all the profits either plowed back into operations or handed out to the 700 workers.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Garden Is a Seedbed For Green Cosmetics
By MARK LANDLER
1307 words
28 June 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
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