Earth Heir, a Malaysian ethical lifestyle brand, sells handcrafted heritage pieces made by women, refugees and indigenous people. As a social enterprise, the organization reinvests the majority of profits back into the mission of encouraging generations to live as heirs of Earth through celebrating craftsmanship, designing thoughtfully, engaging in ethical partnerships and advocating conscious consumption.
Like many countries affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, Malaysia is imposing a variety of restrictions in an effort to contain the pandemic. For Sasibai Kimis, Founder & Director of Earth Heir, this means closing down her storefront and instructing her staff to work from home.
“It’s a real challenge as companies and clients cannot buy physically from us,” Kimis observes. “A lot of events have been cancelled, including speaking engagements.”
When revenue and relationships can no longer be built from in-person interactions, a shift to creative, online strategies is vital.
To meet these new challenges, the Earth Heir team is directing more attention to developing digital opportunities. “We are focusing a lot more on increasing our digital marketing and social media outreach.”
Kimis reminds us that, although this is a tough period for small businesses, it is important to use this time proactively. For Earth Heir, the priority is learning more about online marketing, identifying new product ideas and tying up loose ends.
Earth Heir is also utilizing all social media platforms to promote their new essential item, the “Fair Trade Reusable Mask.” After recognizing the supply gap, the team is adapting to help meet the increase in demand caused by the pandemic. This pivot to selling masks that are sewn by refugee tailors in Malaysia maintains the organization’s dedication to fair trade and sustainability while offering a product that can aid during this crisis.
“Dear all, we noticed that some of us are unable to purchase masks at the moment. So we have finally found a tested reusable mask design to protect ourselves and our loved ones during this tough period of time,” Earth Heir shared on Facebook.