Camellia Trees, Pangolins, and the Forest We Protect Together—B Beauty Coalition’s Yilan Field Trip

In Su'ao this May, the fruits of the camellia trees still hung heavy on the branches.

A group of sustainability professionals from various Taiwanese B Corp beauty brands walked along the Chaoyang Trail, stepping into the low-altitude woodlands. The forest was damp and serene. Chang Wei-Shan, Director of the Sustainable Operations Department at Chatzutang, paused and pointed toward a concealed burrow on the hillside—a foraging trace left behind by a Taiwanese pangolin.

On this day, sustainability ceased to be mere numbers on a corporate report; it became a tangible cycle of life, thriving within the soil and the forest.

Steeped in the Origin: It All Begins with the Camellia Tree

Last month, MacroHI, alongside partners from the Taiwan B Beauty Coalition (a collective of B Corp beauty brands), traveled to Su'ao, Yilan, for an in-depth field trip centered on "Biodiversity and Climate Action."

Hosted by coalition member Chatzutang, the event re-examined the connection between the beauty industry, the land, and the ecosystem through local community guided tours, green supply chain field inspections, and cross-brand knowledge sharing.

Our first stop was the Chatzutang, Chaoyang Oil Mill.Chatzutang, shared how the brand drives contract farming for camellia trees to revitalize local agriculture. Through their "Forest Together" (森作伙) initiative, they have deepened the brand's impact into a force for community co-prosperity. Here, the "S" (Social) in ESG reports was no longer just lines of text—it manifested as camellia trees deeply rooted in the earth, and the genuine, ongoing daily lives of local farming families.

Cross-Brand Exchange: Biodiversity and Climate Action

Following the site visit, an exchange session was held at "NANIWA HOUSE 1," Chaolitang’s project office space. Various brands took the stage to share their practical experiences in biodiversity and climate action:

• MacroHI (AROMASE, juliArt)

  MacroHI envisions the mountains and forests as the Earth's scalp, and the trees as its hair. Their foundational commitment to scalp health naturally extends into long-term environmental action. Since 2019, MacroHI has consistently invested in environmental restoration, achieving a cumulative reduction of over 131,980 kg in carbon emissions. In Taiwan, the company has deeply rooted its efforts in adopting forest lands in Maokong and Muzha, while partnering with the international tree-planting organization, Treedom, to plant 800 trees across 8 countries globally. Furthermore, their annual Sustainable Consensus Volunteer Days have engaged a cumulative total of 557 participants, collaborating with 32 cross-sector enterprises to eradicate invasive species and restore firefly habitats.

  
  

• L'OCCITANE

  L'OCCITANE shared its global "Sustainable Plant Raw Material Sourcing Guidelines" alongside the milestones of its "Yong-Zai Forestry Afforestation Project" in Taiwan. Since 2021, the brand has planted over 30,000 native trees—such as Taiwan Acacia and Melia azedarach (Chinaberry)—in regions like Pingtung. Utilizing 24-hour infrared ecological monitoring, they continuously document the habitats of wildlife, including crab-eating mongooses, Formosan Reeve's muntjacs, and small-toothed ferret-badgers.

• Greenvines

  Greenvines maintains a long-term partnership with Odycea, a French marine ingredient institute. Their star ingredient, "Himanthalia Elongata (Marine Bamboo)," is hand-harvested and low-temperature extracted exclusively in May each year. By adhering to a strict harvesting calendar, they ensure the marine biodiversity remains undisturbed—offering a concrete demonstration of the fusion between clean skincare and green wisdom.

• Inter Fuzi

  Le charme, a brand under Inter Fuzi, focuses on the "Blue Carbon Economy" and partners with the Pacific Whale Foundation to promote a whale adoption program. Research indicates that an average whale can absorb approximately 33 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over its lifespan. Through a "donation per bottle sold" model, the brand directly translates commercial revenue into funding for actual whale conservation, actively supporting marine ecology.

Into the Woods: Tracing the Ecological Footsteps of Pangolins

After the exchange session, the partners hiked up the Chaoyang Trail for a pangolin ecological observation led by Chang Wei-Shan, Chaolitang’s Director of Sustainable Operations. The group leaned in to examine the foraging burrows left by pangolins on the hillsides. The guide explained how pangolins act as "the forest's rototillers"—excavating burrows and turning the soil, which facilitates the nutrient cycle of the entire forest floor. They are rarely seen and difficult to quantify, fitting into no standard metric column of an ESG report, yet they constitute an indispensable part of the ecosystem's climate resilience.

Collective Action for a Sustainable Ecosystem

Nature is not merely an object in need of protection; it is also a sanctuary where people can rediscover restoration and balance in an era of high pressure and rapid change. That day on the Chaoyang Trail, everyone who stepped into the forest likely felt this profound truth.

Sustainability is never a race for a single enterprise, but a marathon of mutual inspiration. As the initiator of the B Beauty Coalition, MacroHI’s future mission is to continually serve as a "Green Connector"—linking more like-minded brands so that the action extends far beyond a single day, allowing inspiration and transformation to ripple outward.