Acting for the common good also comes down to how I consume. It's a reflection, I believe, of who I am. By consuming ethical products – those that limit their impact on the environment  – you are already practicing a fairly strong form of commitment.

I'm mindful of systematically taking my car, over alternative transportation options, or buying new clothes. I think, I discover, and then I act. It's the same for all everyday gestures. I see it as a civic attitude.

For example, I'd rather support the local baker who bakes his own bread, rather than purchase from the cheaper, non-local baker. Every day, I express my civic awareness through this thoughtful attitude and consumption choices.   

I live in France, but I come from a family of Moroccan origin. My parents arrived in France in the 70s. My father at a very early age was taken out of school. However, when he arrived in France, education and further studies were particularly important. For this, he went back to school and did a vocational baccalaureate in electrical engineering. His dream was to be an airline pilot, but he wasn't able to study for it. But his passion continued; every two years, he took us to the air show.  

I come from a working-class background and my father was never able to build a house in Morocco. Instead, everything he earned, he used for us and for our education. He bought everything we needed including books and encyclopedias for presentations, in our neighborhood, we were the only ones with encyclopedias and computers. We were at the neighborhood library, and people came to us to read and review our book collection. The kids would come in, do their homework and leave.

This dynamic, this emulation, gave me a thirst for knowledge. It made me want to learn and to go as far as possible in my education and in life. My father was a great inspiration to me; he made me want to do everything I could to make my dreams come true 

My first dream was to work in a laboratory. I could already see myself in a white coat! Above all, I wanted my mother and father to be proud of me. That was my biggest motive. I said to myself, “All your efforts and sacrifices have to pay off”. So, I did a master's degree in chemistry, applied for a job and immediately found one. I started working on a variety of different assignments and taking on different challenges. It was a good fit for me. But, in this job, I made cleaning products using petrochemicals. The company I was working for didn't care about its impact on the environment.

At the same time, I realized something very important. Yes, I had studied. Yes, I had a good job, a good position, a company car, and a team to manage. I had made my father happy. I'd ticked that box. Yet, something was missing, and it was something very important: the ethical dimension. I didn't feel right knowing that what I was doing was not aligned with my ethics.

I started having trouble sleeping. I was replaying my days over and over, saying to myself, this isn't right, this isn't in line with my upbringing, my beliefs, my desire to contribute to a better world. I had this phrase running through my head: “If you want to know how much of a nuisance a mosquito can be, lock yourself in for a night.” It can give you a sleepless night. It buzzes around, it makes noise...  

I said the same thing to myself: I'm small but I have extraordinary power. I'm going to carry messages that will annoy people bigger than me; those who don't have the same commitment to limiting their negative impact on the environment.

In this pursuit, I set up my own company alongside my husband. We are now in a family business with values, one that leverages my expertise in making cleaning products. And one that does – this time around – with an eye on the environment. We manufacture and market products that won't cost more and that will have less impact on the planet. We don't see ourselves as a start-up, but rather as a means of educating and sharing our approach and values with consumers and our community. 

We're planting seeds, spreading a message. As producers of the product, we are actors of change. By buying these products, our consumer base and community are change agents too. Their choice to consume is a civic gesture; they can have an impact and we offer them the option that does not affect their wallets. That's very important to us.   

I had tried to do the same thing in my previous company. There was an R&D project that aims to limit our impact on the environment that interested me. However, we faced a problem – the product wouldn’t sell; it was expensive, and our customers wanted low prices. It was very frustrating. To solve this problem, I met with the sales manager in charge of the sales representatives in France and Benelux, sharing with him my frustrations. We were working on great, innovative projects that weren't selling. I suspected that the salespeople were using the same sales arguments as for any other product. Inevitably, it wasn't going to work.   

I suggested a new technical support position that could work with the marketing teams in their communications and in the field. I held the position for two years and loved doing it. It was great to put myself in the shoes of the salespeople. It gave me a better understanding of the difficulties they encountered.

It's all a chain, from the buyer who chooses to put the product on the shelf, right through to the consumer. Everyone, no matter their level, is involved in the ecological approach of this product. But this takes understanding. It's up to the salesperson to explain to the customer, through good communications and advertising, why as a consumer they should pay 2 cents more. If it's explained well, I don't know many people who will refuse to pay a few extra cents when they know they're limiting their impact on the environment.   

Even with the best will in the world, when you grow in a system that only values money, it's inevitably biased. At some point, you get stuck, and you put incredible innovation projects in the drawer.   

Today, I'm lucky enough to have set up my own company, and the first thing I did was to draw up my ethical charter. This includes setting up product quality criteria, prohibiting the use of raw materials, and creating guidelines such as banning animal testing.  

I value sales as much as impact. I don't see myself as a company that wants to make money just to make money. I put attention and intention into it.

In the morning, when we start our day, we set a positive intention, a desire to make things happen. Our first intention is to limit the negative impact. After that, the rest must follow. We develop products and we have an educational approach, we explain. I simply can't do marketing without sharing a strong message. 

When our apprentices arrive, they don't necessarily have the ecological fiber. Like many young people, they're there to find a job. When they leave, they've got it! They're like advocates. If they're here and moving forward with us, it's because I've convinced them. Afterwards, you can see that they too will influence the people around them, especially their parents. They'll convince them, for example, to turn down the temperature on the washing machine, to buy more environmentally friendly products and so on. We have some fascinating discussions with them. They're all in their twenties and dream of traveling. We can really see the difference between our two generations. When we left school, all we wanted to do was find a job, not travel. I don't think I'd ever have had the courage to say that. Even if I had thought it, I would never have considered saying it in front of my employer. The truth is, today, I think they're right.

Before they really start their working lives, they want to meet people and discover new cultures – skills that can benefit them when they step into their professional roles. I also think it's particularly challenging to be their age today. We live in difficult times, and this is even more pronounced for young people. So, even if they say something that offends me every now and then, I don’t hold it against them.   

Additionally, our company has joined an association that convenes small companies like us and international ones: Fédération de l'Hygiène et de l'Entretien Responsable (FHER). This is the trade association for this profession. One of their projects  supports social entrepreneurs by offering them with new skills, tools and expertise. This could mean, for example, providing financial services to help them structure their business. While we don't always have this expertise, I wanted to take part because I have a life experience to share.

Beyond just my technical experience, I have an atypical background. I come from an immigrant background, and I fought to get where I am. My mother is illiterate, and to this day she can't read or write. These are the things that forged me, that gave me momentum. My life path allows me to understand these social entrepreneurs. 

In the end, I feel I've learned a lot more than I've given. I've met people, shared things... It's really rewarding, even if it doesn't translate into sales. I really value the exchange, the human sharing. Everyone should value that. I could make money from sharing my expertise for an hour, like consultants do, but I'm not in that frame of mind, because for me, it's an exchange, human sharing. I give my expertise away, free of charge, because it's a crucial and universal message.