There was a time, perhaps, when Claire Sancelot would be hesitant to agree that she had led the zero-waste movement in Malaysia.
But now, eight years into founding The Hive Eco Store, she’s not afraid to take credit for her work.
“Women, you know, usually don’t like to say those kinds of things, but I’m going to say yes,” she said when I asked her whether she felt like she pioneered the local zero waste scene. “I’m the one who created the page Zero Waste Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t create the movement Zero Waste Malaysia, but I started it, you know?”
In fact, she believes she started the first zero waste store in Southeast Asia.
Claire first moved to Kuala Lumpur with her husband, who is from Malaysia, in 2015. At the time, she had a hard time finding a job in her sector. Simultaneously, she was also sourcing products that she needed to herself.
Moving to Malaysia, she had actually set up the Zero Waste Kuala Lumpur Facebook page while looking for a job. It was gaining momentum. She was not alone in wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle, or simple solutions to daily life.
“To be honest, I didn’t care about the money, I mean, we had no idea about cash, we had no idea about anything,” she admitted. “The point was to keep the place open and for customers to come and to have more and more products.”
But not only did The Hive survive, it actually thrived. At one point, The Hive even grew to six outlets strong.
But on August 25, its last remaining store in Bangsar opened its doors for the last time. What happened?
A difficult decision
Closing the store was a difficult decision to make, Claire said. In fact, it was a decision that took her around two years to make.
With it being a passion project, it had been difficult to bite the bullet even though the business’ accountant had called for it for a long time.
“We were already in the negatives, if you will, since COVID,” Claire said. “It’s going to be four years running a loss.”
What covers the store’s losses is the online sales, as well as the sale of The Hive’s products at supermarkets and concept stores.
Claire pointed out that the store was really there for the community, which treated the space like a recycling centre. People would come by and drop off their e-waste or other materials, but not purchase anything.
Indeed, there were still some hardcore customers, but habits changed a lot during the pandemic, Claire said.
People want convenience now. The lifestyle she’s been trying to cultivate since 2016 regarding slow living was not widely received anymore
Because of that, The Hive had to delist some of the items, which Claire found to be a huge shame.
“I don’t like that. I like to have a high variety of products,” she said. “If you remove an SKU, in my head, you have to replace it with something else. What does a customer want in 2024, right? But it was nothing related with zero waste or sustainability or health.”
Rather, customers want indulgent items which don’t align with The Hive.
“Needless to tell you, it was a terrible business idea,” she said about keeping the store open for as long as it did.
Though the physical Bangsar store may be closed, The Hive’s online store is still operational.
Claire hasn’t actually taken a salary from the business in years, and is working in France as a university professor, letting her team in Malaysia lead the day-to-day operations.
That team is now taking up just an office space where they’re keeping their inventory and paperwork but without overhead costs like rent and utilities.
The moment is not now (but it should be)
Hearing everything that Claire had to share, I wondered, does this mean the whole zero waste movement has died down in Malaysia?
“Yeah, it’s a fact,” Claire answered. “It died down massively.”
This wasn’t always the case. As mentioned, The Hive was opening their sixth outlet at one point. “We were like the Decathlon of our niche market, you know?” Claire mused. “But then, it crashed.”
While it’s normal for businesses to come and go based on trends, this is not a trend. This is related to the environment. It’s not fashion seasons, it’s not food fads.
“We’re going the wrong way here,” Claire said. “Customers are going the wrong way.”
She believes that the changing habits have to do with inflation, for one, but also social media.
“I’m going to sound like an old auntie if I say that though,” she said, “But I don’t care.”
She pointed out that the proliferation of overconsumption is likely exacerbated by platforms such as TikTok. Nowadays, shoppers often buy from platforms like SHEIN and Temu that have notoriously been under fire for their business practices.
With overconsumption and constantly changing microtrends being the current shopping habits, it’s hard for a business like The Hive to survive.
“I think there will be a time when these kinds of shops will be in demand again. But the moment is not now,” Claire said. “I kept on holding on because I knew it will come back, but I can’t hold on now. Financially, it’s impossible.”
For others who may want to brave this space, Claire highlighted the importance of building your own inhouse brand. This will help with higher profit margins and a stronger brand identity.
She hopes that bigger companies such as supermarkets will be able to take over from here. In fact, she believes that stores like The Hive shouldn’t exist in the first place.
This is as supermarkets can more economically sell products in bulk while offering more SKUs for customers.
We already see efforts like these in Qra, but hopefully, more grocers and markets will follow suit.
More solutions need to come
Ending my conversation with Claire, she told me that it’s important that we don’t end the story with a sad note, but rather, a positive and encouraging one.
Instead of having people give up on the movement, Claire said others need to come in with new ideas and more energy to incite change.
People from the community do want things like community composting and recycling, and The Hive is proof of that.
“We’re still alive, we’re still doing well,” she clarified. “It’s just that the business has changed.”
With inflation as well as all the struggles over the past years, it’s hard to ask people to come to the store and put in the effort to live a zero waste-adjacent lifestyle.
“I think it will come back, because there might be a point when humans will reach saturation of the other way, of the other lifestyle that’s being sold to them. But until then, I can’t stay open.”
- Learn more about The Hive Eco Store here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Claire Sancelot / The Hive Eco Store
