March is Women's Month, and this is a good opportunity to honor and celebrate women-led enterprises that not only help promote the well-being of our communities but that of our planet as well.

Ultima Linen

At SM Home, there is a line of bedsheets called Ultima Linen that are made of bamboo cotton. This product is a good addition to a green household and the lady behind this brand is Gigi Uy-Cirera.

Uy-Cirera related that she started Ultima in 1996 which, she said, was an offshoot of her wholesale bedsheet business supplying to Divisoria and to some of the provinces.

"We make sure that the products we sell are aligned with our goals and practices, especially now that we have decided to lean into the sustainability agenda with our products and with the way we run our company," she related.

According to Uy-Cirera, she decided to offer her items for sale at SM Home when she noticed that more people were going to the malls for their needs.

"It was luck and foresight that made us decide to try and open up a wider market for us. So, we decided to approach SM Home," she said.

She is grateful for the support SM Home has extended to her and to her brand, adding that consumers are more aware about sustainable items.

"Brand awareness has also become important. This is good because consumers become educated about our products," Uy-Cirera added.

Margaret Muir

Another SM Home supplier is Belinda Sarmiento who supplies the Margaret Muir line of beddings. She started her retail journey in 1997 when she was working for a textile manufacturer that supplied SM Store.