A selection of spa, wellness and environmental awareness articles written for Asia Spa Magazine

1. spadestination
134 AsiaSpa 2010 1352010 AsiaSpa134 AsiaSpa 2010 1352010 AsiaSpa
london’s
A city seeped in history,
buzzing with culture and
brimming with innovation,
London has some of the
best spa experiences in
the world.
Londoners take their home city’s
incredible history for granted, but as
a tourist, it’s impossible not to wonder
at the millions of stories each cobbled
street could tell. There’s the grandiose
pillared buildings of Knightsbridge that
evoke all the glamour and elegance of
the 1920s socialite scene, the dingy
railway arches that inspired many a
horror story and the towering muse
houses that still have separate entrances
for the servants from their hay day
in the Victorian era. Indeed, London
has been dramatised so much in film,
theatre and literature that it is literally a
living storybook. Alongside this historic
gravitas, there is a vibrant culture and
a population renowned for innovation
and the spa world is no exception.
The city has some of the most exciting
new spa concepts in the world and is
paving the way for new technologies
and treatments…
spadestination
writer Emily Jones
spasanctuaries

2. spadestination
136 AsiaSpa 2010 1372010 AsiaSpa
spadestination
this page: Having a massage at the Soma Centre; Cowshed mani pedi stations; and Ushvani spa pool.
opposite page:Liz EarleVentnor Bay treatment room;and Bliss London store photographed by Patrice
Maurein. opening pages: Man walking through rain in London © inmagine.com.
day spas
BLISS
The “girls night out” of London day spas, Bliss is a truly unique
experience. Guests are lead through the signature aqua and white
pedicure area to wait in the relaxation room where instead of boring
green tea and celery sticks, you’ll find trays of warm chocolate
brownies, cheese platters and even be offered a glass of wine. You
can forget hushed voices and gentle music here; the therapists are
loud and lively with a clear passion for what they do, offering a
truly uplifting experience. They start with a consultation providing
practical and constructive advice on everything from what skincare
you should be using (it’s refreshing that they recommend a range
of brands, instead of just hard selling their own products) to how
your diet and suncare habits will impact the long-term quality of
your skin.The treatment approach is to focus on results, so the latest
modern technology is used in facials, including microdermabrasion,
extraction using Bliss’ patented “pore-fector gadget”, and a triple
oxygen mask that bubbles on the skin pushing moisture deep into
the pores. The results are truly incredible; fine lines are visibly
reduced from the moment you step off the treatment bed and you
leave the spa not only looking considerably younger and healthier
but with some good tips for the future to lengthen the impact of
your treatment. www.blissworld.co.uk
THE COWSHED
The Cowshed has been making waves in London since its launch in
1998, thanks to its social approach to day spas. Combining a coffee
shop with a day spa, it’s a place to meet friends, eat homemade
cupcakes, drink coffee and enjoy a spot of social grooming. With
a range of express packages, it’s the kind of place Londoners drop
into on a regular basis for a post-work glass of wine and a quick
pedicure with friends, and that social environment makes for an
invigorating and laid-back experience. Therapists wear jeans and
t-shirts and are warm and friendly as they usher you into the simple
treatment rooms. The Cowshed facial is highly recommended – a
hydrating treatment that uses SkinCeuticals products, a brand that
pioneered the original topical vitamin C formula that protects skin
from premature signs of ageing caused by environmental damage.
It’s a classic facial programme, with cleansing, toning, steam
extraction, scrub and mask and has fantastic results, leaving you
feeling cleansed, hydrated and ready to return to the coffee shop
to show the results off to your friends.
www.cowshedonline.com
LIZ EARLE
Since its launch in 1995, Liz Earle has developed a huge following
of dedicated fans both in London and throughout the globe. Liz
Earle is a renowned specialist in botanical ingredients, natural health
and wellbeing. As a beauty editor, author of over 30 books and a
TV presenter, she became a well-known and respected authority in
these areas and decided to launch her own range of products using
naturally active ingredients. Located at the flagship store just off the
bustling King’s Road, a trip to the Liz EarleTreatment Rooms will take
you via street cafés and fabulous boutiques, making it a destination
must-visit in itself. The décor is an extension of the brand values,
with simple natural white-washed wood complementing the friendly
fresh-faced therapists. There is a range of bespoke naturally active
skincare treatments available with a focus on personal pampering.
www.uk.lizearle.com
London
Kensington
Gardens
Buckingham
Palace
Royal Albert
Hall
Earl’s
Court
Harrods
Oxford St
Westminster
Abbey
London
Eye
St Paul’s
Cathedral
Tower of
London
Tower
Bridge
British
Museum
Hyde
Park
Soho
Mayfair Southbank
Southwark
Barbican
Strand
Islington
BloomsburyMarylebone
Paddington
Victoria
Euston
King’s Cross
Waterloo
Liverpool St
Camden
Westminster
Pimlico
Vauxhall
Chelsea
South
Kensington
Knightsbridge
Piccadilly
Circus
Covent
Garden
Bayswater
Belgravia
Kensington
Regent’s
Park
Green
Park
St. James
Park
Theatre
District
Financial
District
Academic
District
The East
End
Museums
R i v e r T h
am
es
THE SOMA CENTRE
Providing Londoners with a sense of inner calm in the heart of
Kensington, The Soma Centre is a luxurious private health club
with a focus on whole body wellness. It therefore combines
complementary therapies and mind body exercise to provide a
complete retreat from a hectic lifestyle. The brainchild of Carolan
Brown, former personal trainer to Diana, Princess of Wales, the
Soma Centre recruits specialist-visiting therapists to provide a range
of expertise, from dermatology to meditation. For example, Doctor
Jules Nabet specialises in aesthetic anti-ageing techniques, while
Joanne Evans provides treatments in rejuvenation, deep cleansing,
vein removal, pigmentation, hair removal and peels. There is also
a full time make-up artist on hand to perfect your look after a
treatment. With a holistic approach to treatments, you may arrive
to simply have a facial and end up taking a yoga class.
www.somacentre.co.uk
USHVANI
A Malaysian day spa in Chelsea, Ushvani is one of London’s most
luxurious day spas. Guided by the principles of nurture, total well
being, relaxation and healthy indulgence, Ushvani aims to bring the
exotic treatments and levels of service from Asia to London. Its range
of treatments called “enhancements” focus on end results but also
use natural ingredients to create a relaxing experience. It includes
an indulgent cocoa and coffee scrub for ultimate skin hydration
or a detoxifying ginger and kaffir lime scrub. These treatments are
then followed by body wraps of cocoa, coconut milk, hibiscus or
banana and honey.The entire experience brings guests a little closer
to nature and has fantastic results.
www.ushvani.com

3. spadestination
138 AsiaSpa 2010 1392010 AsiaSpa
urban retreats
MANDARIN SPA
As you walk up to the spectacular home of The Mandarin Oriental
in London, doormen in red coats usher you into a world of marbled
opulence, setting the bar high for the spa experience to follow – and
it doesn’t disappoint. Having recently been voted “Best UK Hotel
Spa” by Condé NastTraveller, it is a decadent experience that draws
on the brand’s Asian heritage. Set in the basement, the clean, stone
finishing and statues of Asian gods complement a softly lit Jacuzzi,
steam room and solarium, as well as a tranquil relaxation area.
Using ESPA products, the treatments are each tailored towards the
individual, from the deep tissue massage, which uses fragrant ESPA
oils, to the pampering pedicures, which are done while the guest
lies on a heated bed.
www.mandarinoriental.com/london/spa
AMAN SPA AT THE CONNAUGHT
The Aman Spa in London is the first spa to open outside of an Aman
resort and is already a huge hit with Londoners seeking an exotic
escape without leaving the city. Bringing a little piece of Aman
resorts to London, the spa is decorated with natural light wood, clean
lines and subtle lighting to keep the focus on complete relaxation.
Treatments are inspired by countries where Aman has a presence,
including India, China, Thailand and Native America. All products
and techniques used in these treatments are then sourced from their
country of origin.The “Inspired by India” treatment is the ultimate of
these experiences for complete relaxation. With a deeply meditative
approach, the experience aims to balance the energies of the body
leaving you feeling “calm and harmonised”.The experience begins
with an aromatic Indian footbath, followed by a body scrub with
relaxing essential oils, a Chakra balancing treatment and a Samadara
facial.The entire experience is an otherworldly lesson in tranquillity.
www.the-connaught.co.uk/Aman.aspx
this page: Spa Intercontinental treatment room; Mandarin Oriental spa reception; the Aman spa at
The Connaught; and COMO Shambala Spa glass oil bottles atThe Metropolitan. opposite page: A
synchronized massage at Mandarin Oriental.
ALCHEMY THE CENTRE
Located down a hidden alleyway in Camden Market, Alchemy
The Centre is an oasis of calm in amongst the clamour of this busy
district. The centre takes a holistic approach to wellness, focusing
on discovery and transformation of body and mind. Some of the
newest and oldest methods sit side by side on the treatment menu
and guests can take meditation classes or enjoy a range of holistic
therapies. A huge range of yoga classes are also available from
Ashtanga to Hatha, as well as life counselling. The Holistic hot
oil massage combines techniques from all over the globe, while
the acupuncture sessions are conducted by Chinese medicine
professionals. The centre provides Londoners with a calm and
welcoming community, where they can escape the busy rush of
the city and find inner harmony.
www.alchemythecentre.co.uk
SPA INTERCONTINENTAL
This cool and elegant urban retreat has a Middle Eastern vibe with
deep mahogany furnishings and mosaic tiled treatment rooms.
A speciality of the spa is the steam temple, a treatment where
a combination of mud and clay is applied to the body and face
and then left to be absorbed by the skin as guests sit in a crystal
steam room. The ocean wrap is also a must try. Clay and then oil
are applied to the skin before cocooning the body in a wrap and
lowering the guest into a dry floatation tank for the ultimate relaxing
experience. The Elemis facials are also expertly executed, with
special day packages, such as the “English Rose” experience tailored
to include local products and oils. The spa cuisine is the perfect
way to end the experience. Bento boxes of healthy, wholesome
lunches are offered along with a glass of Champagne to complete
the pampering. www.spaintercontinental.com
spadestination

4. spadestination
140 AsiaSpa 2010 1412010 AsiaSpa
where to stay
THE MANDARIN ORIENTAL
An incredible and historic building, the Mandarin Oriental in
London provides an unforgettable hotel experience. The building
was originally a top London gentleman’s club and there is still
an atmosphere of a colonial establishment, with maps and travel
memorabilia decorating the walls and traditional furnishings
providing a truly five-star experience.The suites overlook the whole
of London and one glimpse out the window provides a sweeping
view of Big Ben, The London Eye and St Paul’s Cathedral, which
provide a glittering backdrop to the mahogany furniture, Persian
rugs and sparkling marble bathrooms.
www.mandarinoriental.com/london
THE METROPOLITAN
A truly chic experience, The Metropolitan has been a celebrated
hangout for the rich and famous since its opening and The Met Bar
is a place to see and be seen. The décor is elegant and minimalist,
peppered with touches of modern art and splashes of vibrant colour.
The rooms take full advantage of the beautiful views over Hyde Park
with huge windows providing a light and airy space and décor kept
simple and modern to provide a tranquil, urban oasis.
www.metropolitan.london.como.bz
THE BERKELEY
Like a resort in the middle of Knightsbridge, this hotel may be just
a stone’s throw away from the celebrated department store Harrods
but with a rooftop pool.The fabulously intimate Blue Bar and white
wood panelled rooms, makes it feel like a luxurious country home.
The Berkeley expertly fuses traditional hotel values from its long
heritage in London with modern service – the perfect example of
this fusion is the way ipads are provided on the oak desk alongside
the embossed notepaper.
www.the-berkeley.co.uk
beauty boutiques
PENHALIGON’S
Appointed by the Prince of Wales himself, Penhaligon’s flagship
store in Covent Garden is like a trip back in time with Victorian
fragrance bottles lining the wallpapered walls and traditional leather
cosmetics cases dotting antique chests. Shoppers enjoy a uniquely
personal experience and pick up traditional scents, candles and
bath and body products.
www.penhaligons.com
SPACE NK
Space NK sources the latest cult beauty products and offers a
carefully edited selection of high quality, original and effective
ranges from innovators and specialists around the world, such as
NARS cosmetics, Aromatherpay Associates skincare and Maison
Francis Kurkdhian candles.
www.spacenk.co.uk
NEAL’S YARD
Born in 1981 in Covent Garden, Neal’s Yard was one of the first
pioneers of natural remedies in skincare, which launched the push
against the synthetic chemical approach to skin and healthcare.Their
vision was to provide a holistic approach to health and beauty and
all products are still made naturally in their headquarters in Dorset.
www.nealsyardremedies.com
spadestination
this page: The Berkeley rooftop pool. opposite page: COMO Shambala Spa back massage at The
Metropolitan; Outside Mandarin Oriental; and Six Senses Spa hydrotherapy pool at Pan Peninsula.
SIX SENSES SPA AT PAN PENINSULA
Providing busy Londoners in Canary Wharf with a 650 square
metre spa escape, Six Senses provides a retreat from city life with
its range of rejuvenating Asian-influenced therapies combined with
holistic lifestyle guidance. An airy yet relaxing space, the spa fuses
elements of traditional Asian architecture with modern facilities
such as a luxurious bio-thermal circuit with a chromotherapy steam
cabin, crystal laconium, traditional dry sauna, sensory shower and
hydrotherapy pool.The spa recently launched a range of pioneering
treatments, which use Voya products, the first genuinely organic
seaweed-based cosmetic products in the world. Originally from
Ireland, the brand uses hand-harvested seaweed, which is organic
certified in a range of traditional Irish seaweed baths and treatments.
The Voya body treatment is not only incredibly effective but also
completely relaxing. The skin is polished to glowing perfection,
while the seaweed products infuse the skin with natural oils that
both intensely moisturise the skin and relax the muscles.
www.sixsenses.com/six-senses-spas/pan-peninsula
THE BERKELEY
Like walking into a Saint Tropez-style hangout, The Berkeley has a
fabulous rooftop pool overlooking Knightsbridge. Surrounded by
white pillars, with classic aqua tiling, this spa is an oasis of calm that
feels more like a rustic countryside getaway. Using [comfort zone]
products, most of the treatments provide a classic spa experience.
The “ultimate spa ritual for her” starts with a rejuvenating fruit full
body peel, which is left to naturally absorb dead skin cells and is
then showered off to reveal incredibly smooth skin. Essential oils
are then massaged into the body and a customised facial hydrates
the skin leaving it glowing. www.the-berkeley.co.uk
COMO SHAMBALA AT THE METROPOLITAN
The COMO Shambala Spa is both minimalist as well as comfortable.
The moment you walk through the door, you are greeted with
the COMO Shambala’s notoriously welcoming service and the
therapists are incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about what
they do. There’s a practical approach to the spa experience, with
simple steam room and treatment rooms, where the focus is on the
end results – this means it appeals to men as much as women. The
signature massage is not to be missed. Guests choose one of the six
signature blended oils that have been specially created for COMO
Shambala and are applied using a massage combination of long
strokes and deep-tissue massage. The technique was developed in
London drawing influences from Thailand and Scandinavia and is
constantly updated with new methods garnered from the COMO
Shambala resorts around the world.
www.metropolitan.london.como.bz

5. wellbeing
104 AsiaSpa 2010 1052010 AsiaSpa
wellbeing
104 AsiaSpa 2010 1052010 AsiaSpa
When carbon offsetting programmes
first gained popularity in the late 90s,
you could almost hear the sigh of relief
echoing down from the plane-scoured
skies. Millions of global nomads suddenly
realised they could continue to live their
luxurious lifestyle, safe in the knowledge
that for every flight they took or resort
they visited, trees would be planted, wind
turbines would be built and the world
would become a cleaner place. It was like
one giant transcontinental “Hail Mary” –
commit the sin and then pay for absolution.
It seems absolution is a persuasive draw
card and what began as a wacky concept
pioneered by a few environmentalists has
now become a multi-billion dollar market
that involves everyone from the world’s
largest transnationals, governments, the
World Bank and the UN, down to mom-
and-pop offset companies, consultancies,
and NGOs. In 2009, 8.2 billion metric tons
of carbon dioxide equivalent changed hands
Do carbon offsetting programmes
help to ease the toll of the tourism
and spa industry on the environment, or
are they simply a means of soothing our
own personal sense of guilt? Emily Jones
investigates…
conun drum
TRAIL OF FOOTPRINTS ACROSS GRASS © INMAGINE.COM
* According to a study by carbon-market re-
search firm Point Carbon.
THE CARBON
worldwide, up 68 percent from 2008*.
Carbon is officially a hot commodity but
as the industry grows, the cracks in the
concept appear.
RIDING THE CONTROVERSY
Technically the idea of carbon offsetting is
rooted in sound ethics. Instead of trying to
transform the behaviour of billions of people,
why not simply find a means of encouraging
them to invest in environmental projects?
But for all its green-coated promises, the
carbon offsetting industry is now riddled
with controversy.
Everyday there seems to be another
report in the press about the ineffective-
ness of these schemes. There was the offset
project in India that cleared hundreds of
plots of traditional tribal farmlands to build
windmills for green electric power, leaving
many farmers without a livelihood and –
in the end – generating significantly less
power than expected. Even more sinister,
a California promoter launched a carbon
offsetting programme to spread iron dust in
the South Pacific in order to grow carbon-
sucking algae. It was only after the plan was
launched that the Environmental Protection
Agency said it would amount to illegal
dumping at sea. And perhaps, one of the
most high-profile cases was when news
came that Coldplay’s 2002 album, A Rush
of Blood to the Head, would be offset with
10,000 mango trees in Karnataka, India. But
a year later, a report in the SundayTelegraph
stated that, of the 10,000 trees that were sup-
posedly distributed to small farmers, only
a few hundred were found to still be alive.
All these well-reported stories have done
nothing to improve the image of carbon
offsetting programmes. But do a few teething
problems mean we should all forget the
concept entirely? Geoffrey Lipman, Special
Advisor to the UNWTO Secretary-General
does not believe we should be so quick to
judge. For the past four decades, Lipman has
been heavily involved in advising how the
tourism industry can support governments
to lower carbon emissions. “There is no
magic answer to this problem,” he says. “In
essence, carbon offsetting is a good concept
and it would be a great shame if a few mis-
informed rock bands and cowboy carbon
dealers destroyed an idea that, in principal,

6. wellbeing
106 AsiaSpa 2010 1072010 AsiaSpa
wellbeing
If nothing else, the very fact you can offset
everything from your flight to the production
of your washing powder is raising
people’s carbon footprint awareness.
impact on the local environment during
their visit. Following the El Nino disaster,
The Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru in the
Maldives launched a comprehensive coral
transplant project, which encourages guests
to sponsor and transplant coral whilst on
holiday in the resort. The guests can name
their own coral trays and track progress
through weekly photographs posted on the
project website. Since the project launched
in 2007, 18,612 coral fragments have been
successfully transplanted in the waters sur-
rounding the island and in future the resort
hopes this project could even be expanded
to help protect the islands from erosion and
rising sea levels – it’s like their very own
voluntary carbon offsetting scheme.
“Many of the spa fans actually plant their
coral beneath the treatment rooms so while
they have their treatments, they can watch
their coral through the windows in the floor,”
explains Luisa Anderson, Senior Director of
Spa, for Four Seasons Resorts in Asia Pacific.
“What started off as a nice activity for guests
has become a hugely popular means of
building awareness about the risks to coral in
this area. The guests love the novelty, and go
home with a little more sensitivity towards the
planet – it’s a win-win situation.”
Like all efforts to improve human impact
on the environment, carbon offsetting is an
ever-evolving idea that will not necessarily
provide an immediate solution but will
contribute to a gradual shift in the way we
view and behave towards our planet. As
more and more people take action into their
own hands, the industry can only evolve,
ensuring the good programmes are sorted
from the bad, opening the channels of com-
munication to assure integrity and ultimately
empowering tourists themselves to make a
positive rather than negative impact on the
special places they visit. While not everyone
will want to spend their holidays offsetting
their carbon by planting trees or transplanting
coral, the tourism industry has always had
a powerful positive impact on our develop-
ment, and it now has the opportunity to
lead a positive change in behaviour. Time
will tell if carbon offsetting proves to be
the ultimate solution, but for now the best
thing we can do as tourists is to make the
right informed decisions and support the
people genuinely trying to change the way
we enjoy our world.
can be a solid component to help us ease
the toll we take on our environment.”
Die-hard environmentalists often turn
away from carbon offsetting programmes as
they feel these programmes are an excuse
for companies to continue with “business
as usual” when it comes to emissions and
pass the responsibility to someone else.
Lipman agrees that carbon offsetting should
not be used as a replacement for industry
best practices. “The solution to this issue is
going to be a combination of many differ-
ent techniques, technologies and concepts.
This includes everything from incentives
and taxation to environmental proofing of
buildings. It’s a global change of all pro-
duction and consumption and because we
can’t change the mindset and behaviour of
everyone immediately, I think carbon offset-
ting programmes provide one of the pieces
in solving the puzzle.”
If nothing else, the very fact you can offset
everything from your flight to the production
of your washing powder is raising people’s
carbon footprint awareness. “For one rea-
son or another carbon offsetting has struck
a chord with the average consumer,” says
Lipman. “The popularity of the concept is
helping us to persuade the tourism industry
that these kinds of changes will not only be
well received by consumers, but will actually
help businesses prosper as travel behaviours
change and evolve.”
THE POWER OF THE INDIVIDUAL
Louis Thompson, director of green building
and sustainable practices at Six Senses
Resorts & Spas believes that the future
of carbon offsetting will lie in how each
individual educates himself. “Resorts and
spas should lead the way in providing guests
with environmentally-friendly options but
ultimately, it is up to the guests themselves
to do the research and make responsible
decisions,” he says. “That can include
everything from asking the operator the right
questions to ensure the carbon offsetting
scheme you choose has a gold standard
of approval and is properly regulated,
to choosing a spa that is built with solar
panels for heating water and natural forms
of cooling to avoid using air conditioning.”
Geoffrey Lipman agrees that while
governments can regulate the schemes and
reduce consumer deception, it is the indi-
viduals that will iron out these false schemes.
“With the rise of social networking platforms,
we live in a word-of-mouth world,” he says.
“Ultimately, the bad programmes will be
ironed out by the consumer, who will
comment and feedback and continually
monitor the solution, forcing the industry
to develop and become more efficient and
reliable if it is to survive.”
THE FUTURE OF CARBON OFFSETTING
Part of the current problem with carbon
offsetting programmes is that from the
companies that manage funding, right
down to the local farmer who executes
the tree-planting, each link in the chain
assumes little or no responsibility for
proper execution and no one is ultimately
responsible for ensuring the promises to the
consumer are actually delivered.
“With many of these schemes, it is very
difficult to ensure promises of carbon off-
setting have been followed through,” says
Louis Thompson. “So I believe the future
of carbon offsetting could lie in people
taking the offsetting into their own hands.
People are already taking holidays to go tree
planting or help work with local wildlife.
In the future, I can imagine tree planting
programmes being offered within a resort,
allowing the guests to offset their carbon
emissions there and then.”
Indeed, many resorts and even spas
now encourage guests to make a positive
BOYLYINGDOWNPLAYINGWITHPLANEANDWOMANPLANTINGSAPLING,BOTH©INMAGINE.COM

7. wellbeing
108 AsiaSpa 2011108 AsiaSpa 2011
wellbeing
ecopreneur
writer Emily Jones

8. 1092011 AsiaSpa
It was in the beautiful hills of Laos that
Adam decided he needed to make a change
and turn his passion for sustainability into a
full-time career. Upon returning to Singapore,
he handed in his notice at Molton Brown and
then had a six-month notice period to work
out what his next step would be.
FROM BOARDROOM TO BICYCLE SEAT
Adam decided to set up Osmosis Ventures
(www.osmosisventures.com), a business
consultancy service that helps companies
to operate in a more sustainable way and
promotes conscious living. The initial idea
was to have a business that would help
fund his non-profit activities. However,
many new business owners struggle to find
the time to do anything outside of their
company, let alone set up a non-profit
foundation, so rather than going from one
long office day to another, Adam focused
on removing some of the financial pressure
To any outsider, Adam Horler was living
the “dream expatriate lifestyle.” At the
age of 36, he had worked his way up from
commercial director at L’Oréal to CEO and
international board member of Molton
Brown and when he wasn’t jetting around
the region globalising western brands, he
was playing rugby at a national level for
Hong Kong.
But as his career grew and his expat
perks blossomed, he became increasingly
unnerved by the way his businesses were
impacting our planet. “My job took me to
many places that a western businessman
doesn’t typically go to,” Adam describes.
“And while I had some fascinating cultural
experiences, I was appalled to witness
the way many of these small towns were
sacrificing their way of life to grab some
of the export market. Many of these places
had a long history and beautiful natural
surroundings but they were now shrouded
in foul-smelling air, fringed with black and
bubbling rivers and littered with plastic
and pollution.”
As he climbed the career ladder,
Adam’s sense of indignation grew – he was
becoming highly successful at launching
western brands in Asia but at the same time,
felt his very role in the company could
be having a negative impact on the com-
munities he lived among. “I felt we were
just adding fuel to the fire and destroying
cultures and communities in Asia,” he says.
“Throughout my career, I became more and
more conscious of this and subsequently
became an internal eco warrior, champion-
ing sustainability within the companies I
worked for. I think I became a bit of a thorn
in the side of the people who just wanted
to focus on short-term profits.”
by addressing his lifestyle and the way he
spent money. “I was nervous that you build
up a lifestyle around what you earn,” he
says. “So I made a conscious decision that
I needed to downsize.”
Adam began to cycle around Singapore
instead of taking taxis, he found ways of
repairing his clothes instead of buying new
ones and generally, got creative in the way
he lived to reduce the amount he consumed.
“It’s amazing to realise that you collect so
much stuff that you just don’t need when
you are earning a comfortable salary but all
this stuff doesn’t have much impact on your
overall happiness – so what is the point?
You’re just working hard to buy more stuff
that you don’t need!”
Six months into the launch of his new
company, Adam stumbled across the US-
based movement, LOHAS. LOHAS stands
for ‘Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability’
and is a social movement focused on health
and fitness, the environment, personal
development, sustainable living, and social
justice. Adam saw the potential to launch
LOHAS in Asia so he contacted the US
organisers and was soon up and running.
He now spends 70 percent of his time
working on LOHAS in Asia, using Osmosis
Ventures to help fund his activities.
“If I had to describe LOHAS in a few
simple words, I would say we are an accel-
erator to sustainability,” Adam explains. “So
I look at all the pressure points and areas that
we can work on to make our world move
towards sustainability faster. At the moment,
the areas we are focusing on are finance,
promoting small sustainable businesses and
providing consumers with the education
and communication tools to let businesses
know what they need.”
this page: Adam Horler. opposite page: ©inmagine.com
Three years ago, Adam Horler left his high-profile
job as CEO of Molton Brown Asia to save the planet.
Emily Jones charts his incredible journey from
corporate boardroom to crusader’s bicycle seat…

9. wellbeing
110 AsiaSpa 2011
THE ECO AND THE ECONOMIC
Adam was not the first person to launch
LOHAS in Asia, he discovered that a
Japanese publishing group had been using
the term in Japan since 2002. Equally,
Asian consumers were aware of the term,
which had become synonymous with green
living. “In Asia, the LOHAS movement
almost had a cult following. It was seen as
something outside of the norm, something
that conscious, trend leaders were behind.
Essentially, it was ‘cool,’” he describes.
Adam immediately saw the marketing
potential for a movement that
was already deemed ‘cool.’
“The fact that it’s a consumer-led
movement that no one is driv-
ing really excited me,” he says.
“I thought ‘now I have a great
opportunity to take this one
step further and give it shape
and structure. I could make it
the common language between
businesses and consumers and
ultimately, leverage this movement to make
sustainability happen faster.’ Markets are all
about finding a way to speak to people in
a language they understand and here was
a movement that was already doing that.”
While Adam doesn’t take ownership
of LOHAS as it is essentially a people-led
movement, he has put in place a regional
team of volunteers that know the most about
LOHAS and are able to help businesses be-
come more sustainable. He personally works
with everyone from private equity funds to
help them invest in sustainable businesses
to small start-ups to help them launch in a
sustainable way. “The ambition would be
for our logo to be a free accreditation that
consumers look for.”
Two months ago, he launched “THE
HUB by LOHAS” (thehub.lohas.com), a
free online networking portal for sustain-
able businesses. The hub allows members
to share ideas and information and tap
into like-minded people to market their
business. “I see LOHAS almost as a kindly
uncle to many of these businesses,” Adam
says. “Everyday I meet so many inspir-
ing people who are not only setting up
businesses but trying to do it in the right
way. Through THE HUB by LOHAS we
are trying to champion these people and
help their businesses grow because if
they do well, it proves to the world that
we can continue to enjoy our way of life
but we don’t have to destroy the world in
the process.”
Indeed, what makes Adam’s campaign
so engaging is that his approach is intrinsi-
cally different to the standard eco warrior;
he understands that worrying about the
planet is all very well, but ultimately,
businesses and people still want to make
money. Essentially, if it doesn’t make
commercial sense, the whole concept
will never really fly on a grand scale.
“Operating sustainably is all about using
less resources, which makes sense from
an economic perspective as much as it
does from an eco perspective,” says Adam.
“I think we’re moving into a
very different era now. There
are more and more people
in the world and more and
more resources are needed.
Those resources are becoming
harder to find so if you rely on
resources as a business and
you don’t have the strategy to
mitigate that, you are going
to make less and less money.”
FUSING THE SPIRITUAL WITH THE
COMMERCIAL
If anyone is going to change people’s
approach to our world’s resources it is
likely to be someone like Adam – a person
who has been a key player in the corporate
world, someone who has made decisions
that have an impact on the planet and
who has himself gone through a shift in
the way he perceives our world. “Over
“I am a believer that there is such a
thing as global consciousness and
I think that as much as we try to deny it,
we are part of the natural fabric
of the world.”
– ADAM HORLER
wellbeing

10. 1112011 AsiaSpa
work in Asia. He is a genuinely persuasive
character, so full of passion about what he
does that he is able to sell his ideals and
ethos to the very businesses that have been
responsible for much of the destruction.
He flits between discussing spirituality and
profitability with the same positive tone,
meaning his passion is infectious.
Among all the dark stories in the press
that suggest the human race is career-
ing towards self destruction, the LOHAS
movement is a ray of hope. It’s about
empowering like-minded people to come
together and bring about change. It’s about
conscious people trying to educate those
with a short-term view and it makes you
genuinely believe that those black bub-
bling rivers around Asia do not need to
be a grim forecast of our future – people with
good intentions can make a difference and
breathe new life into our weak world.
You can find out more about LOHAS in Asia
by visiting www.lohas-asia.org.
the last 10 years, I’ve gone from being a
rugby guy, who was very driven to climb
up the career ladder as fast as possible, to
taking a step back and considering what
is important to me and what I’m really
here to do.”
Adam attributes part of this mental shift
to meeting his wife, Ann, a yoga teacher.
“Ann helped open my eyes,” he muses. “I
remember visiting her at a yoga ashram
once and as I walked in everyone was
eating watermelon in absolute silence
with an intense look of rapture on their
faces. I discovered later that they were
eating ‘consciously’ and thinking about all
the different elements that had gone into
creating that melon.” In instances like this
Adam says his “rugby lad instinct” made
him think these people were all “a bunch
of hippies” but as he got to know them,
he discovered that they were interesting
people from all walks of life, who all shared
an eye-opening view of the world and tried
to live in a conscious manner.
EVOLVING MENTALITIES
“For me, it was incredibly inspiring to meet
people who were so open and so in touch
with their surroundings and the way they
wanted to lead their lives. It made me change
my mentality and I think that mental shift is
slowly happening to a lot of people. I am a
believer that there is such a thing as global
consciousness and I do think that as much
as we try to deny it we are part of the natural
fabric of the world.The world is clearly in pain
at the moment and at some very elemental
level, I believe people’s mentalities are shifting
and we are realising that something is not
right.“ Indeed, Adam’s work with LOHAS is
rooted in this idea that if the people that have
already gone through this mental shift connect
together, they can help other people reach this
level of consciousness much quicker.
Adam clearly has a deeply spiritual
sense of our responsibility as humans to care
for our planet but he doesn’t express himself
like an “eco-hippie.” He speaks like a CEO
and that is what is so exciting about his
this page: Images courtesy of ©inmagine.com. opposite page: A LOHAS tree planting event in Singapore.