Finisterre

A business that really embeds its beliefs throughout its products, supply chain, customer experience and culture. It’s a founder led, cold water surfing brand based in Cornwall.

From outdoor gear made using recycled materials, to sweatshirts containing hemp (instead of 100% cotton), to paper delivery bags and biodegradable packaging their sustainability commitments run through their value chain.

Finisterre’s strategy is based around their guiding commitments of Product, Environment and People. You can read more here. It is also B-Corp Certified. This is a fine example of a brand epitomising its values at every touch-point.

The Future We Choose Surviving the Climate Crisis

The authors describe themselves as stubborn climate optimists and this is definitely an ambitious book that inspires you to act now.

I love it as it’s centered around a ‘yes we can’ attitude. As well as highlighting the severity of the issues we’re up against, it reminds us that we know what we need to do, and that we have all the tools and all we need to do it.

It shows us that we are all participants in the future we choose “ We can ignite regenerative human cultures that seek to ensure that humanity becomes a life-sustaining influence on the eco-systems and on the planet as a whole. We will need artists as well as policy experts, farmers as well as leaders of industry, grandmothers as well as inventors, and indigenous leaders as well as scientists.”

LoveWelcomes

Love Welcomes employ a team of refugee women at camps in Greece to transform life vests & blanket material into beautiful, handmade products such as cushions that are sold all over the world. Each purchase is more than a beautiful product, it is an investment in refugee women, their families and their community.

They have a clear purpose and are building solidarity, empathy and respect between consumers and producers. At the same time skills are being shared and learnt that enable many of the women to develop employable weaving and sewing skills that have enabled them to get jobs within Europe. They also use their platform to sell products with the same ethos, for example Sisterhood Soap.

LoveWelcomes clearly articulate their purpose and build empathy, understanding and solidarity through story telling.

Market like you give a damn

I found this book by Afdhel Aziz and Bobby Jones really useful to read whilst working on a complex brief at the start of Covid. If you’re keen to learn more about organisations that lead with purpose then this is a great read with lots of real life examples and it’s sure to inspire you.

One of my favourite observations from the book is “Think Citizens not Consumers: we believe that if you only treat people as ‘consumers of your product, you are condemned to have a one-dimensional relationship with them. Conversely if you treat people as ‘citizens’- with a range of passions, concerns and goals- you will be able to have a much richer, multidimensional relationship with them……your purpose as a brand can find common ground with their purpose; instead of being in a ‘transactional’ relationship, you can be in a transformational relationship.”

Sharing supply chain transparency with customers

Brands such as Everlane and ABLE (both US based clothing brands) are demonstrating a new level of transparency in a sector that has historically been coy. Everlane call theirs Radical Transparency. On their site they show a map of all of their factories around the world with details on each. At the bottom of their product pages they publish a breakdown of their costs and margins. ABLE focus more on the payment of living wages in the factories they use. They show a level of depth and transparency on living wages that I haven’t seen before.  Closer to home M & S have an interactive supplier map. They provide a map of their suppliers, and a gender split for the workforce.

Supply chains shouldn’t be something to be ashamed of and if they are, then there is a likelihood something is wrong.  By sharing information, businesses demonstrate confidence in their supply chains and if an issue is found then the most important thing to do is to partner with your supplier to remediate any violations. Simply walking away pushes the problem underground.

Cistor- Rethinking Remanufactured IT

E-waste is a huge problem. Over 50m tonnes of e-waste is generated annually and according to a report by the UN this is set to double by 2050. In their report they highlight that “ e-waste is worth at least $62.5 billion annually, which is more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of most countries. In fact, if e-waste was a single nation, its GDP would be on a par with that of Kenya.” Yet it shouldn’t be a problem. It is possible to extend the life of IT equipment and domestic electronic items to keep them from landfill.

Founded over 10 years ago Cistor promote remanufactured technology for businesses- moving IT from a linear take-make-dispose model to one that aligns with the circular economy. It is possible to extend the life of IT equipment through remanufacture and the refurbished kit comes with a warranty from the original manufacturer. Using remanufactured IT is tangible impact that IT/ procurement departments can make to their business' sustainability objectives, but it’s little known.

At a time when businesses need to be mindful of cost, remanufactured and repurposed IT and networking equipment is a great way to save costs and protect valuable planetary resources. Infact, Cistor provided re-manufactured IT to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation when they were just starting out! #circularfirst