INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Did you hear the story of the little girl in India who called the police to report her dad over a toilet?
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Let me tell you a few things about failure — a subject on which I’m something of an expert.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
It was 2014 and social entrepreneur Samir Lakhani was working on sustainable aquaculture projects in the villages of Northern Cambodia. Watching a mother wash and bathe her new baby using laundry powder rather than soap is a vision that has stayed with him to this day.
It was also the inspiration for his next business venture.
“I noticed that nobody seemed in good overall health — whether it was an infection that wouldn’t go away or a child with diarrhea,” he told Sustainable Brands in a recent interview.
COLLABORATION & CO-CREATION -
The Indonesian Network of the United Nations Global Compact today announced a partnership between Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Martha Tilaar Group (MTG) — a leading Indonesian manufacturer of cosmetics and herbal medicine — to train 1,000 women from forest communities to help preserve herbal plants and become self-sufficient entrepreneurs.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Last year, the leading economies in renewable energy investment growth were not to be found in North America or even Europe — the leaders in growth were countries often described as developing, such as China, Brazil, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Argentina.
These big shifts in renewables investment have, in fact, been emerging since 2004, and portend a strong outlook for continued growth in global renewable energy investment and reaching carbon-reduction targets.
COLLABORATION & CO-CREATION -
Sanitation is one of the most pressing social and public health challenges today. 1 in 3 people worldwide do not have access to a safe toilet — and 892 million people have no choice but to defecate in the open. Every two minutes, a child dies from a preventable diarrhea-related disease — approximately 288,000 children each year. The issue also contributes to the number of girls who drop out of school, since they are especially affected by a lack of hygiene and sanitation during their period.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Transparency has become a bit of a buzzword in the fashion industry and judging by the number of times it was mentioned at this year’s Copenhagen Fashion Summit, it is a trend that we are not going to shake anytime soon. Quite the contrary, transparency is reshaping how brands and retailers interact with their suppliers and consumers. But can it really transform the entire fashion industry? C&A Foundation’s Leslie Johnston hosted a panel of experts to find out.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Have you ever stopped to think about how many people were involved in making the clothes you buy? Chances are you have heard about or read The Travels of a T-shirt in a Global Economy or listened to Planet Money’s piece on making a t-shirt. Both are incredibly interesting examinations of the effects of global trade on the fashion industry, developing countries and garment workers.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
Proposing a new idea and convincing others of its validity is no easy task. Even more so when you’re dealing with complex issues such as supply chain transparency, or trying to shift the ‘take, make and waste’ model of the fashion industry to one of circularity.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
For the first time ever in Ghana, cocoa farmers have obtained official ownership of non-cocoa trees on their farms. Some 150 farmers in the country’s western region will now be able to include shade trees as part of their business plans, providing additional sources of income in the form of timber while reducing deforestation and the effects of climate change.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
A first-of-its-kind research project led by Microfinance Opportunities (MFO) in partnership with Fashion Revolution and C&A Foundation gives the most comprehensive picture yet of the living and working conditions faced by female garment workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia and India.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
"We want to create "radical impact", as we like to call it: create access to better quality coffee than the one sold by the leading multinationals and make sure that the people growing our coffee make a better living by bringing value-adding activities back to their countries. But how do we measure and show what we actually do with Moyee?” said Guido van Staveren van Dijk, CEO of Moyee Coffee, describing one of the key challenges his company is facing.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program, already the global standard for environmentally responsible seafood, has created a new tool that allows businesses to assess the potential risk of forced labor, human trafficking and child labor in fisheries.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The cocoa industry is undoubtedly changing for the better, but the road to a sustainable sector is a long one. According to industry experts, long-term, sustainable change can’t be made without paying farmers a premium.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
On December 11, 2017, ahead of the One Planet Climate Summit, Crédit Agricole, Danone, Firmenich, Hermès, Michelin, SAP, Schneider Electric and Voyageurs du Monde will officially launch the new Livelihoods Carbon Fund.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
According to the World Health Organization (WTO) 1 in 3 people don’t have access to a clean and safe toilet. The Toilet Board Coalition (TBC), along with LIXIL Group Corporation (LIXIL) - a manufacturer of building materials, Firmenich and Kimberly-Clark are working together to transform sanitation systems into a smart, sustainable and revenue-generating economy.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Certified B Corporation Thread is taking its commitment to end poverty by creating dignified jobs and responsible, high-quality fabrics to the next level with the announcement of a partnership with nonprofit Kiva. The startup, which transforms plastic bottles from the streets and canals of Haiti and Honduras into responsible fabrics, has used Kiva’s direct-to-social enterprise loan program to raise $10,000 for its zero-interest micro-loan program.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Four years after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in which 1,134 people were killed, Fashion Revolution has released its 2017 Fashion Transparency Index, which ranks 100 of the biggest fashion companies on their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Seventy-five million people work directly in the fashion and textiles industry. Many are subject to exploitation; verbal and physical abuse, unsafe working conditions and poor pay. While some progress has been made since the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in 2013, which killed 1,138 people, there is still a lot to be done.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
In celebration of World Water Day, brewer Stella Artois and National Geographic have joined forces to create Our Dream of Water, a documentary by Crystal Moselle spotlighting the effects of the global water crisis. The film, which was commissioned by Stella Artois, will premiere on National Geographic on March 22nd at 6:00 p.m. EST/PST. Our Dream of Water is an extension of the brewer’s Buy a Lady a Drink campaign, an ongoing partnership with Water.org.