The 2012 edition of the Guardian Sustainable Business Awards and the Observer Ethical Awards took place, in this order, back to back on May 29 and 30.
Both events were well visited, but at the same time they attract each a someone different crowd.
The Sustainable Business Awards are – just as the name suggests – somewhat less glamorous (a fact possibly due to them only being in their second year) and certainly have a more corporate feel to them. At the same time some of the attendees have a track record of over 30 years trying to implement change. For example: John Elkington – founder of SustainAbility and Volans amongst other – was among them.
The Ethical Awards, in contrast, is a get-together of everyone who is, or thinks they are, Someone Important for the cause of promoting sustainability in the public eye in London and beyond.
Both of this year’s events indeed also resulted in some important and well-deserved recognition given to companies active in the fashion industry, for achievements that have taken years to realise. In the remainder of this article, hence, a brief overview of those winners – or runners up where applicable – related to the fashion industry, and their respective achievements.
Guardian Sustainable Business Awards
- Category:
Biodiversity(winner): PUMA (PPR Holding)
Project: PUMA Environmental Profit and Loss Account (E P&L)
What is their achievement?: The Environmental Profit & Loss Account is revolutionary in that for the first time a company as seriously attempted, and succeeded to a good degree, in putting a cost on the impact a business has on the environment, across its entire supply chain. They have proven that it is possible to monetize their impact, and the risk they create in the environment and the cost generated in this way either to themselves or to society at large.
Note: PUMA was also awarded the ‘Overall Winner’ for this year’s edition. - Category:
Innovation(winner): Interface
Project: Go Beyond
What is their achievement?: The inventor of nylon told Interface years ago, that it was entirely impossible to recycle nylon yarn, a basic ingredient of their carpet tiles but which comes with some serious environmental problems. Nevertheless, the company insisted on their vision, and in 2011 finally were able to launch their Biosfera I product, which uses 100% recycled nylon. - Category:
Supply Chain(2 winners, both fashion): VEJA and Marks & Spencer
Projects: VEJA – novel, industry-wide unique supply chain business model; M&S – Plan A: Transforming Supply Chains
What are their achievements:
Veja has build a successful business by approaching their interaction with their suppliers completely differently, while making sure that all the materials are as environmentally sound as possible. In that way, they collaborate with organic cotton small holders in the North of Brazil, communities of virgin (i.e. non-plantation) rubber tappers in the Amzon, responsible sneaker manufacturers in Sao Paolo, or tanneries that work with vegetable dyes and food-industry by-product hides only.
M&S – works with suppliers in 70 countries and some two million workers in 2,000 factories and 20,000 farms, with the aim to consolidate and improve their supply chain (certainly also financially!). They are the first who are in the process of implementing a full track&trace system for all their non-food items – as a consequence of which, their sustainability vision is “supply chain dependent” since without cooperation of their suppliers there is no advances to be made. - Category:
Waste & Recycling(winner): DESSO
Project: Cradle to Cradle design strategy 2020
What are they doing?: The company not only is changing their product lines to become entirely Crade-to-Cradle compliant, – and has achieved this already with some of them – but in addition is building a take-back schema whereby they can guarantee that their efforts actually won’t be in vain, and all their carpet will come back to their factory and can be given a new lease of life.
The most striking aspect of this year’s Guardian Sustainable Business Awards? Two of the winners work in the carpet industry – considerable in impact as far as their waste is concerned – and both base their innovation on the Cradle-to-Cradle concept (to know more: read the book).
This in fact can be considered a small sensation. Cradle-to-Cradle is from an innovation, technological and logistical point of view a hugely challenging, although no doubt very convincing, concept. To find 2 companies, in the same industry, with achievements that are based on the same visionary concept is a clear indicator that ‘something’ is happening, and that indeed there are people and companies that are working hard on owning up to the impact they have.
Observer Ethical Awards
- Category:
RetailerWarren Evans (winner); Frugi (runner up)
What are the achievements:
Warren Evans – produced quality bed frames using ‘fair trade’ methods and employ skilled local craftspeople. They only produce in London, and put a high value on excellent employment conditions, education and training, and good wages – something that, sad as is is, is not a given even in the UK. They only deal in products sourced from socially responsible businesses, and always use environmentally friendly wood, certified by the FSC (forest stewardship council). All beds are made in London, and only retailed through themselves – they do not sell wholesale or middle men.
Frugi – follows in the footstep of Green Baby, yet specialises in only clothing for babies and toddlers, and their breast feeding mums. The brand name is Latin and means ‘fruits of the earth’. Organic cotton throughout, reversible or multi-use garments, made under fair trade conditions, and that notably give space to use cloth nappies rather than the disposable ones only, as the latter ones have less volume than the first. - Category:
Arts & CultureWhen China Met Africa (winner)
What are the achievements: What happens when the world’s most ambitious developing power meets the poverty, corruption, and fragility of Africa? China is just beginning to find out. This documentary examines what China’s increasing investment in Africa means for the world. It does so, through an intimate portrait of three characters on the front line of China’s foray into Africa.
While this may not directly relate to fashion on the surface, it in fact is. Africa is often quotes as being the next ‘big destination’ for clothing production outsourcing on the one hand, and cotton production on the other. With the Chinese textile entrepreneurs already shifting to cheaper destination, this documentary about a development that is at least a few decades old already, and the associate bigger picture, is if unquestionable relevance. - Category:
Fashion & AccessoriesVeja (winner), Bottletop (runner up), Ada Zanditon (runner up)
What are the achievements:
Veja – see above.
Bottletop – produces bags and accessories from can ring pulls under in their dedicated co-operative in Brazil. The co-operative was created on purpose just to manufacture the brand’s accessories. The project provides full insurance cover and a range of health & safety measures such as physiotherapy sessions to prevent repetitive stress injuries.
Ada Zanditon – is a London based fashion designer who works with innovative and organic fabrics, AZO free printing and dye methods. Fabric waste is re-appropriated in the design process. - Category:
Ecover Ethical Kids ChallengeFact Fashion (winner)
What are the achievements: Someone reminiscent of what Katherine Hamnett did in the 80s with her activist T-shirts, with Fact Fashion, kids had the idea to use their clothes – T-shirts, trousers, skirts, dresses – as canvas to talk about some disturbing global facts. They designed a range of clothing merchandise that would carry messages on hard hitting world statistics about poverty and injustice (e.g. ‘a child dies from malaria every 45 seconds’) into the public limelight on an everyday basis.
The most striking aspect of this year’s Observer Ethical Awards?
The winning of Warren Evans in the retailer category I think is a feat. For starters – they have won the category for the 3 time, after 2008 and 2009 – a fact that may indicate a continuing commitment to improve and innovate what they do. While their products are not cheap, the company very clearly designs beds that are beautiful and have a high quality, and that have the potential to become one of those lasting classics – you buy once, you love it, you keep it for a life time.
And seeing Fact Fashion as a winner was important for several reasons. It underlines that kids take the problems we face globally very serious, and they – thankfully! – still have the energy to do something about it. But also the use of clothing as a media to get their message out is important – it proves once again that clothing is a means to express ourselves, our commitments and who we are. In that sense: if we adults would cut a slice of the civil courage these kids demonstrated, our planet would be in better shape already. If we grown ups manage to follow these kids’ lead, but at the same time walk the talk as good examples to them … imagine!
