The Royal Wedding: one month on

Congrats Wills and Kate on your one month anniversary!

Click here to read my report for The Ethical Fashion Forum on ‘THE DRESS’. Thank you to designer Raishma, who created homeless girl Shozna’s beautiful papaya dress for the Royal Wedding and whom I interviewed for this piece. This article is not necessarily about the ethics of it, but more about the design and the fun of it, which is probably why it is available to the public and not just paying members this time!

24 and The Box

On Sunday 22nd May 2011 at 5.23am I metamorphosed into Jack Bauer and, like him, I can most often be found running around (in a sweaty, yet stylish way) saving the world whilst time is ticking on. Unlike him, I do not take the ‘ends justify the means’ approach to my workings, nor am I burdened with attempts to thwart multiple terrorist plots. I do, however, apologise for the lack of blogging of late. I have been attending many sustainability conferences, lectures, panel and networking events, yet unfortunately have been too busy (and The Understatement Of The Year Award goes to, eh hem, me) to write it all down in a digestible and coherent structure.


Fear not and rest assured though, that the accounts of events and inherently absorbed knowledge are all stored up here (taps temple), which, whether I (or you) like it or not, will mean that my future blogs will be better informed, as my 24-year-old brain’s neurons begin to light up and make connections between the functionalities of entities working on becoming more sustainable, as well as the themes arising in challenges faced and solutions proposed. I do not claim that this will eventually result in some kind of eco-enlightenment, but I believe that through further understanding the complex and nebulous spirit of sustainability, one can start to formulate plans for a brighter future, that will work.


In joining this elite group of 24-year-old prodigies, destined for sustainability stardom, I have learnt many things, including that there are many improvements to be made (not least of which is in my modesty- see the first part of this sentence!), not only in myself, but in my group of friends and family, my company, clients, corporations, governments and throughout global human society. This is not necessarily something to be viewed negatively, but rather a chance to celebrate the positive things that have been achieved whilst recognising that there will always be that little bit extra that can be done to make something better, fairer, cleaner, more efficient, nicer, more beautiful, more fun... of course, I am not talking about perfection: there is a point at which you must stop and accept that it is fine the way it is. Striving towards ‘being the best that one can be’ is a great experience in itself.


To illustrate my point, I use Marks and Spencer Plan A. I have written about this before and it is one of the most quoted examples of best-practice in corporate sustainability, yet, as ever, M&S are still on their journey towards being the best that they can be. This was made perfectly and painfully apparent when I received a gift through the post for my 24th birthday from M&S ‘Experiences’. Thank you to the dear sender for the lovely surprise of ‘Tea For Two’ vouchers- this person knows me too well and I shall enjoy the treat very much!


No thanks, however, to the packaging technologists and Plan A instigators for the way this piece of card came to me. I kid you not: this ~10cm by ~12cm card voucher was encased in a ~13cm (L), ~11cm (W), ~2cm (D) cardboard box with all sorts of lovely images on it, of, as you’d imagine, tea and cakes. This cardboard box was in a much larger cardboard box of ~30cm (L), 20cm (W) and ~15cm (D) and in that larger box surrounding the smaller box were 2 very large crumpled brown paper sheets, whose purpose I can only assume was to ensure that the smaller box within (holding only the card voucher) did not get ‘squished’.


Now, on this larger box were a number of printed messages including: ‘Plan A: Doing The Right Thing’, ‘Cardboard recycled from our stores and warehouses has helped to make this box-and it can be recycled too’ as well as ‘This box has been made by Remploy, supporting disabled people in the workplace’. This is a very special, ethical box, which gives a warm, fuzzy feeling when holding it, but in my opinion is marketing gone mad! For the sake of getting the Plan A message out there (which can be done in a number of less wasteful ways) they have resorted to sending, what is effectively a piece of card (which, as it happens, requires me to go to their website to register online so probably could have been sent electronically much more easily) in a completely unnecessary cocoon of preposterous paper and supererogatory cardboard.


I recognise, M&S, that you are in now probably approaching the middle chapters of your sustainability story, but what needs to happen here is a joined-up re-thinking of systems and a harmonisation of business strategies. Avoiding this needless packaging (even if it can be recycled) will effectively save time and money, so at least the procurement department will be happy. Sending this gift as an online link, with a large all-singing and all-dancing Plan A message about saving and reducing resources, will keep marketing, and everyone, happy.


So that, in a nutshell, or rather, in a silly box, is just one of my more excellent 24-year-old thoughts (I still need to work on that modesty)...

Mio in motion

Here is a video of my great friend Marion who sadly passed away in April 2010, one year ago. For those who do not speak French, she is explaining her work on a project on ‘La Réunion’, an island in French Polynesia. This is not a direct translation and my French is somewhat rusty, but for those who speak conversational French it is a quite clearly spoken in the video so you may be able to pick up the gist.

Essentially, the project (one of only two in the world, the other in Hawaii, and currently a prototype) is looking at harnessing the energy of the sea to produce electricity and is dubbed ‘evolutionary’ and the most spectacular energy solution in this century. The island of La Réunion is in a tropical zone and the temperature difference between the surface of the water and at 1000 metres deep is around 20 degrees. This temperature difference acts to induce a circular motion due to the currents created between the warmer and cooler water. Large balloons (seven metres diameter) float in rows under the surface and move with these currents. They are each connected to a pump and the pump motion induced by the balloon’s movement can create electricity. They are currently testing the efficiency of the balloons at various distances out to sea (3-15km), to understand which location would make for more efficient electricity production.

The technology is Australian and a similar project using a ‘serpent’ floating in the water has been used in Portugal. La Réunion is aiming to produce all of its electricity through renewable by 2030 and also all of its transportation by 2050 so is an ideal location for such a project. With further development and financing, the La Réunion project could serve as a model for many other projects like this around the world.

A 23-year-old Breton and a specialist in marine energy, Marion invested a lot personally in the project and had accomplished a lot through her passion for the environment.

A message from me:

Encore eco-chic extraordinaire, Marion tu resteras dans mon coeur et mes mémoires pour toujours. Tes yeux verts me manques! Je n’oublierai jamais toi et je continuerai à soutenir l’environnement pout toi. Grosses bisous à toute ta famille...Bisous sweety xxx

A message from her family:

Une année que notre belle Marionnette a fermé ses yeux sur la plage d’Étang Salé, une année qu’elle nous accompagne au quotidien, chaque minute, au creux du cœur ; une année qu’elle est partie de la Pointe de la Torche, du bout de sa Bretagne, sa région de naissance et de cœur, et qu’elle a déjà suivi un bout de chemin dans son tour monde au gré des courants. Nous aimerions qu’en cette journée, des fleurs que vous aurez cueillies dans la nature, dans votre jardin, l’accompagnent sur son chemin. Jetées dans la mer, l’océan, un fleuve, une rivière, où que vous soyez dans le monde, ce petit geste lui montrera que toute l’énergie qu’elle a passé à tisser des liens de par le monde ne s’est pas perdue. C’est sans doute le plus bel hommage que l’on peut lui rendre.

Pascale Gérard Maëlle Robin

Ethical Fashion Exclusive: MFA Forum Closure!

OK chicos and chicas, so I am slightly late in letting you know, but the second issue of the Ethical Fashion Forum Magazine is out, for which I wrote two related, and exclusive, pieces:

1. A Brief History of The Multifibre Arrangement and MFA Forum

2. Looking To The Future: Textile Manufacture Trading post-MFA Forum

I would like to thank Kate Ives, who managed the closure of the MFA Forum and Cathy Dix, Global Responsibility Manager for Gap Inc, a key signatory and participant of the Forum, for their invaluable contributions. I feel very privileged to meet and converse with such inspired and motivated people, to gain an insight into the wealth of knowledge that they hold.

If you would like to read the full articles (which, obviously, I strongly recommend), as well as all future issues, I suggest becoming a member of The SOURCE.

Earth Day 2011

Friday 22nd April was one of the many spring 2011 bank holidays, but was also World Earth Day! Find out what you can do here- it is not too late to make a pledge for their Billion Acts Of Green (there are over 102 million pledges thus far).

If you're more into vids, it's cheesy and American, but here's a vid of a fittie Boston hockey player (and apparently also an 'athlete of the earth') doing his bit on the Earth Day Network...

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

If you ain't yet heard the word of the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, take a peek at the website to find out what she has been up to post-extraordinary-sailing-feats and find out more here (I was lucky enough to sit at the table next to hers at an event recently and am currently reading her autobiography)- cool beans.

Some thoughts on Green Tourism

Currently residing with a group of friends in a Scandanavian-style chalet at Langdale Hotel and Spa, en plein campagne in The Lakes. Did not think it was particularly eco apart from a small section on Sustainability in their Welcome Guide, a tiny sign saying you can recycle glass, cans, plastics and paper in a communal recycling facility by the Main Entrance, as well as the Bare Minerals make-up collection in the Spa (which isn't necessarily as sustainable as it could be) but lo and behold, they won Green Tourism Gold Award! I will be keeping my eyes peeled now to find out how they won this- what the buildings are made of, where the restaurant food is sourced from, where the solar panels are... I am all for positive reinforcement, celebration of achievement and praise but thus far I am struggling to see the achievements... Nonetheless, it is beautiful here and we have been walking, cycling and sailing so at least our activites are fairly eco!