Sustainability around the world

I just got back from a 10 day trip to Hong Kong, China and India visiting apparel suppliers for prAna.  This trip was different than ones I had done in the past.  Usually I am visiting factories reviewing audits and focusing on problems that the factory may have meeting prAna's code of conduct.  It has been adversarial and while informative, I always wondered how productive and how much change was really being made.

This trip I took a different approach - I met with suppliers to share the direction and vision of sustainability that prAna and other apparel companies are taking with the hopes to drive environmental and social benefits down the supply chain.  I was able to share the desire for a clean environment and protection of workers rights.  I am a realist and know that where we currently are globally is not sustainable, nor is it something that can easily be changed.  So there is an openness to meet suppliers where they are at and still share what kind of future we all want to see.

What happened was a very different conversation than I have had in the past.  There was a lot more honesty and transparency about what the "real" situation was on the ground regarding labor laws, industrial practices, environmental norms, government and brand involvement in bringing about change or lack there of.  It wasn't easy to hear that solutions are going to be challenging to implement and perhaps not even in my lifetime.  But there was a desire all around to see some kind of change.

I was also excited to hear all of the stories that suppliers were taking to improve social and environmental issues they were facing.  The drivers for these changes were different from each factory and each country, but every bit helps.  One factory realized that they couldn't improve social security benefits because workers did not see the value in also paying into the social security scheme, so the factory was focusing on training workers about the benefits to pension, unemployment insurance, and medical leave.  Yes it means less money in the workers pockets, but it ensures their ability to be provided for.  Another factory was facing huge increases to their energy costs so they did an energy audit and changed over all of their lighting to LED lights and are now saving 40% of their previous energy bill.  Another factory recycled their fabric scraps to a company that makes rugs out of the fabric.

I was reaffirmed that there is a global desire to see the world be a better - amore healthy place for the environment and people. Solutions are not a western top down enforcement, but a globally shared initiative that all partners who we interact with can learn from each other.

While I saw more pollution and poverty than I ever do here in the USA I have a renewed sense of optimism that we all can be better and with more and more people doing there part - the change will come. 

Occupying Sustainability

I love the Occupy movement that is going on right now.  I am proud that people are actually expressing their discontent for the greed and the institutions in the USA and globally that feed into that greed. I didn't think Americans had it in them to rock the boat.  I say this because in the USA we have so much in comparison to developing countries where poverty and the lack human rights are prevalent.  So I figured we would never make too much noise for fear of losing what we do have.  But what I see here in the USA are people who feel frustrated that all of our efforts cannot be boiled down to making profit for companies.

Watching the news and with what is going on with Occupy Wall Street and the additional Occupy movements made me think of the corporations that fit into this protesting.  Specifically those companies where social and environmental responsibility are not a part of the company ethos, where truly they are focused on profit for profits sake.

Often when sustainability experts talk about the reasons why companies should invest in authentic sustainability behaviors and initiatives it is driven by a sense of risk if you don't.  I see the Occupy movement as a risk.  If you are a company that cannot show their commitment to sustainability then they are a target - as another institution that does not serve the people of the USA nor the planet.

Customers have choice now - if I want to buy a laundry detergent I can buy it from a company that invests not only in providing a clean non-toxic product, but one that has a robust benefits program for its employees and that invests back into its community. I don't have to buy it from a multi-national corporation that does not deliver on these issues.

Watching the campaign to move your money from your bank and putting it with a local credit union is propping up the notion that "we the people" have power and the ability to exercise that right through the purchases and investments we make.

There is an energy in the air that is new, that is dynamic and powerful.  What will come out of this is anyone's guess, but if I were a company that did not have a commitment to its employees, customers, the environment and the global community I would be starting to think it might be time.