Well, if I’m going to fly back and forth it had better be a busy week. I worked it out to off set my CO2 flying London to Tokyo and back I have to sell over1000 organic cotton t-shirts! (Growing organically sequesters 1.5 CO2 emission per acre, that’s 800 t-shirts per acre, at 2.5 tons of CO2 for a London – Tokyo return flight) So that’s why I have no choice but to work hard whenever I go overseas.
Triple bottom line – that doesn’t mean that the outline of your underwear shows!
My week started with People Tree’s Social Review where we look at our overall performance over each stakeholder group. Positive news from all. We’ll be doing the same for People Tree in the UK – and we’ll have it up on the website by the end of January 2009. Thanks to all of you who contributed by answering questions and giving feedback in our survey. We are designing an action plan for world domination by organic small scale cotton farms and artisans. 
A part of the is strategy, we invited 300 People Tree stockists from around Japan to come and place orders for the Autumn Winter 2009 collection. Yes, Autumn Winter 2009! That’s 6 months before most fashion brands have even began thinking about it, BECAUSE, most of what People Tree produces is handmade. hand woven, hand embellished – generating valuable livlihoods for artisans in rural areas – and because we need to give our organic cotton farmers advance orders so they can support conventional cotton farmers to go organic. Slow fashion is so much more friendly and equitable to people and the environment!
Of course, all of the next years product is top secret but I had a little camera on me from the over-the-counter spy shop so here are a couple of sneaky snaps – sshhh!
Then, we held a symposium for 150 business people working in Corporate Social Responsibility. Fellow panellists include ex-editor in chief of Marie Claire, Yoshiko Ikoma-san; writer of ‘Eco Shift’ book and producer of the sexiest Ecology magazine, ‘Ecokoro’ Miyako Maekita; and Mr Ikeda, a fellow advertising/creative industry turncoat, who pioneers community currency schemes and all sorts of eco-educational projects. People Tree’s knitwear producer partner Kiran Khadgi, from KTS Nepal presented on the social impact of Fair Trade in the Kathmandu Valley. We all agreed that the only thing standing in the way of companies supporting the poor and environmental protection was lack of awareness and accessibility to Fair Trade and environmentally friendly products. In Japan it’s considered bad manners to talk about politics, religion or sex, after talking politics I tried to move the subject on to sex only to be very effectively steered back on track by Mr Ikeda who watered down the topic. ‘You should sell to Isetan menswear department on the second floor – you could get Brad Pitt to model for you! – but I think Eguchi Yosuke is much more People Tree – don’t you?
Maekita san, Ikoma san and Safia discussing why in Japan you don’t talk about politics, religion and sex and why the Japanese business community needs to engage with Fair Trade and Sustainability. Kiran Khadagi (right) talked about the impact Fair Trade has on the lives of people in Nepal.
Corporate Social Responsibility seminar series hosted by Mr Ikeda
I did a series of interviews, with such interesting people I wanted to turn the mic on them! Fashion photographers turned writers, fashionistas turned environmentalists and change makers. The world is changing fast as we try to make sense of it.
Sozzled with Shiho san
One rather relaxing highlight was a light supper and a glass of wine – well two…with Shiho san, one of Japans top fashion models, to brainstorm on how to raise awareness of Fair Trade in Japan. With two glasses of wine inside me and the jet lag conversation jumped all over the place – sorry Shiho san it was a very busy week.
So did I work hard enough to net an extra 1000 t-shirts sales and more? I really do hope so.
