Sunday 26 January 2014

Positive Luxury


Don't you just LOVE the word LUXURY?

For me it evokes images of beauty, glamour and sophistication, all three rolling around together in a vast high quality pool of bespoke comfort and exclusivity.

Well, what if feeling that good and looking that good also meant that you were doing good?

Positive Luxury is a membership organisation with an eco label called the Butterfly Mark. This mark is applied to high-end brands with a desire to make a difference in the world. With this symbol on a product, consumers can rest-assured that the company they are purchasing from is taking steps towards become more environmentally and socially sustainable.


Oooh. That sounds good to me.

Of course, The Butterfly Mark is not a 'one size fits all' stamp for eco-friendly perfection. Equally, it is not there to encourage guilt-free mass buy-outs of designer labels ('but, surely, the more I buy, the more I am saving the world?!')

Rather- and this is the part I really agree with- it is about praising companies who are not only conscious of their impacts but are making efforts to ensure that they are effectively measured and managed. I believe in this type of positive reinforcement in sustainable business, as it can also create competition.

Although many of the global affiliate brands are not making transformative (systemic or operational) sustainable change, there are also fully-fledged born-sustainable start-ups with the Butterfly Mark who can act as inspiration.

This is the part I really, really agree with: Positive luxury is supporting the ethos that living sustainably does not have to mean living in a cave and instead should and can enrich your life.

Just one more thing I like about Positive Luxury... Aussie dreamboat Adam Garcia is their Brand Ambassador...

Monday 6 January 2014

It's as easy as ABC


Communicating sustainability is as easy as ABC.

The basic principles of how to communicate in the world of sustainable business are not rocket science. In fact, they are not dissimilar to the basic principles of how to communicate effectively in general.

I am working for Communicate Blue and have written this helpful and somewhat silly article for them. I think the principles can be applied to some situations in daily life too!




Champagne, Champagne!


Happy 2014!

How appropriate then that I have had over 14,000 page views to date. Thank you for your readership and support!

Apologies for the dead air my end- I have lately been a rolling stone gathering no moss in Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore and now the UK (soon to be Singapore again).

My blog then did not recognise my location, nor did it recognise me (I have not changed that much, honest!) and through Holmes-level detective work I have only just managed to sign in again. So...champagne!

There is quite a backlog of exciting blog posts... I wonder what the abbreve of backlog is? I guess it would be...blog?! Or klog? There we go: my blog has a wee bit of a klog, soon to be remedied, not to worry.

In the meantime Happy New Year! May 2014 be filled with happiness, good health and hope.