Where’s the trust?

Peter Drucker once said ‘if you find an executive focusing on CSR, fire him and fire him fast’. That’s all changed. The merging of the economic and ethical is transforming the meaning and context of trust. Hitherto, trust has been an essential ingredient of all brands and their reputations.

However, the notion of trust (in the commercial world) has been mainly centered on the transaction itself, but not any more. The notion of trust has dramatically moved on from trust in the company’s product to trust in the people behind the product. Now it’s less about ‘can I trust them to deliver?’ but ‘are they the sort of people who would...?’ And a plethora of words can fill in the missing space. Are they the sort of people who would tell me it’s 100% organic when it’s not; who would use child labor to make their products cheaper; test on animals; and pollute the environment in the search of a big buck?

Clearly, there is a market for trust. Most organizations refer to the meaning of share in terms of market share, profit share and share of wallet, etc. Simultaneously, however, they are competing with other organizations for share of trust. So in today’s world, full of litigation, accusation, scandal and bankruptcy, evidence and counter evidence, when it’s down to the wire, whom do you trust? Which of the organizations you are doing business with are and have the sort of people who would tell the earnest truth in this matter?

Times have changed and all around us there is a battle for share of trust and it’s a very large market worth billions.

1 October 2007, posted by Dean Crutchfield

Fashion conscience

This year’s New York Fashion Week showcased eco-friendly clothes and conscious consumption as 2007 proves to be more global, more giving and more green. Peter Ingwersen, a Danish designer, has collaborated with the Ugandan government to produce organic cotton that will be used in his Noir fashion brand.

Linda Loudermilk’s collection, which featured a wide range of materials from Japanese sasawashi to human hair, is one of several green fashion shows and green fashion events about town. SANS, a NYC label, also showcased innovative eco-friendly designs.

On the giving front, Glamour magazine’s initiative Fashion Gives Back partnered actresses like Amanda Peet in collaboration with designers to create limited-edition T-shirts benefiting Malaria No More. The designers at the event, both large and small, also reflected a more diverse and global range, representing cultures from every corner of the globe including Russia, Japan, Taiwan, India, Spain and Australia. For more information visit www.olympusfashionweek.com

5 September 2007, posted by Eliza Blank

Seeing mankind’s footprint

In an era of disengagement where many individuals are incognizant of the lifecycle (fabrication, transportation, disposal) of most material things that surround them in their daily lives, the documentary ‘Manufactured Landscapes’ shines some light into the effects that global economy has had on our planet.

The feature documentary by Jennifer Baichwal captures Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky’s images as he travels through China showing what this massive industrial revolution looks like. He simply tries to bring awareness to the issues without looking for specific solutions, with the hope that we may be a little more conscious about the way we live in this world. This is particularly topical given the recent attention placed on China with the upcoming 2008 Olympics. In fact, Hi Jintao, China’s communist party leader, has put the environment on the top of the party’s charter where it will receive high profile attention.

For more information, click here
Movie trailer
10 min of the documentary on YouTube
Economist article

5 September 2007, posted by Sylvia Vaquer