From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
40% of the total number of products bought in fashion eCommerce are never used, what a total waste. Let's also be frank – the luxury fashion industry has some issues in terms of sustainability.
If you view the world from a moral perspective, you have no option but to address climate change in a timely fashion. The good news is that the moral imperative is backed-up by economics, technological advance and capital shifts.
We are the first generation that through its neglect could destroy the relationship between humans and the planet, and perhaps the last generation that can prevent dangerous climate change.
We have become the only species with chronically crooked teeth. Consequently, a smaller mouth leads to a smaller airway and various obstruction issues. We have become dysfunctional breathers due to our environment.
We are now trapping in the Earth's atmospheric oceanic system dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases which is equal to four Hiroshima sized nuclear bombs per second. Imagine if we had alien spaceships hovering above earth, dropping four Hiroshima nuclear bombs into our atmosphere every second. What would we do? We would drop everything until we got rid of them.
According to Global Witness, 4 environmental activists are killed somewhere in the world each week, predominantly in Latin America but also in Africa and Asia. These are individuals doing everything from defending water, land and forests to the rights of indigenous communities.
I'm fortunate that I can make a change that in a very positive way affects a better way of life for many humans as well as all living creatures and our planet.
In my role, I assess new investments and innovations not just through financial lenses but also considering their societal and environmental impacts. This broader perspective is a key difference from the shareholder-centric approach.
Somewhere between a quarter and a third of the entire planetary 'net primary productivity' is today devoted to sustaining this one species- us.
It has been said that we went to the moon to explore the moon, but while we were there, we looked over our shoulder and discovered Earth. Seeing the Earth in that perspective upgraded the firmware of all our brains, of everyone's subconscious.
From 20,000 miles away however, you couldn't see any civilisation- just the land mass and those three colours… the brown of the land, the white of the clouds and the ice, and the crystal blue of the ocean. Earth was just suspended in the blackness of space and it was an incredibly beautiful sight.
We cannot use the existing models of development, because those existing models have brought us pollution, disparity of income, and significant challenge. Consumption-led economic development has been the narrative of the 20th century.