How much more inspiring can you get in a symposium than learning about companies that seek to keep all waste to an absolute minimum – and that which is lost hopefully replenishes the earth – that support the local communities that provide the raw materials and talent, and which produce beautiful and functional items as well? I was fortunate as moderator of a full-day seminar on “Responsible Fashion and Design” in Shanghai to learn about business models that are helping to economically sustain poorer communities while turning a profit. The symposium was part of the Danish week-long program called “Responsible Fashion and Design.”

The seminar was just one program of many during a week of exhibitions and lectures about product design and doing business in China. The Danish programs were sponsored by the Danish Fashion Institute and the Royal Danish Consulate General’s office. Next door to the Danish pavilion at the Junckers Exhibition Hall in Shanghai the Dutch were running a similar program about The Dutch Way of design. The talks and exhibitions were all part of Shanghai Creative Industry Week, held at The Shanghai Creative Center, a post-modern campus at The Factory, No. 265, Lingshi rd., Zhabei District.

Companies represented at the day of seminars in which I participated included Kompan, the world’s largest maker of creative playgrounds; and the founders of companies such as: Jooi Design, which makes fashion accessories; Bambu, which uses bamboo materials to make kitchen and dining utensils; Torana Carpet, Tibetan carpet maker; and textile designer [ethicsandaesthetics]. All companies are for-profit, and seek to create business ecosystems that engage producers, buyers, designers and manufacturers in a generative cycle of value-creation and waste reduction.

Martin Haxhold of Kompan established the premise that a fundamental aspect of the sustainability of a product is its immunity to trends: the playgrounds the company makes appeal to various age groups in a timeless way. Immutability of concept and durability of materials also play an important part in creating a product range that outlasts disposable offerings.

Trine Targett, founder of Jooi Design, came to China in 1997 without a design background but with a strong desire to mesh traditional Chinese designs and methods with modern sensibilities. The result are handmade bags, pillows and other accessories whose designs literally cannot be replicated by machines!

The founders of Bambu, Jeff Delkin and Rachel Speth, take their bamboo materials from forests in China and Thailand and engage local communities that have little industry to hand-make and lacquer their beautiful kitchenwares and accessories. An interesting point they made in describing their efforts toward building a sustainable business involved packaging: they offered they spend more time designing sustainable packaging than on actual product design. However, sometimes even governments can get in the way of the best efforts. The Chinese government apparently requires a certain kind of plastic be included in the packaging of the wares they sell in the Chinese market.

Trine, Jeff and Rachel are co-founders of NEST, based in Shanghai. NEST is an incubator-space and forum that encourages other sustainable business models in China.

Chris Buckley described his journey to Tibet as a chemist (PhD) to build a sustainable and responsible business designing and weaving Tibetan carpets. He has two retail outlets now: in Shanghai and in Beijing. One of the strongest ideas I received during the day of talks came from his presentation. Chris indicated that, sure, the local Tibetan communities with which he works could easily mechanize the weave of their carpets to make and perhaps sell more product. However, within a matter of a couple years Chinese mills would quickly and easily copy and out-sell the Tibetans. Tibetan machine workers would then for lack of competitiveness have to take jobs as restaurant workers and hotel service staff. In other words, the traditional weaving techniques and natural dying processes are competitive advantages that are near impossible for commercial weavers to replicate and to market with sizable margins.

Daniella Schmidt in her new company [ethicsandaesthetics] is working with women in minority groups in China to incorporate their designs and weaving techniques into womens’ ware for the European market. For her, the company must not only be profitable, but must also communicate to the West the values and subtleties of China.

At the end of the day I summed up the symposium with some simple yet (for me) powerful observations, shared values and approaches of manyof the presenters:

• companies take it upon themselves to educate their local communities of designers and craftspeople with the methods, requirements and expectations of the international marketplace;
• keeping alive and building on the traditional crafts techniques of the local communities actually maintains a competitive advantage that helps keep residents from suffering sub-standard qualities of life that are difficult to reverse once the traditions are lost forever;
• it was important as part of the stories for all the founders to educate buyers inside and outside of China of the richness and vastness of China and its traditions;
• linking traditional/ancient craft heritages with modern techniques is important to achieve the sustainability and responsibility all businesses must work toward if they are to sustain their communities of producers.