Back to the Eternal City! All my bags are packed.....

I can't sleep. Terribly excited about the Summer School and the fact that it is going to be held in Rome! Will be ready to fly out in a couple of hours. Reflecting on my life and its direction, I realize that I've always been interested in all things 'green' but the very first time I took some direct action on focussing my energies was when I read a newspaper article calling on people to save the lakes in Bangalore, India. It then directed the reader towards a symposium that one could attend free of cost. It was "The Symposium on Restoration of Lakes and Wetlands" called Lake 2000. I recall sitting in the auditorium soaking in every bit of information that was being given out. But I knew even back then that much of what the experts said would remain well within the 'expert circle' for various reasons. Don't think much has changed since then. Dense communication and use of jargon top my list of pet peeves when it comes to communication from 'experts'. My biggest grouse with academia is that very often fantastic research is done but not as much is done about communicating those results to a lay audience in a timely, consistent  and accessible manner. 

For instance,when I worked in the CSR space at Infosys a few years ago, sustainability seemed like a shiny, new concept. Little did I realize that reams had been written about it. There were thousands of journal articles on the topic and hundreds of them were older than a decade or two! Why then did those crucial questions not percolate down to the general public? To give you a specific example, in 1991 a prominent scholar Sharadchandra Lele had dissected the semantics of 'Sustainable Development', a term that is bandied about ever so often! In his article he asked very pertinent questions about the exact meaning of the term and the various connotations it could have (as depicted in the diagram). Yet, surprisingly, none of the conferences I attended spoke about such underlying ambiguity and certainly nobody in business! Today I look back and realize how practically every project worth its salt claims to be 'sustainable' and I'm thankful the masters course at King's has helped me question things and go beyond the obvious.

Source: (Lele, 1991)

Perhaps many researchers attempt to communicate their work but only a few truly take the trouble to decode their expertise and make it accessible to anyone who is interested. I recall a pithy quote on advertising that best sums up the situation. 'Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.' - Stuart Henderson. But then again, perhaps publishers create an artificial void so that people would have to pay to access information. (One of the main reasons I am all for open access journals.) I guess having one's research locked up in labyrinths of red tape must be equally frustrating for researchers who'd like to shout from the roof tops about their findings. The point here is not to find fault with a specific person but to point out how research and technology are not half as effective if they are not backed up with powerful communication. 

I'm grateful that life has given me the opportunity to follow my passion even after a decade. I'm excited at the chance to learn about cutting-edge technology and policy in the EU with regard to water at the STREAM summer school at Rome. I'm also looking forward to networking and building strong contacts in the industry.  That apart, I'm trying couch surfing for the very first time. Will share more about my experiences with the hosts in my next blog. I'm tickled pink that someone would go out of their way to make a stranger feel comfortable in their city. My first host has volunteered to not only pick me up at the airport on a Sunday morning but has also kindly offered me a chance to join his group when they go salsa dancing later in the evening. Can't wait!

a dopo...

The Fashion Industry and Rivers - Die or Dye?

When you shop for clothes, do you aim to buy clothes that are exactly the same shade as everyone else's? Chances are the answer is a 'no'. You probably look for something that is as distinct as you. Something that reflects your own personality. In fact, much of the luxury segment exists simply because of this desire for uniqueness and individuality. Yet, you'd be surprised at how decisions are made behind the scene that result in massive waste of water and energy. In my previous blog post, we saw how the notion of 'ONLY black is beautiful' was causing 20 ebony trees to be cut down in order to find that one perfectly black specimen, leaving behind incalculable destruction in its wake. In this post, I'd like to highlight something similar that happens with water in the textile and apparel industry. Did you know that  every two years the clothing industry uses water equivalent to that of the Mediterranean Sea to dye clothing? 

Image Source:  http://www.adidas.com/com/goallin/news/2012/08/adidas-drydye/

Dyeing clothing has always been a water intensive process but when the fabric is meant for the US and EU markets, nearly 4-6 times more water and energy is consumed compared to fabrics aimed at other markets because 'US and EU buyers demand exact color-matching, requiring more frequent re-dyeing'. Who decided that all shirts should be the exact same shade? Doesn't common sense about consumer psychology point otherwise? Most industrial processing takes place in developing countries where environmental safeguards are low. The next time you shop at a Zara or a Primark or wherever, take the time to look at the labels and you'd find that they've been manufactured in China, India, Bangladesh, Morocco etc. The reality in many of those places is that they can indeed tell the colour of fashion for the next season by looking at the colour of their rivers, that is if the rivers survive. 

Source:  http://www.tehelka.com/story_main53.asp?filename=Ne010912KILLING.asp 

Fortunately, when brands become big, they also have to worry about their image in the consumer mind and many leading brands are also taking the initiative not just to clean up their act but to actually fuel innovation. Take for instance, Nike which has adopted waterless textile dying process designed by Dye Coo.or Adidas which has also done the same with DryDye technology that does not use a single drop of water and also uses   50% less energy and 50% less chemicals. Levi Strauss & Co. best known for its Levi’s jeans goes so far as to recommend that you don't wash your jeans. I have now discovered new-found respect for someone who once told me he washed his jeans only once a year. Turns out he is a true-blue denim aficionado. But I must confess I still don't have the stomach to wash my denims only once or twice a year! Many companies have also joined the coalition to promote zero discharge of hazardous chemicals. WRAP in the UK provides manufacturers with a good practice guide to manage water and chemical use in the textile dyeing and finishing industry.

While we know there are miles to go, it helps to know every little bit that is being done to protect this precious blue planet. I'll leave you with this very interesting short video about how the apparel industry and fashion brands are cutting back on their “water weight”. If you have the time/inclination, I'd also recommend this entertaining super short video also by Summer Rayne Oakes. Until the next time...

PS - I've been chosen to participate in the Summer School at Rome between the 24th - 28th of September. The STREAM summer school  aims to promote exchange of knowledge and the awareness on EU water research and state of the art technology among researchers from universities, research institutes and SMEs. So excited about the opportunity to network with water professionals and also looking forward to return to the Eternal City. Those cents I dropped in the Trevi fountain many years ago finally did work their charm after all!  Stay with me and I'll share my experience of the experience...:)

The tale of Taylor Guitars and the quest for sustainability

Early last month, I read a report on how Gibson, the famous guitar makers were forced to face the music. They were ordered to pay $300,000 in penalties because they were found guilty of aiding illegal trafficking of tropical hardwoods; more specifically, rosewood and ebony shipments from India and ebony from Madagascar with an estimated value of more than $419,000. Not very pleasant news for a company and it's reputation. When I shared this news with a friend who also happens to be a musician, he shared this video in turn. It lasts little over 13 minutes and I urge you to watch it to the end.

Hats off to Bob Talyor of Taylor guitars! One person's decision to make a positive difference can have so many ripple effects, especially if he/she happens to be in a position of power. In this case,Bob Taylor's decision to confront 'the truth of the forest' and respond accordingly has saved hundreds of trees from being felled unnecessarily, has eased the labour of those who chop down the trees, has increased the availability of legally harvested ebony worldwide, has set new benchmarks for the 'value' of ebony. I'm positive, employees of Taylor guitars must feel proud to work for such a company. I'd love to meet him in person someday and when I do, I'd be sure to congratulate him on several counts - making the effort to stay in Cameroon for a over a year despite his 'first world/modern' roots, demonstrating great people skills in truly listening to his employees/contractors, for demonstrating outstanding leadership in making the decision to pay the same rate for wood that was until then considered B-grade simply because it was coloured, knowing full well that customers were used to different standards and last but not the least for going all out to educate his customers on why he made the decision, for reaching out to millions of musicians who play guitars and violins. I'm positive that when customers really see what he sees, they too will soon realize the truth of his visionary statement, "The nature of what we thought was beautiful for a hundred years is simply going to change". The global trade in illegal timber is said to be worth over $30 billion a year. When you consider that over and above this cost, one must also take into account the cost of decimated habitats, irreparably damaged watersheds, destroyed livelihoods and extinction of species, the costs soon become immeasurable. But we live in exciting times. Not only thanks to courageous and visionary leaders like Bob Taylor but also thanks to development of new frontiers in science and law. DNA testing is now being used to trace timber back to its origins. Australian companies are now proactively responding to the proposed legislation to enforce criminal sanctions on companies that cannot prove they are importing from legal sources. Watch this video to see how 'CSI meets save the planet'.

So while one industry is slowly but surely moving towards taking responsibility, it makes me think of other industries that are doing/ potentially could do something similar -for instance,  the fashion and clothing industry. In my next post, I'd like to talk about how the textile and apparel industry wastes enormous quantities of water and what some companies are doing to tackle this wasteful way of doing things. Stay tuned.