Interface’s Miriam Turner asks, “How sustainable can a brand claim to be when half the population of the world still lives on less than $2 a day?” After an earlier attempt to correct this problem — working with artisans in India to create rugs made of natural fibers — failed, the team at Interface turned to monofilament fishing nets, 640,000 tons of which end up in the sea each year, as a potential input for their products. The result, Net-Works, is now diverting some of this waste by turns recycled fishing nets into carpet fiber.
9. 8
#2 Focus on the biggest impact of your core activities
10. 9
#2 Focus on the biggest impact of your core activities
11. 10Developing an inclusive business model
Assure Aggregate Clean Pack
Transport
Supplier
De-polymerise
Supplier
Re-polymerise
Supplier
Create Yarn
Supplier
Make carpet
Supplier
Sell carpet
Supplier
End user
e.g. Your office!
Fairly traded
Sourcing of nets
Collect
15. 14#3 Co-innovation with the unusual suspects
ZSL in the Philippines Conserve in India
EJF in West Africa
January 2012 – June 2012: India, West Africa and the Philippines
16. 15
Designing a restorative loop together
1. Collection
in villages:
•!Beach
cleanup
•!Buying from
fishers
2. Sorting and
identification
of nylon nets
3. Aggregation
at village level
4. Storage
at village
level
5.
Transport
to central
location
6.
Verification
that nets
nylon 6
7. Buying
of nets
9. Packaging
and storage
at central
location
10.
Shipping
to Cebu
Port
11.
Collection
by Aquafil
and payment
8. Income
sharing:
Buying
fund
15667894:)
98;<<=>4<7147<?
!"#$%&'(%)$*(+*,+(-#*.*
/,*0/,1(2*3*4(5/$-*1,#*)6*
0/,1(2*-1/"#,
7#8/&'(%)$*(+*,+(-#*9*
1,/$-*(::8):8/(+#*
+#';$)2)-<
!$')4#*,;(8/$-*@A(0A$#/BA/)
3"C#$,)D"$%)($"*/,*#$EA/FA%)#$)
1-++"$#FC).&$G/*+;(+*(8#*
#,+(=2/,;#"*(,*:(8+*)6*+;#*
:8)-8(44#>
H51=H)?6*H5:??
17. 16
Conservation & ocean health
Nets removed from 26 villages so far
Supporting Livelihoods
2.5 kilos of nets = cash equivalent of 1 kilo of rice
Financial empowerment
Community Banks = savings, loans, micro-insurance
A new ‘social ingredient’ for 100% recycled nylon
18. 17
#1 Embrace successful failure
#2 Focus on core impact
#3 Co-innovate – none of us
are as smart as all of us
Key Learning
Build your inner resilience
and keep going!
19. 18
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
Get in touch!
miriam.turner@interface.com