What other sport can you play on the coast, in the forests, up a mountain or even in the desert, and still have the time to take stock of the beauty and wildlife in which you’re surrounded?
For me, that’s how I rate how good a golf course is. The abundance of show stopping plants and animals in Australia means even your average muni has access to some gorge flora and fauna - just peruse our previous post for such a yarn.
[Kookaburra on the tree.]
So when launching SLICE GOLF, making sure we do all possible to start a small business well, but also being mindful of this natural magic meant the incubation process resembled that of an African elephant (famously carrying young for getting on 2 years before delivery).
Fashion is a fickle industry in which to try and fight that good fight, it means you have to swim against the stream a bit, but like any determined salmon, with a bit of flapping around you can get there. An easy way we did find to help make a difference as a small operation was signing up with 1% For The Planet.
Speaking with Caroline Knapp, comms specialist at 1% For The Planet, she helped couch the role that small businesses like ours can play when pulling together as one.
“Small businesses in our network are driving change within the 1% for the Planet movement."
[Caroline Knapp, 1% For The Planet]
Caroline has played a major role in collaborating and communicating the impact of small businesses to the wider 1% network and that legwork is definitely making strides in the initiative.
"The majority of our network consists of small businesses—and they’ve certified millions in environmental giving since 2002. It really proves that 1% adds up when you bring thousands of businesses together.”
This is an organisation started by Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard, and is committed to making the collaboration between the "Business World" and the "Saving The World World", as simple and productive as possible for both parties.
As a business partner, you give 1% of total annual revenue to 1%FTP, who then redistribute to approved charity partners and projects with environmentally focused goals.
Be that securing habitats, lobbying governments, reversing climate change or the many other challenges that face maintaining a balanced ecosystem. There are 195 approved causes and organisations to select from in Australia alone, and that’s helping ladder up to a significant milestone.
“We’re currently on a mission to certify $1 billion in all-time giving by 2027, and I think our small businesses will drive the excitement in getting us there.”
The fashion industry as we touched on earlier is definitely not a top student. Generally speaking it’s a high user of water and pesticides, as well as a high producer of travel emissions, but Caroline sees a brighter future for the industry with progressive businesses leading the way.
“Our environmental partners are making a powerful impact in the fashion industry—with a common theme of cultivating a circular economy.”
This would be such as using recycled cotton and recycled plastics to make t-shirts and, like we do at SLICE GOLF, golf towels.
“For example, environmental partner DIRT encourages raw garment materials to be grown with regenerative practices in biodynamic farms. New Order of Fashion is getting creative and offering their Netherlands-based LAB to designers on the search for deadstock fabrics and emerging tools in the sustainable fashion industry.”
Then we get to golf.
We all know it’s an old hobby that carries some entrenched and archaic mindsets, not something usually attuned to the topic of environmentalism. The moment that's happening in golf now though is the influx of younger, more casual golfers from all walks of life, and so that collective mindset is already becoming adjusted. Helpfully, 1%FTP are all about helping sports and pursuits like ours start that journey too:
“We have members in all industries, including sports and travel, that have found mission-aligned environmental partners to help address their impact and rally their employees around their giving commitments. With such a large community surrounding golf and the outdoor spaces that make it possible, there is huge opportunity for collaboration toward large-scale change."
As you can probably tell, we’re pretty proud of our 1% For The Planet membership, when it’s tough to do absolutely everything in your power to be good humans and maintain the high standard in sustainability that you’re aiming for, the ease of the partnership is soothing and so far been a stellar educational journey to boot.