Innovation

Indigenous Designs and the trailblazers that set the foundations for the sustainable business and fashion industry set a vision more than two decades ago that business could be a source of good primarily through the teachings of indigenous people. Through the wisdom of indigenous people with the philosophy of integration of people and planet and reverence for ecosystems and biodiversity, the founders of Indigenous Designs were inspired by change-makers such as Chico Mendes, who was a foundational Brazilian rubber tapper, leading the way to preserve millions of acres of the Amazon rainforest. The innovation was clear: create an organization, which eventually became one of the founding B-Corps, that, in each transaction, balanced people and the planet. With a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases, focus on strengthening Peruvian and Equatorian women's cooperatives, creating elegant bio-degradable fashion, and measure impact through metrics that you could trace through each piece of clothing – Scott and Averi Leonard and their community of sustainable practitioners changed the way the fashion industry approached their relationship with the natural world one piece of clothing at a time.

Today, Indigenous Designs is still paving the way in sustainable fashion and also focusing on driving a much larger impact by sharing the innovations and practices it learned over the years with leading fashion and clothing manufacturers worldwide. From the idea of having bio-degradable fabrics to locally sourced materials made by cooperatives of women who specialized in skills that have been passed down through centuries to using natural dyes and setting standards for organic and sustainable manufacturing, Indigenous Designs and the trailblazers who saw this vision so many years ago have made a significant impact on our ability to hit our UN SDGs goals through the fashion and clothing industry. The work of Indigenous Design scales 6 of the UN SDG goals with the current larger vision of reducing greenhouse gases by 45 percent by 2030, primarily through the clothing and fashion industries. Finally, Indigenous Design leaders are interested in the circular economy and creating changes in the hearts and minds of consumers worldwide.

Inspiration

Scott Leonard owned a surf shop in the late 80’s and was fascinated at that time of the idea of preservation work blending into business. Chico Mendes, a foundational Brazilian rubber tapper leading the way to preserve millions of acres of the Amazon rainforest, inspired Leonard during those days when the dream about Indigenous was still in its infancy. Scott had an idea, “People & Planet could interact in a place that preserved trees, habitat, and ancient wisdom”, and a wedding amongst friends made it clear that people believed in the vision and the team was assembled. Now, nearly two decades later, Scott has learned many lessons from the start of one of the first B-Corps that he is bringing to global fashion and clothing brands with the goal of hitting our UN SDG goals.

Scott’s high point during his many years running the business side by side with his wife, Averi Leonard, who still currently runs the organization and community of passionate sustainability practitioners, was “having a small mega-phone and being a part of the conversation that influenced change” in the early B-Corp standards, certified organic cotton standards, and ethics in business. Indigenous Designs was a “sweet spot for sustainability and serendipity,” as Scott shares about the community of impactful leaders who really paved the way for the sustainable fashion movement. Reflecting back on his high points, and now Scott’s much larger impact work with global sustainability goals, he shares that “Indigenous is like the bay leaves in a huge sustainability cauldron, you can see the bay leaves on the tree and in the tea is a very slight taste of the leaves that reminds us of where we started and inspires us to keep going.”

Overall impact

For over 24 years, Indigenous Designs has been paving the way and creating positive disruption in the fashion industry by bridging “people and planet.” In 2017, the company published it’s impact report with statistics and a narrative on individuals and communities, environmental commitment, sustainability and biodiversity, community grants and reinvestment, and B-Corp's B Impact Report. The report showcases the years of work Indigenous Designs has done in Peru at the Unesco World Heritage Site, home to many of the organizations of skilled artisans which is also home to one of the longest recorded history of textile designs. Indigenous Designs model is built on small business owners, and women cooperatives allowing independent artisans to be entrepreneurs and work from home, employing members of their community, and spreading prosperity. Additionally, most of the textile materials come from alpaca ranchers who allow their animals to graze freely in the Peruvian Highlands and support small ranchers and their families. Additionally, Indigenous Designs supports organic certification of small independent farmers in the cotton industry. The organization gave their partners access to zero interest business loans through Rudolf Steiner Foundation, and other workshops.

On the environmental side, 48,450,000 L of agricultural water is saved annually, 20,750 KG of carbon dioxide kept out of the air each year, and 6,528 OZ of deadly toxic pesticides kept off the land each year. The organization has supported USDA Certified organic cotton since 1994 and used other third party certification organizations to make sure their products are safe and non-toxic. Additionally, they use low-impact dyeing processes to eliminate harmful chemicals and waste. Finally, the company shares that it has been a certified B-Corp since May 2007, and overall B Score of 130, with a median score 55 for other B-Corp organizations.

Business benefit

One of the most profound impacts Indigenous Designs has had on the world is changing how we connect with the clothing we wear. As I write this story, I reflect on when I fell in love with the clothing so many years ago in the small community in Sebastopol (and wearing an indigenous sweater as I write). In the 2017 impact report, Indigenous Designs shares that people are disconnected from the clothing they wear and that 97 percent of the clothing consumed in the US is made overseas. Producers of our clothing items are some of the lowest-paid workers, and 85 percent are women. “Fast Fashion isn’t Free, and someone, somewhere, is paying for it” (Lucy Seigle, author: "To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World"). Indigenous Designs has been committed to fair trade practices since 1994, supporting women cooperatives and small-batch production in marginalized communities. Their artisans are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions. Because the business pioneered the fair trade and sustainable fashion industry, thousands of people in Peru and Ecuador had access to better jobs, better lives, and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Additionally, on the consumer side, people feel connected to the clothing they wear. For some time, the organization had bar codes you could scan to learn about the artist who crafted the piece and the land where the alpaca or llama was raised, and feel connected to the collaborative nature at the heart of Indigenous Designs.

Social and environmental benefit

Non-disposable fashion was pioneered by the leaders of Indigenous Designs nearly two decades ago, inspired by other activists and environmentalists at that time. They saw a vision for “people and planet,” with business being a catalyst for good and were at the heart of the B-Corporation movement. Now, they are at the forefront of the UN SDG goals by working with global supply chains and manufacturing organizations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030. They are doing a lot of work in the circular economy and localization movements as well to bring awareness to where things are made, who makes them, and what happens when it's made. They have been pushing fair trade, organic, and sustainable fashion practices for years and tracking data that measure their impact. They believe that fashion can be a force for good, and when we wear Indigenous Designs clothing, we can lift up the communities who work so hard to make the clothing. At every place of the business are the principles of “people and planet” with every transaction changing the lens and landscape of clothing and fashion production. Imagine a world where we can live in harmony with our environment, and our clothing should be no different from the food we consume and the vehicles we drive. Indigenous Designs has been working hard at making this vision of “people & planet” a reality, and we need more businesses in the world like Indigenous Designs.

Interview

Scott Leonard, CEO