We talked to Nela Quandt, born and raised in Hamburg with Bosnian roots. After 20 years, Bosnia still struggles with the aftermath of the war and high unemployment rates. With her company BOSNANOVA, Nela designs and sells eco-friendly children’s furniture, toys and decoration – all handcrafted in Bosnia. Her multi-purpose furniture is manufactured by small carpenter’s shops while a local women’s association produces the colourful toys and knitwear – ensuring fair wages and regular income for all. Way to go BOSNANOVA!

Nela is looking to expand her business in Hamburg and could use some help: check out her crowdfunding campaign at https://www.nordstarter.org/bosnanova/ 

In a little shop in Altona, Hamburg, Björn Claßen gives old tractor tires a new life. Under his label ‘Retube’, he manufactures bags, wallets, key holders out of used tires and rubber tubes. His newest invention is 'The Rubberman’ - a mobile phone case that can be attached to bicycles, baby strollers and shopping carts. He collects the tubes from bike repair shops and tractor farmers around Hamburg.

Find out out more about Retube: http://www.retube-taschen.de/ and the Rubberman: http://rubberman.de/

The Stories we wear

Surf shorts worn for over 15 years have a story to tell - about fascinating travels, big waves and white beaches. Such a piece of clothes you don’t just throw away light-heartedly. And you don’t have to! Because Patagonia`s sports wear lasts long. This is at least the message the almost 30 minute long film tries to send. The video offers insights into the lives of different people - from extreme atheletes to families enjoying the outdoors. Plus, it has beautiful pictures and a great soundtrack! 

Some of the protagonists of this short documentary have even re-used the material of, for example, a board shorts. A surfer from Baja, Mexico, says: “I just don’t throw stuff away." 

Another example is a long-distance hiker from Alaska. She tells about her experiences, that she has had on all her hikes - accompanied by her favorite hat. This hat has been in her family for about eleven years and will probably be passed on, she says. 

On the website of Patagonia you will find more stories on ”Worn Wear“, that inspire others to celebrate the things we already own. We do not always need to buy new things - and if we do, we should rather invest in quality. 

Social Design - full speed ahead!


“What if all designers in the world - not only designers - what if all people in the world dared and had the courage to make one product each?" 


This wonderful trailer by eyetrip promotes the Social Design Elevation Days 2015, coming up in Munich from February 21st - 25th. During these five days the Impact Hub Munich is converting into a European centre for Social Design. All relevant questions about Social Design and Innovation will be addressed. 

But what is Social Design exactly? It can be described as a design practice that does not have the purely technical and consumer-oriented design of products and services in mind. Social Design creates social added value by becoming an advocate of social concerns that either the state or the market do not serve adequately or at all. 

We are excited to find out more about the outcomes of the Social Design Evaluation Days….

Finding your talents with “Passionly Curious”

Is a game app the next step in helping students discover their potential?

Sustain Your Future interviewed Alexander Nast about his brand new startup Passionly Curious on the Vision Summit 2014 in Berlin. “We’re helping kids discover their passions, and employers to help people do what they love. Because in the end, we want to have happy, working people.”

Jozi’s Nut Butter - a spoonful of sustainable

By Irene Broer


A few weeks ago, I received a jar of Jozi’s Nut Butter from a friend that had been to South Africa. As I indulged myself in spoonfuls of the crunchy all-natural peanut butter, something on the label caught my eye.

image

“Jozi’s Nut Butter is a social enterprise through the non-profit Oasis, with the purpose of creating jobs for unemployed women in the city.”

Delicious, life-changing peanut butter from South Africa? This called for further investigation! An interview with Change Agents Scotch and Shelton from Oasis South Africa followed.

Keep reading

Vision Summit 2014

We have just been to the Vision Summit 2014, the leading conference on social innovations and entrepreneurship in Berlin. Our little video shows some impressions of the conference.

The main topic of the Vision Summit was “The Future of Society and Economy” and focused much on the newly introduced “WeQ-movement” by Peter Spiegel, CEO of the Genesis Institute. The WeQ-concept is all about “We”-qualities in contrast to I-qualities. It explains the on-going single trends of design thinking and co-laboration to co-creation, from open source and wikipedia to car-sharing, from impact investing to inclusive business and many more, that can all be unified under the mega trend of “WeQ”. 

It was an inspiring and exciting conference and we also got to interview two social entrepreneurs who introduce their business ideas. Those videos will be put online in the upcoming weeks!

Surfrider Foundation protects coasts since 1984

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. In 1984 some visionary surfers in Malibu, California, founded the Surfrider Foundation. It now maintains over 250,000 supporters, activists and members worldwide.

For more information on the Surfrider Foundation, visit www.surfrider.org

[Disclaimer: Video is of course not our own, but we will be up with some of our own videos soon! Be patient and stay tuned! :) ]

ChocQlate - make chocolate at home

SustainYourFuture talked to Felix Brodbeck from ChocQlate. This creative company produces gift sets for making your own vegan chocolate. And what’s best, this chocolate is guilt-free! The cacao beans and butter come from small-scale farms in Panama, Sri Lanka and Peru. The farmers benefit from fair trade, and we get to enjoy lovely and rich dark chocolate.

Check out their website https://www.chocqlate.com/ for more information.