The Kindness Economy

Patrick Grant knows that fashion has the potential to be about far more than the clothes we wear: from supporting disadvantaged communities to the ultimate anti-dote to throwaway consumerism.  And he's working at many levels of the industry to put these ideas into practice: from the Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons to the social enterprise Community Clothing - which works with factories in some of the UK's most deprived areas.  He's also helped inspire thousands to reconnect with the increasingly lost art of making and repairing clothes – through his work as a judge on the BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee and as the driving force behind The Big Community Sew which saw thousands volunteer to make Covid masks.  Join Mary as she talks to Patrick about the huge potential that fashion has for creating a positive impact. Follow Mary Portas on: Instagram: @maryportasofficial Facebook: Mary Portas And to get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com and you can subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration.

Dale Vince isn't your average entrepreneur.  After leaving school at 15, he spent ten years living off grid in buses, trucks and underneath tarpaulin.  In 1996 he founded Ecotricity with one windmill in Gloucestershire. The company now employs over 600 people and supplies green energy to 117,000 homes.  He's also chairman of Forest Green Rovers - the world's first vegan and UN-certified carbon neutral football club. And his most recent launch is Sky Diamond – sustainable gems created by taking carbon out of the atmosphere. Dale's work is inextricably linked with his values. Join Mary as she talks to him about what inspired him to carve his unique path. Follow Mary Portas on: Instagram: @maryportasofficial Facebook: Mary Portas And to get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com and you can subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration.

When Yvon Chouinard became a member of the Southern California Falconry Club in 1953, he was taught how to abseil down cliffs to view the birds' nests and it sparked a lifelong love of climbing and the outdoors. Twenty years later he founded the clothing company Patagonia. Today it's a billion-dollar business whose mission statement reads: "We're in business to save our home planet." Patagonia is at the forefront of a host of initiatives from recycling to renewable energy. It gives money to grassroots environmental non-profits, repairs garments and supports 64,000 workers through Fair Trade.  They publish films and books, fund environmentally and socially conscious start-ups, campaign and innovate in organic and regenerative farming practices. Patagonia is a living, breathing embodiment of a values-driven business. In this episode, Mary talks to Patagonia's environmental action and initiatives director Beth Thoren about the brand's vision for the future - and just how critical good business is to the fight to save the planet. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

FOR a long time, the world of beauty was stuck in the old ways of perfume counter selling, excess packaging – and those giveaway foundation samples in magazines that only ever came in some shade of peach. As a teenager of Nigerian heritage, Simi Lindgren felt invisible when she opened up those samples. But last year she founded online beauty marketplace Yuty that has radical inclusivity at its heart.  It uses AI to take into account everything from a shopper's skin type to facial formation to make truly personal recommendations. Every product on the site also meets strict standards on ethics, cruelty and sustainability.  With investor and consumer interest growing in sustainable - and in particular beauty - brands, Yuty has just secured £500,000 in pre-seed funding. Join Mary as she chats with Simi about tech, representation and pushing boundaries in the beauty industry. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

Ella's Kitchen is a lot more than a baby and toddler food company. Its core mission is to improve children's lives by developing healthy relationships with food.  But it's also a B Corps - which means it takes its responsibilities to people and the planet very seriously. It lobbies on company tax rules. It donated over 900,000 food pouches during the pandemic.  Ella's Kitchen faces challenges, however – not least the fact that their products are packaged in single-use plastic. There's also, as we know, the constant debate about just how healthy food pouches are.  Join Mary as she talks to CEO Mark Cuddigan about his vision for the company – and his work to ensure that all businesses put people and the planet alongside profit. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

More than three billion people watched the last World Cup final. The reach–and potential impact–of sport is almost limitless. But while social issues are increasingly creating a stir in sport, the environment isn't yet making quite such an impact. Michael Doughty wants to change all that. A former professional footballer, he's co-founder of Hylo athletics–renewable, carbon-negative and recyclable trainers–and is on a mission to put considerations for the planet at the heart of the conversation around sport. But does Michael think football–and the love of consumerism that still often drives it-will ever really fully embrace the environmental message? And how does a start-up put ideas and values into practice in the early days of business? To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

Food is under increasing scrutiny and meat is high on the agenda. Everyone - from the authors of the UK's national food strategy to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – are telling us to eat less of it. But Glen Burrows, co-founder of the Ethical Butcher, argues that meat isn't the problem. It's industrial farming methods that are at fault. So how does that work? And, given that our love affair with meat may be slowing down but doesn't look as if it's going to end any time soon, what should we as consumers be doing to buy better? To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

Frieda Gormley and her husband Javvy M Royle dreamed up the idea for their interior brand at the kitchen table. Ten years on, House of Hackney is one of the most influential – and aspirational - British interiors brands. Best known for its use of colour, pattern and craftsmanship, House of Hackney also takes its wider responsibilities very seriously. It's a B Corps, which means it meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance – in everything from its materials to supply chains. And it was founded on three guiding principles: creativity, compassion and consciousness. With our homes more important now than ever post-pandemic, how can we ensure that they are kinder – both to us living inside them, and also the people and planet surrounding them? Join Mary as she chats to Frieda about home, inspirations and using an ancient Celtic calendar to root their business in the natural world. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

In the UK last year, if you were a woman, just 2.9 per cent of venture capital went to you. If you were a black business founder you saw just 0.2 per cent of all investment capital. And if you were a black woman, it was a mere 0.02 per cent. "Those numbers mean there are a lot of individuals who are not being funded who have great ideas, and that some who don't have such great ideas are getting funded, so that's the issue," says Eric Collins, CEO of Impact X, a venture capital fund that's putting its money into backing under-represented entrepreneurs. Also on the programme, we announce our first two Portas Reports, available to purchase here and featuring: 9 principles to build genuine trust – unpacked, explained and quantified 47 examples of progressive businesses to learn from 30 "what-if" questions to stretch your creative and commercial thinking A library of additional resources from inspiring thought leaders Purchase your copy now To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

John Schoolcraft's LinkedIn profile lists everything from dishwashing to shop assistant, DJ to Alice Cooper's security guard among his previous jobs. But there's one that he will forever be synonymous with: global chief creative officer at Oatly. Along with CEO Toni Petersson, John has transformed the unknown Swedish alt-milk brand into a global superstar with sales of $421 million in 2020. At the core of this challenger brand however are three values Oatly remains razor-focused on: nutritional health, sustainability and transparency. But how, in a world so packed with products and messaging, did John create the kind of global impact that Oatly has achieved? And now that it's got so huge, how does Oatly protect itself from accusations of selling out? Can big really be kind? Mary finds out. Mary's new book, Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy is available to buy now. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

Richard Walker has taken his father's business in a new direction since taking the helm. A passionate believer in the good that all businesses can do, and the critical importance of their role in combatting environmental damage, he's committed to initiatives including banning palm oil in own-brand products to waging war on plastic. It's created a lot of kickback and Richard has been on the end of some pretty stringent attacks. But he's got broad shoulders. Join him and Mary as they talk business doing better and how supermarkets can contribute to lasting change. Mary's new book, Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy is available to buy now. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

We're doing our bit, we're buying green energy right? Not always. In fact, a third of the energy that's marketed as renewable is in fact greenwashed by companies using loopholes in legislation. Juliet Davenport set up Good Energy in 1999, the UK's first 100% renewable electricity supplier. Today the company produces its own electricity, generated in Britain from sun, wind, water and bioenergy, on their own solar and wind farms – as well as a network of 1600 renewable generators. In this episode, Mary talks to Juliet about how she started her own energy company, really buying green and how we as consumers can wisely choose who we buy from.  Mary's new book, Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy is available to buy now. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

Anna Blackburn is the first non-family member to run the jeweller Beaverbrooks. She's also its first female managing director. And she's more than doubled profits since she took the helm of the business. Anna has done this by building on a foundation already in place at Beaverbrooks which has always invested in its people. But taking this ethos a step further has allowed her to prove that The Kindness Economy betters the bottom line. As one of the few non-owner interviewees that Mary has had on the podcast, it's a great insight into the change someone can create in a business they didn't start themselves. Mary's new book, Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy is available to buy now. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

Sheep Inc is a new kind of fashion brand and its knitwear leaves behind zero emissions, zero harm and zero waste. The attention to detail needed to create this kind of accountability is staggering - involving everything from sourcing wool from regenerative farms to solar-powered knitting machines. Even the sheep that produce the company's wool are fed food that makes them burp less – and produce less methane. Sheep Inc is also a radically transparent brand and you can access entire provenance of your jumper by just scanning its tag. Mary as she talks to co-founder Edzard van der Wyck about what made him want to create this kind of fashion forward brand - and whether the industry as a whole is ever going to clean itself up. Mary's new book, Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy is available to buy now. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

People who buy from sportswear specialist Rapha don't just buy product - they buy into a global brand that's all about connection. Whether it's a clubhouse, cycling group or via technology, Rapha's people connect first through their shared passion for sport - before tapping into a far deeper sense of community. In this episode founder Simon Mottram talks about wellness, his devotion to detail and how Rapha is now pushing into new areas to connect with different groups of people.  Mary's new book, Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy is available to buy now. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

The frozen food brand Cook is a true family business. Co-founder Edward Perry was inspired by his parents' frozen cake company to set up Cook and then joined in the business by brother James and sister Rosie, who's now co-CEO. An early B Corps, Cook has donated two million meals to children living in some of the most poverty-stricken areas of the world and gave away more than 200000 meals to the needy during Covid. Thanks to initiatives to employ ex-offenders, a profit share and the living wage, they've also consistently been voted one of the Sunday Times' top 100 businesses. But the company has faced some tough times financially too and Rosie tells Mary about how vital it was to stick their core values during them. They also discuss how food has taken centre stage over the past year - from panic buying to eating at home again (and again) - and how the wider food industry has made some big steps in recent years with increased organic production and a focus on reducing waste and plastic, but there's still a lot to be done.  Mary's new book, Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy is available to buy now. To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration. Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram  ** Linkedin **  Twitter

The Kindness Economy returns this Thursday. Follow us now!

Michael Green is CEO of the Social Progress Imperative - an organisation that's helping national and local government accurately measure what life is like for ordinary people. It's a fascinating move towards measuring more than just money and ensuring the wellbeing of people is maximised. Plus, Mary chats with two of her key Portas people about what they've learned from working with businesses to implement the Kindness Economy, and their hopes for its future.  To purchase the Kindness Economy Report, click here: https://portasagency.com/the-kindness-economy-report/p/the-kindness-economy To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Want subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration? Click here: http://eepurl.com/dgJfwL Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram: www.instagram.com/portasagency/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portas Twitter: https://twitter.com/portasagency?s=20

Architecture is not just about what we build - but how we live. And Amanda Levete CBE believes our homes, shops, offices and public spaces can be radically reimagined in the future. In this fascinating discussion she tells Mary how we can apply those ideas to our vacant department stores as much as the new structures we design. Plus, Mary talks to one of the Portas team about The Kindness Economy in action... looking at businesses this week that are making a difference.  To purchase the Kindness Economy Report, click here: https://portasagency.com/the-kindness-economy-report/p/the-kindness-economy To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Want subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration? Click here: http://eepurl.com/dgJfwL Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram: www.instagram.com/portasagency/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portas Twitter: https://twitter.com/portasagency?s=20

Kate Raworth calls herself a rebel economist and it's true. Now a Senior Research Associate at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, she was in fact switched off economics at university because it didn't answer the questions she cared about like protecting the environment and challenging inequality. Luckily, she later reconnected with the topic and her 2017 book 'Doughnut Economics' has been published in 18 languages. She talks to Mary about the key principles. Plus, Mary talks to one of the Portas team about The Kindness Economy in action... looking at businesses this week that are making a difference.  To purchase the Kindness Economy Report, click here: https://portasagency.com/the-kindness-economy-report/p/the-kindness-economy To get in touch with team Portas, email us at: kindnesseconomy@portasagency.com Want subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provaction insights and inspiration? Click here: http://eepurl.com/dgJfwL Want to keep up-to-date with all things Portas? Follow us here: Instagram: www.instagram.com/portasagency/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portas Twitter: https://twitter.com/portasagency?s=20