April 22, 2020. Another post for Earth Day 2020 that I am quite exited to share.
Understanding and addressing how human behavior impacts human health and the environment has been the string that connects a pretty diverse career for me. One of the first chapters in my career was launching the initial Sustainable Business & Development program at Nordstrom back in the early 2000s. You can read a little bit about how I and several other colleagues at Nordstrom to sparked the program and philosophy that exists today in this post from 2006, Sean in the Loop.
Following my 13 years at Nordstrom I co-founded the Sustainable Style Foundation (SSF) which some people described at the time as an oxymoron since it would be hard for fashion and sustainability to co-exist (although SSF actually worked across 15 design and style industries). In 2014, H&M created a global campaign titled "Sustainable Style" and the term has been used extensively over the years.
So, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, to see the Nordstrom home page and their dedicated Earth Day page share their philosophy and goals around 'sustainable style' makes for quite a proud papa for this father of the term 'sustainable style'. There is still much work to be done around sustainability in style and design industries, particularly around bringing social and cultural sustainability into the conversation, but it does feel good to know that some headway has been made. A snapshot of the dedicated Earth Day 2020 page appears below.
One thing remains the same since my early days in high school when I first took an interest in international environmental issues, I am not and don't try to be 'perfect' in these matters, but I can continue to make more and better sustainable personal lifestyle choices that continue to respect people and place going forward.
I continue to be a firm believer in my thoughts long ago at Nordstrom and SSF's motto...that we can look fabulous, live well, AND do good.
