š A Love Letter To Community - Our 4 Year Birthday At Patagonia
Hear about our night in Manchester + catch up on the latest news
This week is a special one. Weāve just turned 4 and weāre getting all sentimental (pass the tissues, no really). To celebrate we cohosted an event with Patagonia (wtf!! Yes you read that right!!) in Manchester called āA Love Letter To Communityā - more on that in a second.
First, we wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to all of you. Itās been a cool 4 years. Weāve released databases, websites, 100s of brand spotlights, 100s of quick dives into topics that have hopefully helped you, mapped 1000s of partnerships and more importantly - (hopefully) inspired you. Every now and then we hear a juicy story of a brand that re-evaluated a decision based on something we wrote, or reached out to a new partner based on information we shared. Weāve even been told that whole new drink lines have been created, people have found jobs, and people have found the courage to leave jobs (spicy!!) from our content. If you, somewhere along the way, have found yourself inspired over the last 4 years - please let us know. As a totally volunteer-led team, it would mean the world.
We also want to shout-out the Following the Footprints team - past and present - who have committed countless hours on week-nights and weekends to keep this platform going. No one has to do this, no one is paid. Theyāre the best of the best and have made the last 4 years a true joy.
Ok, tissues away, letās recap last weekā¦
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> Event Recapā¦
11th February 2025: Our āOpen Micā Night with Patagonia
Last Tuesday, the Following the Footprints team descended on Manchester. Well, on the Patagonia Showroom in Manchester specifically. To celebrate our fourth birthday, nod to Patagoniaās long-standing support of grassroots climate action, and pay homage to a looming Valentineās day, this Open Mic-style mixer was titled āA Love Letter To Communityā.
In case youāve missed previous Open Mic events like this one - no one actually sings. Instead, we introduce a question to the group, and let the conversation roll from there. No one can speak for more than a minute, and we encourage attendees to ask questions and share examples alongside their opinions. It gets juicy, fast.
Letās set the scene.
Itās a cold February night in Manchester. The warm glow of Patagoniaās showroom was exciting for three reasons - first, thereās next seasonsā samples on the shelves and boy are they cool. Second, the sweet sweet sight of The Uncommonās crisp and sparkling white and rose, Shandy Shackās Elderflower Lager Top and Raspberry Lager, and Lucky Saintās no alc nectar catch your eye. Lastly, you look around and itās 50 of Following the Footprintsā Manchester nearest and dearest bundled together and chatting furiously.
7.30pm comes around - Leone welcomes everyone to the evening, Laura shares more about Following the Footprints, and Lisa and Alex from Patagonia give us a glimpse into how Patagonia thinks about their community. Next, itās time to Open Mic.
Like all our Open Mic events, thereās one key question that we kick things off with. This time, itās - Can consumer brands truly prioritise their community, if theyāre also trying to sell to them? Weāre not holding back round here.
What did we discuss?
We never share exactly what attendees said - itās Chatham House rules and really, you had to be there. However - hereās a taste of the topics we covered:
What can we learn from brands directly employing, or economically boosting, their local community? Why donāt more brands focus on right where they are situated, and build deep roots there? Examples we shared included Hiut Denim and industries like local Scottish wool mills.
People along the supply chain canāt be forgotten when a brand talks about community - it canāt just include customers.
Timpsonās was raised as an example of a successful company that is truly changing peopleās lives, and doing so in a very authentic way. We tried to brainstorm brands that were started to fix problems in their local community, and the list was shamefully short.
Listen first - Patagonia approaches granting for their 1% for the Planet pledge by first listening to what their grantees (and potential grantees) actually want. We canāt assume we know without asking.
Is organised fun actually superficial? Or really is the decline of third spaces a call for brands to be a convener and lean into that role, especially if they have space or budget to physically bring people together?
Is it less authentic when community-engagement is marketed? Can community action be sustained if itās not, however, making financial sense for that brand?
Communities are tired of being asked what they need, and the action then not happening. A great example of this was the Black Lives Matter movement, when pressure was put on black colleagues to say what they needed but fast forward to now and many DEI policies are being withdrawn with no resistance.
Evidence shows that consumers are statistically more likely to buy from brands they trust, than they are from brands they think are doing a great job environmentally.
Changing human behaviour is really hard! Can we even rely on consumer research which says they would include the environment or how much they trust that brands in their purchasing decisions? Consumers are overwhelmed!
The Consensus
We didnāt come to one united answer - a show of hands at the end about whether consumer brands can truly be community-led if theyāre trying to sell to that community showed a very split room. This is good! We wanted discussion, and we need to interrogate our own methods of supporting communities (local and global) in order to do better as an industry.
Thank you to all our partners for this event - Lisa and Alex from Patagonia, Florence from The Uncommon, Will from Shandy Shack, Olivia from Lucky Saint, and of course the brilliant FTF team not already mentioned - Indira and Rosalin.
Want to join future FTF events? Add your name to our invite list hereā¦
> The Good(s) News
šÆ Meatable and Pelagen announced their partnership to advance sustainable leather technology. This beyond food innovation helps to enhance the production of high-quality, sustainable skin tissue from animal cells.
šÆ allplants shared news that they are being acquired by Plants and Deliciously Ella to create a new, natural, plant-based powerhouse.
šÆ nibs etc. Ltd announced that they have launched their products at 21 Waitrose & Partners stores. They have been part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Big Food Redesign Challenge these last 12 months.
šÆ Harmless Harvest announced that they are now B Corp certified.
āļø ARKET announced their partnership with SOJO, launching a UK-wide repairs and alternations service, with celebrations happening in their Regent Street store in Central London.
āļø Mondi Group announced their collaboration with Proquimia to launch paper-based stand-up pouches for dishwashing tabs in Spain and Portugal. Mondiās internal product impact assessment indicates that the new solution has significantly lower CO2 emissions than its previous plastic packaging.
āļø Boots UK announced that its Blister pack recycling scheme now extends to 800 Boots stores, in partnership with MYGroup. Customers who take part in the scheme are able to claim Boots Advantage Card loyalty points in exchange for the used blister packs and other products they deposit in-store.
Have good news? Share it with us - info@followingthefootprints.com!
> Bulletin Board
Events
š 23rd February - The Sustainable Beauty E-Summit - The Eco Well
š 24th February - The Future of Protein Production - Future-Proof Group Media - Chicago
š 27th February - Women in Sustainability Breakfast - Altruistiq - London
> Finally, in case you missed itā¦
š The Check-Out: Helena Hills, TrueStart Coffee
I know it sounds really cheesy but we honestly do exist on this earth to spread massive positive energy and our coffee is our vehicle for that! We want our coffee to make people feel amazing so they can go into their day the most unlocked version of themselves.
Want more? Check out our Website! You can find more about the team behind this newsletter, dig through our content archive AND check out our handy databases there too.
Have ideas for what we should write about next? Reply to this email! Weāre always looking for inspiration from folks like you.
Until next time!
Team FTFĀ