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When you’re snacking on Pringles or Pop-Tarts, you don’t want to be contributing to the destruction of orangutans’ homes.

That’s why Kellogg's, maker of such iconic snack and breakfast foods, recently announced a new commitment to only purchasing palm oil that can be traced back to suppliers certified to protect forests, peat lands and human rights by the end of 2015.

"As a socially responsible company, traceable, transparent sourcing of palm oil is important to us, and we are collaborating with our suppliers to make sure the palm oil we use is not associated with deforestation, climate change or the violation of human rights," Kellogg’s Chief Sustainability Officer Diane Holdorf said in a press release.

Made from the fruit of oil palm trees, the popular vegetable oil is used in a host of products including food, soap, cosmetics and biofuels. Nearly half of all packaged goods contain palm oil, according to Green Century Capital Management, an investment firm that manages environmentally responsible mutual funds.Palm oil has many benefits: It needs less than half the land required by other vegetable oils to produce the same amount of oil and maintains its properties when cooked at high temperatures.

But palm oil has an environmental and social downside: Tropical forests are cleared to set up palm oil plantations, accelerating climate change and destroying the habitat of endangered animals like orangutans. Local community members are denied previous access to the forest and its resources, and forest inhabitants are displaced from their homes. In addition, many palm oil plantations do not employ fair labor practices and subject employees to unsafe working conditions.

Kellogg's began using mass balance palm oil – a mixture of oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and non-certified oil – in Europe in 2012 and in the United States this year.

But the breakfast and snack foods giant decided to strengthen its policies on palm oil after Green Century Capital Management, which owns less than 1 percent of Kellogg's stock in its Green Century Equity Fund, filed a shareholder proposal asking Kellogg's to ensure that the palm oil it purchases cannot be linked to illegal deforestation.

Kellogg's had come under fire from environmental groups last year when it launched a joint venture with Wilmar, the world’s largest palm oil trader that had been widely criticized for its contribution to deforestation. Green Century encouraged Wilmar to adopt a similar policy eliminating deforestation from its supply chain late last year.

As part of its new commitment, Kellogg's will require that by Dec. 31, 2015, all its suppliers be able to trace palm oil back to plantations that can be independently verified as compliant with the company’s principles for protecting forests, peat lands and communities, as well as meet the standards for RSPO certification.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company also pledges to participate as a member of the RSPO and support the Consumer Goods Forum’s goal to achieve zero net deforestation by 2020.

Will Kellogg’s new policy preserve forests, or is it just PR?

Environmental groups like Greenpeace have criticized the RSPO’s certification program, citing the palm oil’s industry powerful influence over the organization and the certification program’s lack of supply chain traceability.

But Kellogg’s new commitment goes beyond RSPO’s controversial standards, addressing many of the concerns environmentalists have with RSPO’s program: independently verifying plantations and tracking the oil from supplier to processor to grower. Environmental watchdogs will have to monitor the policy’s implementation, but clearly Kellogg's is making a step in the right direction by adopting more rigorous rules than RSPO.

Green Century, for one, is satisfied with Kellogg’s new policy, withdrawing its shareholder proposal in response to Friday’s announcement and saying the company’s commitment is one of the strongest in the industry.

“Kellogg’s aggressive timeline for ensuring all palm oil purchases can be traced back to deforestation-free sources sends a powerful message to its supply chain that protecting the environment is critical for long-term value creation,” said Lucia von Reusner, shareholder advocate at Green Century Capital Management, in a press release. “By raising the bar, Kellogg’s palm oil commitment should encourage other companies to step up and support the development of transparent and responsible palm oil supply chains.”

Photo: Dr. Asril Darussamin, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

Passionate about both writing and sustainability, Alexis Petru is freelance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area whose work has appeared on Earth911, Huffington Post and Patch.com. Prior to working as a writer, she coordinated environmental programs for Bay Area cities and counties. Connect with Alexis on Twitter at @alexispetru

Welcome to our series of interviews with leading female CSR practitioners where we are learning about what inspires these women and how they found their way to careers in sustainability. Read the rest of the series here.

TriplePundit: Briefly describe your role and responsibilities, and how many years you have been in the business.

Tina Morefield: As Director of Corporate Citizenship for DIRECTV, one of the world's leading providers of digital television entertainment services, I lead our U.S. strategy for community outreach and charitable giving, which is focused on K-12 schools and STEM education, as well as employee volunteerism. In addition, my team produces DIRECTV’s annual report on Corporate Social Responsibility, which communicates the company’s Corporate Citizenship, environmental sustainability and people initiatives, and is aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework.

I joined DIRECTV 15 years ago, starting my career in corporate communications. In 2004, I added responsibility for Corporate Citizenship and led a combined Communications & Corporate Citizenship team for seven years before focusing solely on Corporate Citizenship in 2011.

3p: How has the sustainability program evolved at your company?

TM: Our corporate social responsibility program has been evolving steadily over DIRECTV’s 20-year history, beginning with a handful of charitable giving programs for employees. In 2006, spurred by interest from our Board of Directors, we drafted our first strategic plan for Corporate Citizenship and began reporting progress to the Board on a regular basis. In 2011, under the leadership of our current Chairman, President & CEO, Mike White, we accelerated the pace of our journey, creating a dedicated Corporate Citizenship function within HR & Communications and launching an Environmental Sustainability function within Operations. Since then, we’ve refined our Corporate Citizenship strategy, created a thriving volunteer culture among employees, established a cross-functional Sustainability team and overachieved our initial goals for greenhouse gas emissions and product efficiency. Today, DIRECTV is proud to have received national recognition for its efforts to be a socially and environmentally responsible company.

3p: Tell us about someone (mentor, sponsor, friend, hero) who affected your sustainability journey, and how.

TM: I would not be where I am today without DIRECTV’s Vice President of Communications. Since Day 1 (back in 1999) she’s believed with me that the then-fledgling DIRECTV would one day be known as a good corporate citizen. She’s also believed in me, encouraging my development and creating numerous opportunities, including my transition from communications to corporate citizenship. She is a champion of corporate social responsibility, and she’s been instrumental in marshaling support for it from key people across the company.

3p: What is the best advice you have ever received?

TM: “Start small, make an impact and grow from there.” I’ve always had big dreams for Corporate Citizenship at DIRECTV, and when given the chance to advance our efforts to the next level, I wanted to do something on a national level that had high visibility – and was very expensive – right out of the gate.  But our Chairman, President and CEO, Mike White, guided me to start by doing something local that produced credible results and then scale from there. That’s how the DIRECTV Math Challenge was born. We funded a handful of turnaround schools in Los Angeles for their continued use of an online math learning program, and we encouraged students, teachers, principals and parents to propel math achievement through a contest with unique DIRECTV incentives. One year later, we have strong, classroom-specific evidence to point to, and we’re looking to expand the program to other cities for the 2014-2015 school year.

3p: Can you share a recent accomplishment you are especially proud of?

TM: Three months ago we received the good news that DIRECTV had been named to Bloomberg’s Civic 50 list, which means that we are one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the nation. It’s a rigorous participation process, and we’d failed to make the list on our first attempt in 2012. What I’m most proud of is the fact that we received this recognition because our submission captured the collective efforts of many DIRECTV employees who have worked hard to establish our company’s reputation as a leader in this space. Whether it’s in the United States or Latin America, and whether it involves our environmental, social or governance work, we’ve pulled together and created something special.

3p: If you had the power to make one major change at your company or in your industry, what would it be?

TM: I’d ask everyone involved in public-private partnerships to focus more on measurable results that can be accomplished when each organization leverages its unique resources and talents. It’s so powerful – and effective – when the end goal is making an impact rather than increasing the dollars donated/raised. When both sides are invested in a successful outcome, it’s nearly impossible to keep it from growing. And that growth will naturally drive increased financial investment.

3p: Describe your perfect day.

TM: My perfect day on the job would have me out in the community making a meaningful impact on someone else’s life. It could be surprising inner-city high school students with a visit from Archbishop Desmond Tutu or Oprah Winfrey, renovating the lounge area for teachers at a school that serves special needs students, or building a playground for underserved kids (all of which I’ve been fortunate enough to do with DIRECTV). The icing on the cake would be for me to share these moments with my family, including my parents, my husband and our preschool-aged daughter.

Tulane University announced on Monday that it would offer a $1M prize to any entrepreneurs, inventors or researchers that can come up with a market-driven solution to the “dead zones” that arise in the Gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere around the world, every year.

Dead zones are caused by hypoxia, a condition in which vast areas of water are depleted of oxygen and thus unable to support any marine life. In the Gulf of Mexico, the cause of these dead zones can largely be traced to the agricultural lands of the 33 states for which the Mississippi River is the main drainage point. Excess nutrients from fertilizer runoff and sewers enter the Gulf and cause a boom in micro-organisms like plankton and algae, which feed off of these nutrients. As these massive micro-populations die, the process of decomposition sucks the oxygen in surrounding water, killing other marine life that cannot escape the so-called dead zone.Scientists attribute nitrogen-rich fertilizer runoff as the main cause of hypoxia and have measured dead zones in the Gulf ranging from 6,500 sq. mi. to 8,500 sq. mi. (the size of New Jersey). More than just a serious environmental concern, dead zones jeopardize economies and workers dependent on fisheries close to shore, as in Louisiana, Mississippi and other Gulf states.

The Tulane competition is focused on solutions that cut to the problem at its source, so hopeful contestants should be testing solutions out in the fields, not on the water.

The $1M grand prize, funded by Patrick F. Taylor Foundation,  will be awarded to the team with the best testable, scalable and market-driven technical solution to the problem of hypoxia. Tulane has enlisted Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain as project partners.

Registration is not yet open, but those interested can send public comments and non-binding letters of intent to tulaneprize@gmail.com or via this form.

 [Image Credit: Tom Archer via michiganseagrant, Flickr]

When it comes to chicken, the truth isn't so simple after all.

Supermarket giant Kroger Co. faces a potential class-action lawsuit for allegedly deceiving consumers about farming practices with its “Simple Truth” brand of chicken products. A consumer in California filed a suit against the company earlier this month at a Superior Court in Los Angeles and is seeking class-action status, reported Reuters.

The suit alleges that Kroger deliberately misled consumers with labeling on its Simple Truth chicken products that claimed the animals were raised in a “cage-free” and “humane environment” when in fact, the case claims, the chickens were raised under standard commercial farming practices that involve packed pens and electrocution before slaughter.

The Simple Truth line of products are marketed as "honest, easy to understand and affordable choices" to consumers at Kroger’s stores and sold at a premium. The chickens used for the products in question were raised by Perdue, the country’s third-largest poultry producer, on behalf of Kroger, the nation’s leading grocer.

“Looking to profit from growing consumer awareness of, and concern with, the treatment of farm animals raised for meat production, Kroger engaged in a deceptive and misleading marketing scheme to promote its ‘Simple Truth’ store brand chicken as having been sourced from chickens raised ‘cage free in a humane environment’,” reads the complaint.

In order to use the term "cage free," poultry farmers only have to prove to USDA regulators that the animals have access to the outdoors. There are no more specific regulations about how often the animals access the outdoor space or how large it must be. Animal Welfare Guidelines from the National Chicken Council, an industry advocacy group, state that commercial broiler chickens should be housed in open structures that provide less than one square foot of space per bird (about 0.80 of a square foot to be exact).

The other term in question—used widely in the grocery store meat department—is even fuzzier. Producers and marketers can decide for themselves how to use the word “humane” on livestock product labels since the USDA does not define that term under any specific regulation.

The Kroger suit highlights the difficulties consumers face in choosing products that meet their ethical and environmental expectations when the marketing terms they search for—organic, natural, humane—are, in effect, regulatory gray areas.

Responding to a request for comment, Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey told Reuters: “What we have on our Simple Truth chicken label is information for our customers that we believe is accurate, and we intend to vigorously defend our label."

A New Jersey court decision in a similar case against Perdue last year could bode well for the plaintiffs in the Kroger case. In 2010 the Humane Society of the United States filed a suit on behalf of New Jersey consumers against Perdue for "false and deceptive" marketing related to the “humane” label on its Harvestland brand of chickens. In March of last year a federal judge cleared the suit to move forward as a class-action lawsuit.

Image Credit: Kroger Co., thekrogerco.com

By Martin Wright

No finance director likes a wasted asset. But not everyone is as adept at spotting one as Luke Marion. Marion is FD of the Oxford Bus Company (OBC), and the asset in question is a roof over its main depot.

It might be doing a good job keeping the buses dry, but Marion reckoned it could work harder. Vast, sprawling and–crucially–south-facing, it struck him as the ideal site for a massive photovoltaic (PV) plant. The roof could accommodate a system with a peak performance capacity of 140 kilowatt-hours–enough to produce a quarter of the company’s total energy needs. At a stroke, Marion realized this could both cut his company's bills and help achieve its carbon target. But the upfront costs–around $250,000 (or £150,000)–“just didn’t stack up."

Which is where the Low Carbon Hub came in. Set up by community renewables expert and sometime government adviser Barbara Hammond, the hub helps local companies and communities develop renewable installations for community benefit.

It works like this. The Hub draws on the expertise of Hammond and its founders–all veterans of Oxford’s community renewables scene. Supported by a £1 million European Intelligent Energy Fund, they partner with local communities to develop, finance and manage renewable energy schemes for community benefit. In the case of the OBC, the business made the roof space available, and the Low Carbon Hub raised the finance locally and installed the PV panels.

The result is that the bus company uses the cheap, green electricity generated by the panels, investors get a fair return and the hub receives the payments from the U.K.’s Feed-in-Tariff (FITs) program to support local communities to develop their own renewable schemes. This backs the rise of "energy citizens" where locals can buy into renewables, whether it is a community or a corporate scheme. Everyone’s a winner.

Like most community renewable programs, the hub’s model depends on the FITs–but Hammond is pragmatic about the risk of further cuts. “The other side of the coin is that the cost of the kit–such as solar PV–is coming down rapidly. So financially it still stacks up for us: We can still make it work.”

The hub is also adept at identifying smart financial mechanisms which can boost the returns for local investors. Mechanisms like the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), which provide tax relief on investment sufficient to boost the annual ROI, are “a whole lot better than putting it in a building society," as Hammond says. Expertise of this sort can make all the difference when it comes to encouraging local people to invest for the benefit of their communities.

With the help of the hub, a group of locals interested in setting up a micro-hydro scheme at Osney Lock, in West Oxford, England were able to raise £600,000 in a share offer in just three weeks. “The hub was incredibly helpful in offering advice as to how to market the share offer and structure the whole thing," says Saskya Huggins, director of Osney Lock Hydro IPS. She calculates that, over the 40-year life of the scheme, they should generate $3.3 million (or £2 million) in income, which can be reinvested in further local community energy work.

This kind of local multiplier effect is at the heart of the Hub’s vision, explains Hammond: to work with communities so that the surplus income from renewables can be invested directly in further schemes–or in helping local households become more energy efficient. “That work is much less developed, but our aim is to ‘power up,' by creating new renewable capacity, and then use the income to ‘power down’ by reducing overall energy demand.”

Green commitment is the spark for many community energy initiatives, but it’s not compulsory, says Paul Phare, development director of Energy4All, a group which helps to advise on such schemes. Many people who decide to invest are motivated as much by a combination of decent returns–which can be as high as 10 percent annually over 20 years on some wind schemes–as by the thought that they’re doing something for their home territory. “They like the idea that profits are staying in the local area.”

The idea of harvesting energy close to home is a motivator, too. Take Cornwall, England. It’s blessed with a bounty of local resources–such as wind, waves, sun, hydro and biomass. Yet much of its power comes from energy companies far away. Now, a group of local enthusiasts in one Cornish town have formed the Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN), a cooperatively owned social enterprise which has installed 6.5 megawatts of renewables–including "re-powering" a local wind turbine. More than one in 10 local adults are members of this Ashden Award-winning scheme--proof that enthusiasm for home-grown energy isn’t restricted to a few fringe enthusiasts.

What’s novel in the U.K. is fast becoming normal elsewhere in Europe. Dutch co-op Windcentrale is just one of many which is attracting investment by appealing both to people’s concern for the planet and their pockets. Its latest offering saw all 6,648 shares in a new wind turbine, priced at $275 (or €200) each, sell out in just 13 hours. Impressive, but perhaps not surprising given a projected annual return of 8.5 percent. In Germany, meanwhile, one local energy co-op is even negotiating to buy the Berlin city grid. Others are using local sources such as wind and biogas to pursue a dream of energy independence. Feldheim, just outside Berlin, has even managed to go completely off-grid, cutting its bills by one-third as a result.

In Britain, there are rare pockets which the grid never reached, such as the Scottish Isle of Eigg. Until recently, the islanders were dependent on noisy, polluting and increasingly expensive diesel generation. But after buying out their feudal owner, they took control of their power supply, too. Eigg Electric is an Ashden Award-winning community-owned company which supplies more than 90 percent of residents’ requirements through a mixture of solar, hydro and wind–pumping power into a local grid which runs around the island. Power bills have plummeted, says one resident, Lucy Conway: “People used to pay 65p per unit when they were reliant on diesel. Now it’s just 21p.”

But it’s not just financial benefits. Eigg has shown what it feels like to be in control. And this, says Giles Bristow, director of programs and energy lead at Forum for the Future, is one of the great unsung benefits of a community energy culture.

For most of the U.K., by contrast, it’s still early days, says Bristow. “The whole regulatory system–whether it’s about planning, or grid feed-in--is geared to the ‘Big Six’ utilities. It just doesn’t understand community energy.” As a result, local communities continue to face hefty obstacles, such as access to finance for the initial capital. Support to overcome these obstacles, from pioneers like the Low Carbon Hub, WREN or Energy4All, can unleash a whole range of additional benefits, adds Bristow: “Once people own their energy supply, they get more engaged with the whole issue. So they’re more likely to look for ways to cut consumption–especially if they are still relying on the ‘Big Six’ for part of their needs. It has a huge democratizing effect.”

With the right policy environment, Bristow believes the U.K. could see 3.5 gigawatts of installed capacity which is entirely community-owned. That’s the same amount as both new reactors planned for the Hinckley nuclear plant: “We’re only just beginning to see what happens when people become energy citizens.”

An investment worth having

Communities setting up a new renewable energy enterprise can take advantage of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) to make the projects more attractive to investors. These schemes offer income tax and capital gains reliefs. Individuals can benefit from 50 percent tax relief on the amount invested under SEIS and 30 percent tax relief on the amount invested under EIS, having a significant positive impact on their overall return.

Image credit: Flickr/jondoig

Martin Wright is Founding Editor of Green Futures and a Visiting Judge for the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and consumer goods giant Unilever have signed a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement aimed at helping to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers around the world.

The five-year global agreement – the first of its kind by IFAD with the private sector – was signed by IFAD president Kanayo F. Nwanze and Unilever ceo Paul Polman to help improve food security through a variety of initiatives including raising agricultural productivity and making agriculture more sustainable.

Scoping exercises have already begun looking at ways to leverage IFAD’s knowledge and expertise in working with small-scale farmers and rural enterprises with Unilever’s ability to integrate farmers into markets and its expertise in sustainable agriculture. These have included a joint field mission to review an IFAD-supported project in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Western, focused on spices and onions.

Kanayo Nwanze commented: “It is not enough to focus narrowly on boosting agricultural productivity. Instead, a broader approach that also supports the establishment of viable linkages between rural producers and markets is essential. IFAD recognises that the right types of investments in agriculture are essential to food security for a growing population. That is why partnerships like the one we have signed today with Unilever are so critical.”

 

Picture credit: © Liz Van Steenburgh | Dreamstime Stock Photos
 

Packaging, pulp and paper producer Mondi Group and WWF International are to work together in a three-year strategic partnership that focuses on increasing environmental stewardship in the packaging and paper sectors.

The partnership will focus on minimising the impacts of Mondi’s operations on forests, climate and water, and encouraging sustainable practices in the industry.

The work programme will look to build on the successful Mondi Wetlands Programme in South Africa, focusing on protecting high conservation value ecosystems in Russia and other regions. It will also set about reducing the company’s water and climate footprint through the promotion of resource efficiency, recycling and longevity of products. The further environmental performance of its products will also be examined.

“As population grows and competition for land increases, forest-based industries that rely on renewable resources can play an important role in protecting and managing vital ecosystems,” commented Jim Leape, director general of WWF International. “Companies like Mondi that choose to contribute to sustainable resource use and nature conservation are ensuring their own long-term viability, while contributing to the well-being of people and the planet today.”

David Hathorn, group ceo of Mondi added: “This international partnership enables us to join forces on a larger scale. Sustainable development is integral to our business, and we are very pleased to be working with WWF as we continue to reduce our footprint and share responsible practices across our industry and beyond.”

 

Picture courtesy: © Photomorgana | Dreamstime Stock Photos
 

Tim Jahnigen has designed a football that never goes flat, even when punctured multiple times. Inspiration struck while he was watching news footage about traumatized refugee youth in Darfur playing football on dirt, using a ball they had made by tying trash together with twine. Jahnigen realized there was a global need for a nearly indestructible ball that could withstand the harsh conditions often faced by youth living in refugee camps, disaster areas and other disadvantaged communities.

The project is now kicking off in the UK.

Jahnigen's idea remained in the concept stage until a conversation with the pop star Sting. Once Sting heard his vision for the ball he provided the initial funding to research and develop a One World Futbol prototype. In recognition of Sting’s crucial early support the name of the ball and the company are based on his song “One World (Not Three)”.

In this World Cup year, for every Futbol bought, One World Futbol Project will donate one to organizations working with youth in disadvantaged communities worldwide. This buy-one-give-one model has seen the company partner with TOMS shoes, who trail blazed this business model with charity at the heart.

Director of Loughborough University Sports Technology Institute commented: “Providing a ball that can be used in harsh environments without maintenance has potential to benefit many people. The properties of the One World Futbol are likely to allow for a more enjoyable game on rough terrain than a regular football, due to its reduced rebound, which will help players to control the ball and develop their skills.”

You can check out the initiative here. 
 

One in five energy-using products across Europe do not match their energy efficiency claims, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

European Commission-funded research reveals that up to 20% of electrical products are non-compliant with energy efficiency standards, such as energy labelling. And according to estimates, this is leading to around 10% of the potential energy savings stated being lost by millions of products across Europe, including ovens, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, televisions and computers.

As a result, the Energy Saving Trust will now be independently purchasing and testing energy-using products across Europe to verify the energy saving claims made by manufacturers.

The three year programme will carry out over 300 inspections in shops and 300 in online stores, checking a total of 25,000 products to see if they are properly labelled. To verify the true energy efficiency of products, 100 partial lab tests will be carried out, followed by 20 independent lab tests.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive at the Energy Saving Trust, said: "Consumers are wising up to the monetary savings of using the best and most efficient products - they're trying to do the right thing but need to be rewarded properly through the savings stated being realised.”

 

Picture credit: © Benjamin Gelman | Dreamstime.com
 

We hosted another Stories & Beer Fireside Chat on Wednesday, Feb 19th at 6:30pm Pacific (9:30pm Eastern) at the Impact HUB San Francisco - and online via web cam.

This month we focused on sustainability in the fashion and apparel industry, and explored sustainability trends in fashion throughout the lifecycle: from the cotton fields all the way to the landfill.  In the expansive scope of sustainability, how do brands decide where to focus and how to prioritize?  How effective are their efforts for people and the planet?

TriplePundit's Founder, Nick Aster, took an hour or so to chat with with Paul Dillinger, Head of Product Innovation for Levi Strauss & Co and Eve Blossom, Founder of Lulan Artisans. The entire conversation can be viewed here. 

 

Special addition:  We added some fabulous food to the mix this month with grilled cheese sandwiches courtesy of Feel Good, committed to ending hunger, one grilled cheese at a time.

Schedule:
6:30 – 7:00 – beers, grilled cheese, and networking
7:00 – 8:00 – fireside chat and Q&A
8:00 – 8:30 – networking

About our guests

Paul Dillinger

Paul Dillinger joined Levi Strauss & Co. as senior director of global design for Dockers brand in 2010. In this role, he has partnered with the company’s Social and Environmental Sustainability group to further develop methods for applied sustainability in both the supply chain and the design process for application across the entire enterprise.

Born in Tacoma, WA, Dillinger earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design from Washington University in 1994. After graduation he moved to Milan as the first Fulbright Scholar in fashion design, researching the influence of emerging luxury markets on high fashion design directions and commercialization. Concurrent with this research, he earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Domus Academy in 1995.

Eve Blossom

Trained as a designer/architect with an astute eye for design, Eve discovered a passion for the hand-woven textiles of Southeast Asia while spending two years restoring French villas in Vietnam. During her travels throughout the region, she met master weavers, learned their stories and was moved by their remarkable talents and spirit. Blossom seeks to empower these artisans through creating a viable economic engine that celebrates their spirit, talents and traditions - giving them a stable foundation for their future. Lulan Artisans integrates Blossom's design sensibilities with her commitment to create social change.