The road to economic empowerment is conscious consumerism | Katherine Parr | TEDxBosqueDeChapultepec

Katherine Parr speaks on Economic Empowerment through Conscious Consumerism, in a compelling and inspirational argument on how we can mobilize our purchase power to “wear our values” and improve the lives of our shared community as empathetic global citizens.

With a background that runs the gamut between international fashion runways and developing nations, Katherine is a social entrepreneur: she is a founder and designer of two ethical luxury companies with a focus on working with artisans and farmers in developing nations like Guatemala and the war zone of Afghanistan to bring products to the developed world marketplace.

Originally a fashion model with a business degree from Villanova University, Katherine spent six years as an inner city schoolteacher and social entrepreneur in the United States. She is also a designer. She works with artisans and farmers globally to bring her luxury designs and products from developing countries to developed markets.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

This is my friend Saeeda.

Saaeda is a jewelry artisan
from Afghanistan.

Saaeda was born
in a refugee camp in Pakistan,

where she became sick
during the first year of her life,

and lost her hearing.

Saaeda is deaf,

she communicates with sign language,

and her actions are powerful
and inspiring.

I met Saaeda when she came to New York.

She was receiving an award from
the United Nations for sustainability,

with a team from Turquoise Mountain,

a charity from the UK
that works in developing nations

to provide jobs and pride for workers.

Saaeda has a community in Kabul,

and these workers are making jewelry,

they're making products,
woodworks, handicrafts,

and they rely on access
to our Western markets

for their livelihood, for their income,

and to provide for their families.

Afghanistan is a war zone,

bombings happen with regularity,

and the Taliban is in and around
more than we wish.

This is my friend Juana.

Juana is from Lachuá, Guatemala.

I met Juana on a cacao sourcing trip
for my chocolate business,

and as we walked through
the jungles and the cacao farms of Lachuá,

I noticed that Juana did not have shoes.

I thought of all the shoes that I have
in my apartment in New York City,

that my friends have,

that all of you here tonight
may have in your closets

of colours, shapes and styles,

and I felt so guilty.

Are we wrong to enjoy things
that we can afford,

that we've worked for, that we've earned,

and our lifestyle in New York,
or Paris, or Florida?

What can we do about it?

In the $2.4 trillion garment industry,
80% of the workers are women.

Many are subject to low pay,
mistreatment and abuse,

and human rights issues.

90% of the worlds cacao
is farmed by smallholder farmers

that live on less than $2 a day.

That's half the price
of a Starbuck's coffee.

5 million women and children work
in the jewelry industry in the mines.

They are subject to
human rights abuses, low wages,

to make our bracelets,
our necklaces and our rings.

So again I ask you what can we do
about it, besides feeling terribly guilty?

The World Economic Forum
in Davos, Switzerland,

two weeks ago,

had the theme of Globalisation 4.0,

and they asked:

"How do we create a shared economy
that works for everyone

and not just the fortunate few?"

There's a solution.

Some of you may have heard of it.

If not, I encourage you to take part.

It's 'conscious consumerism' -

buying with intent, buying with purpose,

and literally, in the case
of a chocolate bar,

putting your money
where your mouth is.

By buying with purpose, by buying brands
and products that we can respect,

with ethical, radically
transparent supply chains,

we could make a difference

in the artisans, the factory workers

and the farmers

around the world in developing nations,

or your own nation,

through conscious consumerism.

You can support quality products,
quality brands and quality companies.

Executives, about 65% right now,
are looking at sustainability

and ethical, transparent supply chains

as something that they expect us
to expect of them.

About 50% of millennials
and 46% of Generation Z customers

research the brands before they buy.

How can we bring that number up

and transfer it communally
to whole generations

to make a difference in the lives
and express the values that we want

and make a difference in the world?

How does one do it?

It sounds a little complicated,
it might take some time, some effort.

Let's set our intention first.

One dollar, one vote.

One dollar, one voice.

Those are phrases we've heard before.

But literally, when you vote
with your wallet,

you're expressing what kind
of world you want to have.

When you vote and have a voice
with your dollars,

it becomes a chorus of values,

each individual person becomes a chorus
when we vote collectively.

So you set your intention:

we will mobilise our dollars
to conscious consumerism

for economic empowerment.

Do your research, how do you know
what brands to support?

Google's a pretty good option.

Check out annual reports, websites,

companies with radical,
transparent supply chains

that are doing ethical business
and practising fair trade

can really express to you
what's happening,

and you can learn about them easily,

because they care,
and they want you to know

so that you buy their products.

Take your time.

It's important to take your time
before purchasing.

We live in a society
where we are forced to be fast.

We have to think fast,
to do fast and spend fast.

When you invest in products
over the long term,

for example, a chocolate bar,

you buy a chocolate bar,

and you invest in that brand
again and again -

not such a bad option, chocolate,
everyone loves chocolate -

you are creating a steady flow of income
for the farmers who grow that chocolate,

those cacao beans.

They can invest in their homes,

they can invest in healthcare
for the families

and education for the children,

including girls, which is often
the first thing to go.

So, the loyalty for brands and products
can really make a great difference

over the long term.

There are a couple
of controversies with this case.

There are many labels out there

that are marketed to claim to solve
all these problems, and create jobs,

and be the ethical, transparent,

wonderful, gold standard
that you can trust.

Please don't be fooled by this.
You're all far too smart for that.

'Fair Trade' as a phrase
and 'Ethical Trade' as a phrase

are wonderful options to look for
when you're researching brands.

But a lot of the gold standard
does not come into one label

that you may see on a chocolate bar,
for example, a hang tag on a jacket.

It may contain products, parts
of a product, that are not ethical trade.

For example beans,

some of the beans from a chocolate bar
may not be authenticated,

the packaging may not be.

So be smart and don't be fooled.

There's another controversy too,

many might claim that conscious
consumerism is an elitist philosophy,

that it's only for the wealthy.

Now, that's really not the case;

it takes a little more time,
and energy, and perhaps resources,

because these products
may be priced slightly higher

than those that you get
at certain stores.

Why are they priced higher?

It's because people
are getting paid higher wages,

they're getting paid a fair living wage,

and isn't that something
that you would want to support?

Now, you may not be able to buy
an electric car, or maybe you can,

but I think you could get a chocolate bar

and wouldn't that make you feel good
to know that you are helping a family,

a community for the future?

In the case of fashion,
quality, not quantity.

Think about your cost per wear - CPW.

Now, when you buy
that inexpensive tank top,

you may be able to wear it
a couple of times,

and frankly, it likely will fall apart.

And when you invest a little bit more
into a higher quality item,

that you might know the origin,
not only will you have a better story

and feel confident
that you are supporting someone,

but it will probably last longer too.

(Video)

(Voice of interpreter) Saeeda Etebari:
I like this one the best

because it reminds me of my village,

when I go there and then they grow wheat,

and they make bread out of it
for the family,

so it's something that you can grow
and you can feed your family with.

Interpreter: She likes this one too a lot.

Katherine Parr:

So that's my friend Saeeda again,
from Afghanistan, the jewelry artisan.

I'm very proud to call her a friend,
because I'm proud of how she does,

and what she speaks of.

Saeeda was simultaneously able
to explain a jewelry piece,

a luxury jewelry item,
as a symbol for economic empowerment.

While you purchase a piece of jewelry,
a necklace, for example,

and you're creating jobs and a livelihood,

you're also getting a story,
you're getting something meaningful,

and you can have the shared happiness

that both you get from buying
something that you're proud of,

that you can wear to a cocktail party,

to a dinner party, to a concert,
and someone compliments you,

you have a lot more to say
than just a brand name.

You can say,

'I know who made my jewelry.

I'm wearing my values.'

And that's a much better story than what
they say on the red carpet sometimes.

Now, I think most of us know

we are living in the fourth
industrial revolution,

where changes in robotics

and developments
in artificial intelligence

is going to take over.

So how do we survive in that environment?
And not just survive, but excel?

Jack Ma said that it is the skills
of sharing and caring

that will help us compete
with the robotics

in the fourth industrial revolution.

Well, I think, it's a little
simpler than that.

He's not wrong.

But if we take away the consumption,

the accumulation of material goods

and add some caring to that,

it's a shared global happiness
that we can contribute to.

This necklace is from
my jewelry collection,

and this is a fashion revolution campaign

that I appreciate and integrated
into the programme.

We know that this woman makes our jewelry.

Wouldn't you be proud
to wear something that says:

'I know who made my jewelry.'

It gives you a terrific story,

and it's really something
that you can be proud of.

So, tonight we're here
in a beautiful museum,

with many influencers
and people with voices.

I believe that each and every one of you,

individually, and together collectively
can make a difference.

I expect of you to engage
in conscious consumerism

towards economic empowerment.

And you could start small.

It could be one necklace

and just one chocolate bar at a time.

(Applause)