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Rapanui is an Eco-Fashion company from the Isle of Wight, that makes Organic, Ethical clothing using Renewable Energy with award-winning traceability. Rapanui is about making eco-fashion cool.

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The Sail Loft

Category: Environment

Had a wicked night over at Ellen MacArthur Foundation's place in the Sail Loft last night.

One of Cowes oldest buildings, this place was built to make sails for Ratsey & Lapthorn, a world famous company whose history is pretty much the history of yachting.

From its origins in Cowes and early involvement with the Royal Yacht Squadron, the firm grew and for 100 years, Ratsey & Lapthorn were the sailmakers of choice for yachts competing for the America's Cup, and had a client base that included Kings, Emperors and tycoons.

Upstairs in the loft, Dame Ellen MacArthur and a team of academics, writers, thinkers and scientists are working on a project: to rethink the way our world works, and to help engineer more sustainable economies. This place is regarded as one of the most forward-thinking organisations on sustainable economies in the world, and is tucked away in a loft on the sleepy Isle of Wight. Awesome.

Ellen MacArthur set up this foundation to raise awareness and help accelerate the integration of Circular Economies amongst consumers, businesses and governments. Current economies are based on a "Take, Make and Dispose" model, or linear economy, where at each stage of the process there is waste. Current environmental thinking is based on reducing the impact of this model - of recycling some of this waste, or trying to encourage people to 'use less' - this doesn't change the outcome it just buys us time. If the system doesn't work, trying to optimise it is a waste. What if we just changed the system?

This is the focus of the work by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and they promote ideas based on a new economic model - the circular economy - where materials and resources in the economy perform a loop: Imagine that Waste is Food - and that products are designed to be easily taken apart and reformed into new products, and that this whole system is powered by renewable energy? This is a circular economy.

We've been doing a bit with the Foundation, recently going with their team to the World Responsible Economic Forum as guest speakers, and integrating some of their ideas into our product development.

Last night was a chance to have a beverage and some nibbles, and to stop and enjoy the year of progress of a bunch of people working to rethink the future. Cheers to that.