When Geoff Ross bought Lake Hawea Station in 2018, he said he wanted to be a changemaker and farm for the environment. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Edzard van der Wyck was about to launch a carbon-negative merino knitwear brand aimed at setting a new red line for sustainable fashion. Now the pair have struck up a supply partnership that should help both achieve their goals. Ross...
First forays into the world of emerging contaminants Less than two years ago, before our attention was taken up by a global pandemic and recession, we were on a quest to rid New Zealand of single-use plastic. Micro-plastics were our common invisible enemy, now superseded by a virus. Every self-respecting café sold keep cups, restaurants on Wellington’s waterfront pledged to eliminate plastic...
How times have changed, last May I left Farmers Business Network, an Ag Tech start-up company in the U.S., to explore agriculture systems in other parts of the world. I was initially drawn to New Zealand by the lore of the clean green open spaces and a curiosity to spend time on the idyllic farmland I had only seen on postcards. Now for family reasons and the COVID-19 pandemic, I am back in the U...
Regenerative agriculture has become a hot topic in New Zealand. At its core, regenerative agriculture is about shifting from a carbon intensive food system to a regenerative, carbon-negative food system. While a number of definitions exist, the common focus seems to be on farming principles and practices that increase biodiversity, enrich soils, improve water quality and enhance ecosystem...
To paraphrase the saying – are we wasting a crisis? With $20b still in the Government’s kitty, it is too soon to tell. But with $30b spent, there isn’t much to suggest Aotearoa New Zealand will re-emerge from the COVID-19 lockdown with a pathway to a more sustainable future. From what we saw in the Budget, there is little bravery or vision in the Government’s response. They have...
Part 1: The current state of the fashion industry. The word ‘fashion’ can evoke an elite clique of creatives to which ordinary clothes wearing people like you and me can feel excluded. But unless you are reading this in the nudey, and all power to you if you are, your clothes wearing self is part of the global clothing system. Fashion, far from being frivolous, is one of the largest and most...
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