Bernice Pan
Bernice Pan A creative entrepreneur combining vision, theory, and practice, Bernice’s calling is in designing for people. Identifying the critical problem of overconsumption early on, she set her mission to reform fashion by problem-solving from the root. Manifested in her pioneering sustainable luxury brand, DEPLOY, established in 2006, creates exquisitely tailored, multi-function clothing that increases care and confidence for people whilst reducing systemic waste and damage for the environment.
A strategic action plan to make meaningful impacts on people’s lives by ‘deploying’ its 360º Sustainability & Equality Ethos, DEPLOY’s brand DNA runs from its direct-to-consumer offering, streamlined design processes, environmental sourcing, zero-waste production, agile retailing, and bespoke and after-sale service all the way to its humanitarian charity partnerships. Holistically completing the full microcosm of a circular economy, DEPLOY fulfils 13 of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals whilst leading a fashion reformation.
Named a leading innovator and ‘best of British’, Bernice and DEPLOY’s exceptional approach is widely featured in the global media and forum. A compassionate and eloquent speaker combining industry and academic expertise, Bernice is frequently interviewed on the BBC, and speaks at top institutions including Harvard and London Business Schools, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Beijing Institute of Fashion and Technology. She is a contributing writer to book titles including Fashion Supply Chain Management and Information Systems for the Fashion Apparel Industries. Originally trained in architecture from the University of Cambridge and Royal College of Art, Bernice gained her doctorate degree from Brunel University with a thesis on the fashion system and the innovation of a new sustainable business model that is DEPLOY.
Sjoerd Fauser
Sjoerd FauserSjoerd’s passion for entrepreneurialism is the driving force of his career. After growing up in between the Netherlands and the USA, Sjoerd Fauser majored in Entrepreneurship from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science in 2010. He sharpened his teeth as an international salesperson and learned about the importance of good design with ALU, an Italian-based industry leader in retail and design production and developed his unrivalled international network as a Sales Director at EBDI, an English furniture trading company with offices in London, Riyadh, and Shanghai.
Since then, he has worked with some of the biggest fashion brands and retailers, where he noticed a gap in the market for beautiful, personalised hangers that don’t cost the earth. He developed a business plan with the help of his mentor and travelled the world in search of the best hanger manufacturers. In 2015, he founded Arch & Hook – the world’s first sustainable hanger brand.
Most recently, Arch & Hook released BLUE®, the world’s first hanger made of Marine Plastics®. Created for use in the fashion retail Garment on Hanger stage, BLUE® turns the industry on its head by presenting a 100 percent recyclable, fully closed, loop alternative for sourcing plastic for hangers. Arch & Hook BLUE® debuted at London Fashion Week, supported by Roland Mouret and the British Fashion Council.
In June 2019, Arch & Hook released Mission-E®, the first 100 percent recyclable plastic program. Prior to that, its bespoke wooden hangers provided retailers with qualitative, handsomely designed front of house hangers. All wooden products are FSC-certified, and plastic hangers are made from recycled and recyclable high-grade plastics.
Clemens & Daniele
Clemens & DanieleA background in marketing, experience running Zeitgeist Agentur, a wiz in social media, and a passion for living an ethical lifestyle inspired Clemens to set up DAN & MÉZ. Daniele, on the other hand, worked as an electric engineer for an international lighting company for a couple of years before deciding it was not meant for him. He wanted to make his passion for fashion and veganism a career. Soon enough, meeting Clemens at a local gym and developing the idea of DAN & MÉZ soon made him quit. Today he is a full time entrepreneur, the designer and product manager of DAN & MÉZ, and runs the company together with Clemens.
DAN & MÉZ is a sustainable vegan watch brand from Graz, Austria, established with a clear vision to change the watch and leather industry. Clemens and Daniele wanted to challenge the status quo when it comes to ethics and sustainability. After months of research, they partnered up with Ananas Anam, the brand behind pineapple-derived leather alternative Piñatex ®, and a small German manufacturer to produce sustainable and vegan leather straps for their classic watches. The timepieces themselves are designed in Austria, run with a Swiss movement, and created under fair conditions, all materials carefully selected with sustainability in mind.
At the moment, DAN & MÉZ are working on further reducing the environmental impact of the manufacturing process of their watches, as well as increasing the longevity of their products. They’re aiming to improve everything from packaging the power used to run their facilities. The ultimate goal is to offer stylish and ethical watches that are entirely carbon neutral – Clemens and Daniele believe that there’s no need to sacrifice ethics for fashion, and sustainable watches can be far from boring.
Jayn Sterland
Jayn SterlandHailed as ‘The Weleda Wonder Woman’ in this year’s ‘Who’s Who In Natural Beauty’, the UK managing director of original green beauty brand Weleda – Jayn Sterland – has just been voted No.2 in the Top 25 ‘pick of the people who are leading a seismic change in thinking’. From brand owners to formulators and campaigners, the Top 25 provides an overview of the leading personalities who are shaping and influencing the natural beauty industry.
This year the global pandemic has heightened awareness of sustainable beauty products. Lockdown inspired more consumers to take a long, hard look at the contents of their bathroom cabinets, and many discovered that organic and natural formulations don’t just nurture the self-care rituals so essential for wellbeing in 2020, they’re better for people and the planet too.
With a near-century of expertise behind it, Weleda isn’t just another beauty business – and Jayn isn’t just another managing director. An energetic activist for social and environmental responsibility, Jayn’s a committed campaigner for cleaner beauty who is dedicated to harnessing Weleda’s rich and distinctive heritage to lead the beauty sector forward.
After rejecting an ‘unsustainable’ career in fashion, Jayn explained joining Weleda 12 years ago was ‘a culmination of everything I had learnt up until that point. Having grown up on a farm, learnt how to make medicines from my herbalist grandmother, whilst watching my mum care for her patients and the family as a community doctor, I found all this at Weleda’.
No stranger to the ‘Who’s Who In Natural Beauty’, having regularly appeared in the hotlist since 2013, Jayn was delighted at the news: ‘Congratulations to everyone whose achievements have been recognised in this Top 25. I am excited to see so many inspirational women leading the way; it’s no surprise that our sector is thriving at a time when mainstream beauty is in the doldrums. I feel excited for the future, believing we are all on a sustainable course for 2021 and beyond. Thank you to everyone that voted, recognising the value of our work at Weleda, which is a business of ‘wonder women’!’
