The Entrepreneurs

Eliza Flanagan and Mary McLeod are co-founders of Kankan, a soap and personal-care brand they launched in 2019 to promote the circular economy. Their soaps and body wash come in aluminum cans, a great way to curb the use of single use plastic soap bottles. McLeod previously worked in retail buying, including for the department store House of Fraser, while Flanagan is behind the successful Hackney eatery Lardo.

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Patagonia has been known for decades as a leader in climate activism. This week, we catch up with Beth Thoren, the outerwear brand’s environmental action director, to hear about the initiatives she is spearheading in Europe. Plus: Monocle’s Josh Fehnert speaks with Irish entrepreneur Jonathan Legge to hear about &Open, the company that has reimagined corporate gifting, opening a market for well-made gifts.

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Lay Koon Tan is the founder of Nature Squared, which uses natural materials in its luxury products such as car interiors, pens, homeware and furniture. Utilising manufacturing byproducts that would otherwise go to waste – including bamboo, egg shells, mango skins, feathers and tobacco leaves – Nature Squared has collaborated with the likes of Rolls Royce, BMW and Montblanc.

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Frank Cooper III is the senior managing director and global chief marketing officer at Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager. Cooper started his career as a lawyer for iconic music labels Def Jam and Motown, before moving into marketing with Pepsico and later Buzzfeed. Today he helps brands decode the “S” in ESG, finding out how they can best impact society, and is on a mission to address financial inequality.

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In the second part of our feature on supporting artisans and makers, we meet Catherine Lock, who is co-founder and creative director of The New Craftsmen. The brand works with a range of top makers from across the British Isles, curating and supporting their work which is sold online and at its Mayfair showroom in London. Launched in 2012, the brand works with designers and artisans making everything from furniture and lighting to art textiles and tableware.

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In the first part of our look at how best to support artisans and makers and to celebrate their craft, we meet Suzie de Rohan Willner, CEO of UK womenswear and homeware label Toast, to learn about its mentorship platform, The New Makers. Plus: we meet Martin Johnston and Lise Bonnet, the couple behind Amsterdam label Crafted Society, which shines a light on some of the leading Italian makers of luxury clothing, shoes and accessories.

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Laura Roso Vidrequin is the founder of Kids O’Clock, a London-based platform for recycling and reselling children’s clothing. Laura is a former buyer for Net-a-Porter, Moda Operandi and Harvey Nichols, who has created a circular-economy solution for parents looking to buy or pass along clothing that their kids have outgrown.

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The market for the resale and rental of clothing, accessories and luxury items is booming. This week, we speak to Eshita Kabra-Davies, CEO and founder of UK rental platform By Rotation about why sharing is a preferable option to buying new, and head to Hong Kong to meet Sarah Fung, CEO and founder of luxury resale platform Hula. Plus: ‘The New York Times’ Styles reporter Elizabeth Paton discusses trends and opportunities in the market.

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A couple of years ago, Sydneysider Nik Robinson’s children were learning about the future of the environment at school and decided to do something about it. And so Robinson, along with his sons Harry and Archie, began work on Good Citizens, a brand that turns plastic PET bottles into sunglasses. In a Sydney factory, plastic pellets are turned into shades that have a square or round frame in ocean blue, dark brown or ‘lemonade’ hues.

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Charlie Cole is the CEO of FTD, the 110-year-old old flower collective that has been building back its business following a bankruptcy in 2019. The brand’s iconic Mercury Man logo is seen in the window of more than 30,000 florists in 125 countries. Having previously worked for luggage brands Samsonite and Tumi, Cole is helping FTD grow in the world of e-commerce while finding the best way to support local businesses the world over.

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