The following article came through an organization defining themselves as the dreamers, the drop-kicks, the underground, high-flying, hopeful, honest, creative, and above all subversive lovers of God and his incredible creation.
Artisaner Steve writes:
Lengthy but well worth the read, says Artisan.
Hi everyone
Today the 5th of June is World Environment day and the Global launch day of the film ‘HOME‘. This is the first film of it’s kind to be launched on the same day to five continents in theatres on TV and also on the internet http://www.youtube.com/homeproject. Award winning photographer and founding president of Goodplanet Yann Arthus-Bertrand has for years filmed some of the most spectacular and innovative footage of our planet that has been edited together for this film ‘HOME’.
I find it fascinating that the main financial backers for this project is PPR who are the umbrella company for fashion brands such as Gucci, Puma, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney. I love this creative convergence between the media and fashion industries that come together to communicate the Biblical mandate to be ‘good stewards’. Whilst their commentary would not point people towards a creator, I applaud and support them in their passion and pursuit towards doing the right thing.
To be honest I had not heard of PPR until I read about the ‘HOME’ project so I spent a bit of time investigating more about this group. I was inspired and encouraged by the aspirations that are outlined in their code of business practice. Here is one paragraph.
We intend to act as a socially responsible company in all the countries where we operate. Through our businesses, we contribute to the economic and social development of the countries where we operate but as a corporate entity we do not seek to influence or get involved in national politics. We respect the culture of the countries where we operate. We participate in social and educational projects and in sponsoring activities in many of our countries of operation. We support initiatives taken by our companies and employees with respect to sustainable development and social solidarity. As part of this commitment, we set up SolidarCité, a non-profit organization, to coordinate and promote such initiatives and to support the actions of our employees. The association has representatives in our companies and brands and is seeking to develop its activities abroad.
I then looked at the vision of SolidarCité and here is their vision:
To facilitate social and professional inclusion for people in health and social care needs: enabling the long-term unemployed, young people under age 26 without training and without jobs, homeless people or any other underprivileged person to return to employment, thanks to personalized support. By welcoming them while they are in an inclusion programme, the Brands of the Group provide them with the possibility of acquiring the expertise and life skills necessary for integration within a company.
A committee for ethics and social and environmental responsibility has been established to drive these values within PPR. I met someone at Google last week and a similar story could be told. Their investment both financially and in staff hours into the hidden, local as well as international projects is going on as we speak and with no headlines.
Whilst I know there is a million miles to go and all these groups and company’s are far from perfect, I want to pay tribute to the aspirations and commitment to do the right thing. Could the fashion industry emerge as a leading voice in the pursuit of ethics and social and environmental responsibility? Who would have thought that ten years ago? God is answering prayer more than you will ever know in ways we will never see or understand. For decades thousands have prayed that the media, arts and fashion industries would better reflect the nature and values of Christ and here I believe are glimpses of answered prayer. I see across industry an increasing self effacing pursuit to do the ‘right thing’. We continue to unite, humble ourselves and pray on behalf of our industries and one another. We also ask God to help us model these self effacing values.
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Remember to watch the film Home.
