Singapore – Mandai Wildlife Group has announced its recent venture into fashion by announcing ‘Good Threads,’ an apparel capsule collection made from sustainably sourced materials, to make it easy and convenient for its wearer to make eco-friendly choices a daily habit.

The collection was developed over six months and produced in collaboration with Hakim Samat, a local craftsman known for his stylish, upcycled creations. It was crafted from 1,158 pieces of pre-loved clothing and salvaged materials weighing approximately 108kg from local thrift shops – honsieponsie, Function Five Thrift Shop and Woofie’s Warehouse, and from a textile collection drive initiated by social networks of friends and co-workers. 

Moreover, each garment was stitched together with fastenings and hardware such as buttons and carabiner hooks sourced from Plastify, a Singapore-born startup that has made recycled plastic waste its business.

The apparel collection is an extension of Mandai Wildlife Group’s ‘Choose Good with Mandai’ campaign to raise awareness about how people can collectively protect nature and wildlife by making conscious choices daily.

Suzanne Ho, senior vice president of brand and communications at Mandai Wildlife Group, said, “In the hustle and bustle of daily life, mindful actions like recycling and using fewer single-use plastics may inadvertently take a backseat sometimes, despite our best intentions. Good Threads sows the idea that daily consumption habits which are thoughtful of the planet can be effortless, and in this instance, even fashionable. Through personal choices, each of us can reap a more sustainable lifestyle. Manifest and multiply a personal mantra such as this, and we can fashion change together.”

She added, “Fashion is much loved by many. More than a style preference, it’s a personal statement and an identity. It can therefore wield power to influence how we think about clothing and perhaps reconsider the need to consume wave after wave of clothes and fashion accessories.”

‘Good Threads’ will fully debut in three phases. The first launch went public on February 15, followed by subsequent releases on 8 March and 28 March 2024. All items will be available exclusively for sale on goodthreadsbymandai.sg. All proceeds from the sale of Good Threads will go towards supporting wildlife conservation efforts in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Sydney, Australia – Bush Heritage Australia, an independent not-for-profit that buys and manages land for conservation, has appointed brand transformation company FutureBrand Australia as its brand partner. The remit is to strengthen and align the brand with its ambitious 2030 strategy, where the goal is to double and deepen the organisation’s impact by the end of the decade.

Bush Heritage and FutureBrand will work together from the inside out by exploring the organisation’s ways of working to define the brand’s values first and to establish the brand strategy. FutureBrand said the insights gained from this process will inspire a revitalised brand identity to support the organisation to reach more people more effectively. 

Vibeke Stisen, executive manager engagement at Bush Heritage Australia, commented: “We want to double our impact by 2030. To do that, we need to reach a larger audience with a brand and position that is clear, compelling and underpinned by values that inspire us and those we work with. It’s no small challenge. But a challenge that we feel absolutely confident we can overcome with FutureBrand at our side.”

Bush Heritage works closely with traditional owners and partners and utilises right-way science, traditional Aboriginal knowledge and Western science to protect and restore more than 11 million hectares of land in Australia and work across 37 reserves.

The FutureBrand team will be delivering the brand strategy, identity and experience via a combination of budgeted and pro-bono work, contributing more than $100,000 in unbilled time as part of the team’s annual commitment to supporting not-for-profit organisations. 

On the partnership, FutureBrand Australia CEO Rich Curtis said, “The work of Bush Heritage Australia to keep our land healthy is vital and necessary. Organisations like theirs are leading the way on sustainability and deserve the community’s support. All of us here at FutureBrand Australia are excited – and committed – to play our part.”

“We’ve always dedicated our time to supporting not-for-profit organisations and recently we’ve clarified our approach in order to invest our work in this area with greater purpose and productivity. In reviewing our approach together with Vibeke and her team, we quickly established the common ground on which to build our partnership. So much so that committing our time, energy and creativity was an easy decision all round,” added Curtis. 

Bush Heritage and FutureBrand will also be joined by Common Ventures who have been appointed to handle all campaign activity as part of the project’s objective to reach more people more effectively.

Singapore – Following the departure of Vivek Kumar from retail giant NTUC FairPrice as its director of strategic marketing and omnichannel monetization, Kumar is immediately announced by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Singapore as its newest chief marketing and communications director

As he brings in more than 20 years of diversified experience in management and strategic communications, Kumar will be leading WWF-Singapore’s campaigns, focusing on conservation and climate change goals such as deforestation, haze pollution, food security, plastics, sustainable finance, sustainable consumption, and illegal wildlife trade.

The role takes effect immediately, and entails him to work closely with communities, businesses and governments to advocate for positive change.

At NTUC, Kumar helmed the marketing of over 160 Cheers and FairPrice Xpress convenience stores across Singapore, as well as setting up the FairPrice Group Media.

He also held various roles in the Singapore Labour Movement since 2010, and was assistant director-general (ADG) and director of the membership services division of NTUC.

He shared that his leadership style centers around “peer-powered learning” that will help to foster meaningful connections among team members.

“As a leader, it is important to have empathy so that we can support our peers and colleagues. I am excited to be joining a driven, highly capable and diverse team at WWF-Singapore. I hope to engage individuals and companies in creating greater awareness through human-centric angles that support our mission and Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 goals,” Kumar said.

He also added that his interest working with the organization started out as a donor to one of WWF-Singapore’s initiatives and soon became his dream job to join the organization.

“I have always been driven by a sense of purpose, from volunteering in my college days, to my recent role with the Singapore Labour Movement supporting union members. As the 2021 IPCC report highlights, there is really no time for us to lose when it comes to the health of our planet,” Kumar said.

While still in his position at NTUC FairPrice, Kumar graced the recently-held roundtable of MARKETECH APAC Business Growth Levers from Acquisition to Retention’ in September where he shared how the organization’s convenience store Cheers adapted to the changes in the pandemic which included doubling down on good consumer research and offering innovative products. 

“We can’t wait for the customers to come to us. We can create the right occasion [as long as] we understand the customer’s needs. We must give them very friction-free shopping experiences where they can complete their mission – you can’t leave it midway,” Kumar said in the roundtable.