"Now in its second year, Ever Evolving Talks by Calik Denim has become a platform where we synthesize and present different point of views, experiences and the future over the course of one inspiring and thought provoking day," says Fatih Dogan, managing director of Calik Denim.
One day ahead of Kingpins Amsterdam about 350 industry members as well as media representatives, academicians and students followed the invitation to the half-day event at Theater Amsterdam, again moderated by entrepreneur BJ Cunningham.
Matt Britton, Millennial and Gen Z expert & CEO of software company Suzy, on the young consumer generation:
"Disruption in companies will happen from inside out because companies will have Millennials in position of power, and they grew up with the Internet-and the disruption it brought-in the household."
"One key trend this young generation favors is ‘access over ownership’. They do not need to own a car any more, they are used to Uber or new rental service models. They expect on-demand-services.”
"In this generation, all action is happening in the cities. Gentrification is happening in major markets everywhere, rents go up and make it difficult for traditional retail."
"They are led by ‘DIFTI’-Do it for the Instagram. Social media is their currency."
"They like collaborative work spaces like WeWork, because the are CEOs of themselves."
"My advice if you want to run a successful business: Go into art or science! Offer things that machines can’t do or learn to invent new machines and technologies."
Jessi Baker, founder and CEO of Provenance, on blockchain technology:
"We believe every product should come with accessible, trustworthy information about the origin, journey and impact. We use tech to enable great brand to make their supply chains and impact transparent with integrity. If materials are unknown and unvalued, they are wasted."
“Blockchain and Web 3.0 are about establishing decentralization and trust from peer to peer to peer. Just imagine the centralized, very organized structure we have right now would change again? Web 3.0 with blockchain technology is in the making and it will decentralize the structures.”
Nathan Gilbert, executive director, B Lab Europe, and Bert van Son, founder/CEO, Mud Jeans, on how business can be a force for good:
Nathan Gilbert: "Business as usual with a focus on shareholder value and maximum profits has not been working, the planet is in jeopardy. We realize that among people there is a decrease in trust of governments or NGOs. So the business world needs to lead, because it can act quicker than governments. That also means that a company needs a public profile, be transparent, and do more than just taking care of shareholder values."
"B Corp is a movement that has been evolving over many decades just like Fair Trade or LEED; it is like a certificate, and meanwhile more than 3,000 companies in different industries worldwide-mostly smaller mid-size, private companies are registered as B Corps. In fashion it is brands such as Athleta, Allbirds, Burton or Patagonia... They want to change the rule of the game and redefine what success in business means. And we see more investors taking action, allocating capital into companies that create social and environmental benefit."
Highlight of the talks was the appearance of former NFL Player and NASA Astronaut Leland Devon Melvin (interviewed by Dio Kurazawa of The Bear Scouts) who talked about the way climate change is affecting our planet and how we should think about the way we use products. But his final call was about women empowerment:
“We need to empower young girls to become what they want. They need a female role model to get out of these dire situations they often find themselves in. We need to engage more girls in our industry.”
The next edition of Calik’s Ever Evolving Talks is planned to happen again in Amsterdam on 20 October 2020.
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