Residency One: Day trip to Amsterdam
It would seem that I always end up in Amsterdam or Luxembourg! Today the whole group are enjoying a day trip to Amsterdam to speak with some prominent brand representatives regarding sustainability and circular economy.
So an early start onto the coach to drive us into the city (given that this trip is all about sustainability, I did question why were were taking a big diesel chugging coach rather than the train and I was informed that it is actually more environmentally friendly to take the coach...).
We then met representatives from Albert Heijn (the biggest supermarket in the Netherlands) and Citroen. Some very interesting conversations and concepts raised; I need to buy shares in battery power!
We were hosted in a very nice restaurant called 'In Stock' which I would recommend to everyone if you are in the area; the food was really nice. This restaurant was set up in response to all the food waste which takes place in Amsterdam/ Netherlands. This restaurant (along with the other few they have opened) are stoked from 'waste' food being chucked away by Albert Heijn. As we all know; damaged packaging means that people wont buy it and so it would have been put in the bin, or one orange in a pack is a bit damaged but the rest are fine - these would not make it on to the shelf. But now In Stock 'rescues' this food and makes great dishes. They also pickle and preserve everything else. Check them out; https://www.instock.nl/en/
460,785kg
this is the amount of food In Stock has managed to 'rescue' thus far - how amazing is that?
Next up we went to Fashion For Good which is an innovation and space for start up companies to come get help to realise their dream of creating ethical fashion with advice from industry experts. Our teams were asked to Consult on one of four different business which are currently getting off the ground. They were interesting but the two which stood out for me were; BioGlitz - we all know I like a bit of sparkle, but that I am also becoming increasingly environmentally aware. Because of this, I fully support the ban on glitter given all the harm it is doing, and will continue to do to our oceans and marine life. Take a look at the company which wants everyone to "shine responsibly"; http://www.bioglitz.co/
The other company is Good On You. This was started in Australia and the founder is now here trying to crack Europe. In essence it is an app which collates all the ethical producers of fashion. Really great concept and definitely worth a look; https://goodonyou.eco/
After all this fun, we walked back through town, took the ferry across the river and had dinner. It is a BBQ restaurant and serves really yummy food; hands down the best octopus I have ever had.
Then all aboard and back on the coach to Tilburg. We then decided that after a long day out in the sun we would go for a quick night cap... I got back to the hotel at 3am... fun times!
