Cute little pandas and David Attenborough wildlife shows initially sparked my curiosity in the natural world and wildlife as a child. Cats, dogs, budgies, canaries, fish, terrapins and tortoise - my poor family put up with my menagerie of pets with a smile - and the occasional grumble.
Fast forward a couple of decades as a mother to two boys, my first journey in meeting elements of ESG with business needs occured when my youngest was struggling with real health issues, which were in part a response to environmental pollution and food production quality. The outward signs of this included sensory processing issues and severe gut health.
My attempts to help solve these problems led me to establish Jamby Pte Ltd / Offensive Fashion (we were on the Offensive against pollution and illness!). This was my personal response to provide a solution to the real and debilitating issues he faced, presenting in part as Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). The fruitless search for clothing that was non-irritating and a barrier to normal life, along with my own research into the underlying causes of this, expanded my knowledge into the destructive force of environmental toxins, along with “fast-fashion's” role in this.
This knowledge and understanding drove my passion to create, manufacture and retail clothing for (SPD) sufferer: sourcing environmentally friendly fabric and manufacturing processes of high quality, comfortable and long lasting garments (slow fashion) which led to the creation of a range of apparel made from low toxicity fabric and safer for the wearer and the environment.
This journey showed me I had the ability to turn my passions into solutions for people, and could turn ideas into reality from concept to delivery of the design, creation, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, web creation, social media content and management, sourcing and establishing links to supportive third-parties, PR and digital advertising / marketing, online retail aggregators, securing sponsorship deals with high profile events like the Singapore F1.
As for many people, recent world and life events - the global pandemic and divorce - necessitated mothballing Jamby Pte. Ltd.
However, an invitation to work in financial services recruitment opened my eyes to the world of sustainable finance and ESG (environmental, social and governance) in the corporate world. I met with people and organisations who are passionate about moving forward to more sustainable investments and operations.
Their passion aligned with mine and I recognised this could be a way for me to continue with my own feelings around this area, by being the person to connect the talent to the need in ESG.
Thus - Hanton's Consulting was born.
Hanton is my grandmother's maiden name - as a hardworking women who also loved to garden, grow veg and raise kids, it seemed an appropriate name for an ESG focussed business.
As I write this in June 2023, the world continues to move in circles of unpredictability and volatility. I have no idea how the business will go. However, at the grand old age of 51 and a single parent to 2 teen boys and dogs, I feel the need to handover the baton to them of a world that is habitable, sustainable and equitable.
On a social level, I find opportunities for the 50 somethings to be less available than for the younger generations. The ever pressing needs of a single mum to provide a supportive home environment is the other huge factor in my decision making process.
All I can do now, is try.
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