Companies news
Vegan, Almost Zero Waste & Carbon Neutral: The Conscious Festival is back
Powered by Holland & Barrett, The Conscious Festival by Green Is The New Black is returning to The Lion City on 2 - 3 November 2019. The fifth edition will take place at South Beach, a sprawling eco-lifestyle destination in the heart of Singapore.
Sustainability continues to take center stage as the event progresses on its journey to becoming a zero-waste and vegan event where fun and sustainability go hand in hand, and everyone can be an activist. The festival's famous marketplace is also growing and will feature more than 100 mindful brands, transformative talks, delicious and healthy eats, organic alcohol, interactive art, and games with a purpose. Last year's iteration in Singapore featured over 50 speakers, 70 local brands, and saw more than 3,800 attendees. The 2019 edition is already unfolding as the most enlightening and inspiring yet.
The Conscious Festival empowers individuals to #LiveMoreConsciously through a mindful MARKETPLACE (free entry) and transformational TALKS (ticketed). Bringing together the best local and international conscious brands, experts, entrepreneurs and business owners who work tirelessly to make meaningful change in their industries, the festival unfurls as a curated platform to raise awareness about sustainable consumption and lifestyle choices, so people can make better decisions about the way they live. Every year, the biggest takeaway for guests is walking away armed with #LittleGreenSteps that will carry them forward in their journey towards a more sustainable life.
Inspired by an expedition to the Arctic Circle earlier this year where Green Is The New Black co-founders Stephanie Dickson and Paula Miquelis witnessed the effects of global warming firsthand, the 2019 edition of The Conscious Festival is themed Climate Change is Real.
"This year has been a huge one for the planet," says Dickson. "We've seen eco-anxiety grip the world, fires obliterate the Amazon, and climate deniers are in power. But we've also seen more people fighting the good fight, and movements like #FridaysForFuture and Extinction Rebellion instill some hope in humanity. It's times like these where I feel both disempowered yet full of hope. However, I'm still optimistic and that our actions can turn this around. Anyone feeling lost or needing a little extra help navigating their way through this paradigm will find themselves not alone at the festival, but instead amongst a community where we can take action and grow together as a collective."
Green Is The New Black co-founder Paula Miquelis adds, "The biggest threat to mankind is not climate change but our ability to collaborate in order to fight against it. Solutions already exist in the form of, for instance, solar panels, carbon sequestration, and slowing down the crazy rate in which we consume. We
know them, they are out there. Now is the time to put ego aside and empower companies and individuals to take action. This is our focus at Green Is The New Black."
This edition of The Conscious Festival is largely thanks to Holland & Barrett International, who is one of the world’s leading health and wellness retailers. For more than 145 years, Holland & Barrett have been supplying its customers with a wide range of vitamins, minerals, health supplements, specialist foods and natural beauty products. Already a familiar sight in almost every major city and town across the UK, the brand is becoming increasingly more visible further afield, now appearing on shelves in Singapore, China and India.
"At Holland & Barrett, we’re serious about sustainability. We were the first retailer to ban microplastics and plastic bags, and recently announced we will be removing all wet wipes from stores. We’re also passionate about our products, ensuring they are as good for the planet as they are for our body. We are proud to be working with The Conscious Festival, to help enforce their ethos of #LittleGreenSteps that can make a huge difference to the world we live in," shares Steve Carson, Group Managing Director, Holland & Barrett International.
This year, GITNB are thrilled to have expanded the event space through the support of South Beach, (26 Beach Road), an eco-friendly lifestyle destination with a wave-like microclimatic canopy that naturally mimics a calming sea breeze. Samantha Tan, General Manager of South Beach Consortium expressed: "We are excited to be the venue partner for The Conscious Festival this year. This partnership cements South Beach as one of Singapore's most sustainable and environmentally-friendly development, having just recently accorded 2019 winner of Energy Efficient Award - New and Existing Building category of the ASEAN Energy Award. South Beach has also two Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Awards under its belt. From inception, South Beach was designed with the intention to embody top design and environmental sustainability. The festival visitors can enjoy 'painting the town green' under South Beach's unique microclimatic canopy."
Green Is the New Black endeavours to empower the greater community to take positive actions to leave the world a better place while connecting with ourselves, others and mother nature. These efforts are amplified in two cities annually when The Conscious Festival takes over Singapore and Hong Kong and is well on its way for further regional growth as well. The festival welcomes professionals, individuals, families and little green warriors in the making who want to live more consciously and unites them under one roof with the mantra that together, we can do more with less and reduce our collective footprint on the planet. In a snapshot, this is what goes down:
the TALKS
Four transformative sessions packed full of juicy actionable insights that will empower you to change your life, including inspiring keynotes, engaging workshops, wellness breaks, and action kits.
● LIVE – Collaboration Not Conflict (Sat 2 November, 10.50am - 1.30pm)
● BUSINESS – Ethical Opportunities in the Climate Crisis (Sat 2 November, 2.20pm - 5.00pm)
● CONSUME – Rising Seas, Rising Youths (Sun 3 November, 10.50am - 1.30pm)
● FASHION – Dressing with Sense & Sustainability (Sun 3 November, 2.20pm-5.00pm)
These sessions look to motivate visitors to empower themselves to play a bigger game, make more impact and embrace their most fulfilled, green life. Speakers range from thought leaders like Barney Swan, who is the first man to walk the South Pole on renewable energy, Christine Amour-Levar, explorer and founder of Women on a Mission & Her Planet Earth, Alexander Chan of the The Mills Fabrica in Hong Kong, youth activist Rachel Tan, Dr. Aimee Maxwell, psychologist and deep adaptation spokesperson, Assaad Razzouk who is better known as The Angry Clean Energy Guy, and many more.
the MARKETPLACE
This year's Conscious Festival will be entirely vegan, a first for the Singapore event. Attendees can expect a marketplace full of vegan-friendly products and innovative mouth-watering food. The marketplace itself will have over 100 mindful brand pop-ups, 20 edutainment booths by NGOs, a series of activism through art, mini-workshops as well as a lively atmosphere with local bands and entertainers.
● Mindful Market
● Live Music & Entertainment
● Healthy & Delicious Food
● Edutainment Activities
● Interactive Activism through Art
Brands will be flying in from around the region, including Fashion Deploy from London, Indiigo Culture who are flying from New York, Flo Jewellery, Cocoparadise, Bamboa Home, ZeroYet100 from Hong Kong, Happy Earth from Thailand, and many more. For further information on the TALKS and the MARKETPLACE, refer to the website.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Cleaner Beauty & Health Understanding your needs and prioritising your wellbeing allows you to give more to the world. Map out your health journey with qualified advisors at the Holland & Barrett zone.
Edu-tainment NGOs will be educating guests through entertaining activities and games, and including WWF, Conservation International, Seven Clean Seas and many more. Expect fun for the whole family.
Green Warriors Exhibition The third annual list of Green Warriors will also be showcased as an exhibition at the Festival. Thirty eco-game changers from around the region will be celebrated in a special photo exhibition by acclaimed photographer Alex Marco.
DETAILS
While the event is FREE TO ENTER for the public, there is a modest ticket fee for the TALKS. This year, GITNB will be donating a large portion of ticket sales to planting trees.
● For all updates, guests can log on to the event page
● Guests can register for free entry here
● Tickets for the TALKS are available here
Together we can be a catalyst for change.
