Dear Reader,

As we write it’s November, which means acorn and mushroom season in the Northern hemisphere.

The majestic Oak, a much loved design muse to us at House of Hackney, is a symbol of strength and wisdom that reminds us of our divine and enduring connection to Nature. There is a lot that we can learn from the
wisdom of the Oak and the living systems it forms a part of, to inspire us in how we look after our communities and organisations.

Supported by its mycelium network, each part is dependent on the other in order to thrive, and each plays an equal and important part in the ecosystem, without the need for a leader, boss, or hierarchy of power.

Sadly us humans have forgotten that we are just a part of Nature’s living system. Indeed at only 200,000 years old compared to the tree’s 56 million, we are Nature’s saplings, and we don’t have the wisdom of Grandfather Oak yet.
We have lost our way, thinking we have ownership over Nature when in fact we are Nature. We have forgotten how to live in kinship with the natural world, and this separation has gotten our planet into a lot of trouble.
We have forgotten that we are part of a sacred web of life with all living organisms including plants, animals, rivers, mountains, oceans and their co-created living systems which have equal and inherent rights to exist and thrive.

In order to try to stabilise our precious eco-systems, of which we are dependent on for our own existence, we need to urgently bring Nature back into our community and back into communion with us.
Nature doing well means us all doing well. In order to safeguard her we need to recognise Nature as a peer.

Nature has been our design muse from the start. But we can’t take such endless inspiration from Her without giving back and over time House of Hackney has evolved in its purpose to use its voice to represent the natural world
we love so much and need to protect and serve. We need to look after it not just for our lifetimes but for future generations. As founders of the brand we humbly work to deliver on this purpose.

Year- on - year we set ourselves higher targets of restoring more than we take. We learnt (and continue to learn) on the job. Where we used to plant trees we learnt that protecting ancient woodland is even more important
for our ecosystems. In 2022 we helped protect 170 acres of sacred woodland thanks to our partnership with the World Land Trust, and we proudly became a certified carbon neutral company. We give 1% of our sales to people
and planet initiatives and we’ve ensured that we’ve grown at a slow and steady level. We don’t believe that fast growth and planetary wellbeing is compatible.

However radical times call for radical action and it’s time to move the dial further. It’s no longer enough to just be sustainable - to merely ‘sustain’ life - we need to restore and ultimately regenerate it, actively leaving our planetary community, our home, better than we found it.

In these urgent times where we are exceeding planetary boundaries, and in the absence of leaders with integrity who show that they are committed to tackling the climate crisis, the business sector has a big opportunity to step
into its power and use it for good. We have an economic system based on unlimited growth in a finite world. The extractive, exploitative capitalist business model focuses on shareholder wealth, which only benefits the few at the
detriment of the natural world and our future ancestors. This has played a major part in getting the world into the mess we now find ourselves in, and the private sector now has a duty to pivot into action.

We have been following the growing momentum of the Nature Rights movement, where ecosystems such as rivers, lakes and mountains are given legal personhood in the same manner as human beings. This movement has
the opportunity to right many wrongs and truly shift the narrative away from a human-centric view to solve so many of the planetary crises we are facing today.

Such a change in our legal and political thinking would produce a shift from our current extractive economy towards a regenerative economy and make political institutions accountable for any damage to the environment.
This will benefit not only the natural world but every aspect of our lives too.

It was around this time last year that we learned the exciting news that B Corp cosmetics company Faith in Nature had made a powerful and pioneering move; they had put Nature on their board. Faith in Nature had become the
first company in the world to bring Nature into the very heart of their decision-making process by making Mother Nature herself a director, thereby giving her an active voice (and vote), ensuring that the natural world’s best
interests are represented at all times. This spoke to the very heart of our brand.

A few weeks before this news, US brand Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard had also made global headlines when his company took an unprecedented move in transferring all profits to protecting Nature and declaring that
“Earth is now our only shareholder”, using the wealth they create to protect the source of all wealth. As Yvon so simply put,

“Without a healthy environment there are no shareholders, no employees, no customers and no business.” Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia

The act of putting Nature on the board was hugely inspiring to us. To do this ourselves would mean that we could go beyond our good intentions and structure something meaningful and legal which would also safeguard Nature
through all of the company’s touchpoints. We would no longer personally need to be the main advocates of considering Nature in our actions – it would be deeply and legally enshrined in our company directives now and in the future.

So we reached out to Lawyer’s for Nature, who had worked with Faith in Nature to create the articles that would give legal personhood to Nature and asked if they could help us to formally bring her into our board room.
Lawyer’s for Nature are part of an exciting movement using the power of the law to give Nature the protections afforded to people, and a much needed voice. Co-founder Brontie Ansell guided us on our journey, and she will
stand as a representative for the voices of Mother Nature & Future Generations.

We wanted to take the process one step further and appoint a Future Generations director to ensure that they are also considered in our decision making. As parents we are deeply concerned for the world we will leave our
children. We are the first generation to grow up knowing about climate change and the last generation to be able to do something about it.

Business, like our governments, has focused on short term planning, ignoring the impact on the future. We can learn a lot about good governance from Indigenous Peoples, who safeguard 80% of the planet's species.
They have shown how they are trusted custodians of the world. We are particularly inspired by the principle of 7th Generation Thinking, where decisions are made considering the impact on those 7 generations in the future.

Learning about this long term planning galvanised us to rip up our 3-5 year business plan and instead go deep into the ancient sequoia woods near our home to sit in Nature and start to create a vision for what House
of Hackney’s 150 year mission and ultimately legacy could be. What is our purpose for existing? The world didn't need another interiors brand when we launched 12 years ago and it certainly won't need one in 150 years time.

We defined our long term purpose as:

Using the creativity and beauty of the natural world to encourage connection and the protection of Nature, safeguarding it for the generations to come.

This mission became our North Star which all shorter term planning needs to align with; if it doesn't, it doesn't make the cut.

As we invite Nature and Future Generations into our board room, everything will come under scrutiny. It will make us ask difficult questions and confront our responsibility to these important stakeholders. Saying ‘no’ when
we must, and seeking more beautiful, kinder, innovative solutions is an important part of our journey and we have a lot to learn along the way. But we are up for the challenge, and ultimately, we have no choice.

The new director will support us in making strategic and significant decisions that impact Nature and Future Generations with the freedom to consult a wide network of experts as and when required. The system
is designed in a way to avoid bias personally, professionally and financially, and to provide a truly ethical view of the business and all decisions made. Their voice is independent of our business interests therefore they can
freely advocate for Nature and Future Generations.

Right now we are in the depths of a planetary emergency. As it currently stands we are heading towards a world in 2100 that is 3 degrees warmer than today with potentially devastating consequences for billions of people.
We are 6 years away from the 2030 goals set in the Paris agreement to tackle climate change and shift towards a net zero emissions world, and in the absence of trustworthy governance, we need responsible leaders to drive the change.

Business as usual is no longer an option. We can no longer be bystanders in a broken system.

Although it’s easy to feel that big business runs the world, it’s a hopeful statistic that 99.9% of UK businesses are SMEs. Imagine the impact that the sector could make if we came together and co- created a new vision for
the future where long term planning and benefits for all replaced short term gains for the few.

We need Nature to have a voice, a vote and a presence in our board rooms.

A Nature-positive business might seem like a paradox right now, but as we bring Nature’s voice into our companies and use metrics of mutual flourishing and wellbeing across people, planet and profit, a better future can be unlocked.
Business holds the key to this transformation from our current extractive economy towards a regenerative one, and to a society and planet that serves all. This will benefit not only the natural environment but every aspect of our lives.
Leaving a legacy is not about leaving money in the bank, it’s about leaving our world better than how we found it. This reparation work is our legacy.

Nature doesn’t belong to us, we are Nature. And we have a responsibility to tend to it with care, not just for ourselves, but for those yet to come.

“We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from Our Children.” Chief Si'ahl

Frieda & Javvy

Founders, House of Hackney

Along with the additional responsibility and accountability that will be placed on safe-guarding futures in our business actions, we see this act as an opportunity to inspire our team, our factories, our audience, and other businesses with
a reminder to consider Nature and future generations in all decision-making. We are open sourcing the legals and our hope is that we can support other businesses to bring Nature’s voice into their companies. We are keen for other brands to explore
bringing these important voices into their board rooms and we’d be thrilled to take you through the process if it is of interest. We have been generously guided on our journey by Faith in Nature, and Lawyers for Nature, and we are keen to pass this knowledge on and grow the momentum of Nature Rights in business. We see corporate activism as being an important part of this call to action.

After all, there is no business on a dead planet