Throughout this series of blog posts exploring our sustainability efforts, we’ve been sharing our approach to a “triple bottom line” sustainability framework. The triple bottom line (3BL, TBL) framework was formalized a little over 25 years ago and it is often referred to simply as a “People, Planet, Profit” approach to sustainability.
We’ve intentionally renamed “Profit” to “Prosperity” to be more aligned with the true intentions of the framework. Over the years, the TBL has sometimes been co-opted to be an accounting tool used to tally up social and environmental impacts versus sales.
CEO John Delaloye and COO Lauren Rash celebrate Diane’s 40 years with Diamond Brand.
However, a full realization of this framework requires deeper thinking about how economic systems work (or don’t work), and how we could create a form of capitalism that does more than generate monetary profits, but actually does good things for people and the earth—in other words, creates prosperity for the greater good. Our commitment to this approach is to measure our success with respect to a TBL framework that accounts for the well-being of our craftspeople, our communities, and the Earth. For our craft to thrive well beyond the next 138 years, we acknowledge these three forces must be nurtured with equal importance—a challenge we humbly accept.
We see the value in more broadly defining prosperity beyond our own balance sheet because true wealth is defined on many levels: the financial stability of individuals within a society, the ability of a government to provide infrastructure for its citizens, the preservation of tradition and cultural legacy, the resiliency of a business community to rise from times of turmoil as well as the capability for our planet to maintain safe and healthy living conditions. Collectively, these measures of wealth form prosperity, and we are striving to do our part to build and maintain them as best we can. Accordingly, our third triple bottom line commitment is prosperity:
We are committed to being a responsible business that benefits society through the preservation of craftsmanship, formation of a greener economy and creation of durable goods that enhance the experiences of all adventurers.
We start with maintaining the tradition of Appalachian craftsmanship by making 100% of our goods in our factory in Fletcher, NC. We’re also looking towards the future by leading the movement to marry craftsmanship with sustainability through the creation of green jobs that eliminate waste by rescuing materials and transforming them into new gear. Many of our craftspeople are deconstructing and rebuilding goods for the American Boro and Rescue product lines.
There is also value in growing a local, green economy that further helps to train more people and deepen our collective skillset, which nurtures regional talent and builds industry and innovation. We try to do our part to foster this growth by serving as an incubator and mentor to other makers who can benefit from our experience, designing processes, use of sewing machinery, and factory management.
And perhaps most importantly, we can all attest that living life outdoors greatly increases our sense of personal prosperity. We support and encourage all styles of adventure by all types of adventurers and believe that everyone has a right to access the outdoors in an inclusive and welcoming environment. We hope our community can come together to embrace this adventure, while gearing up for the next one.
By partnering with Descubre Asheville, we have been able to bring our message to a bilingual audience.