Seeing  that nature is one of the most dependable and constant thing we all have in our lives today, surely the antidote to living more sustainability should point right back to nature.

We already demand transparency about what products are made of, supply chain and end of life. So can placing more emphasis on the provenance of products regenerate connections between resources people, place and community /environment? Also this could provide more transparency to how and why goods use up natural resources or worsen environmental and social issues.

Block chain technology facilitates the idea of provenance by providing a digital passport for goods allowing you to trace materials and sourcing giving consumers the answers they are looking for. However imagine a world in which we celebrated localism sustaining communities with work, making use of bountiful resources locally changing the way we design, make and consume – from farm to retail.

Two brands that are doing interesting things around localism and people centred are are Sawa Sneakers and Panafrica. The brand Sawa Sneakers was christened in Cameroon in 2009, inspired by the name of costal people. This premium brand is steeped in provenance as these sneakers are created entirely in Africa from design concept to fabrication with a focus on sustainability and ethical manufacturing. The other brand is Panafrica which is an ethical  brand that make amazingly colourful sneakers. Their  sneaker models are inspired by African continent. They work with a number partners from the purchase of the materials in the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Burkina Faso, to the assembly in Morocco. They use re-cycled materials giving second life to materials and work with partners to a fair trade scheme.

The above is some exciting and small examples of smaller, more local and people centred solutions celebrating “Provenance”  Generally this could also renew thinking around craft, a new appreciation of traditions and lost industries or even looking at emerging technologies around regeneration and bio technologies reversing some of the damage we have done.

Perhaps rethinking manufacturing and distribution with a focus on provenance we could avoid wasting raw materials, over production and transport costs. Idealistic maybe but localisation over globalisation could be an interesting conduit to more sustainable and kind behaviours. I guess if your thinking about social and environmental issues in the first place this is a no brainer.

Just a few thoughts, there also some really inspiring designers reappropriating ideas/concepts around the appreciation of natural materials. Are we on the cusp of new design styles based local materials or natural materials and championing small scale production and experimental creativity – watch this space.