Ecosystem and Culture
Our work with regeneration started in 2022 and what pointed us in this direction was partly a wish to take sustainability to another level and it was partly the inspiring work of Laura Storm and Giles Hutchins with their book, Regenerative Leadership. You can see the literature, which has inspired us and hopefully get inspired too. Lars Gøtterup, our director, is participating in the Regenerative Leadership Journey 2024 at Regenerators Academy and we will continue to learn and implement new ways to thrive.
We analyzed our own culture first, what the ecosystem of Win-Win Textiles looked like and how it could be redesigned to build a strong foundation for regenerative work and advocacy. We see our organization as a living ecosystem, which needs constant nourishment. Once a month we sit together to reflect on the thrivability of our ecosystem. We call these sessions our Living Systems Gatherings.
We have discovered new angels to organizational leadership. In 2011 we introduced self-lead teams and the self-managed organization and have since 2008 not had a hierarchical organizational structure. Yet, we have in our work with regeneration increased our understanding as to how we can increase motivation and thrivability within our organization and among our stakeholders.
Michelle Holliday’s work is important in this respect and we have been very much inspired by the symbolism of the tree as a way to understand our ecosystem’s depth and levels of interconnection.
The Age of Thrivability by Michelle Holliday http://www.thrivableworld.com/
The root system of trees - and possibly the filaments of fungi intertwining with the tips of tree roots in the so-called mycorrhizal networks - can communicate and transfer resources between trees. Vrksāsana वृक्षासन, the tree pose used in Hatha yoga, has the benefits of improving balance and opening the hips, strengthening the ankles and legs, strengthening and lengthening the spine and improving focus and concentration. This connects us to the ecosystem and we have the habit, when we do workshops outdoor, to start with the Vrksāsana next to the biggest tree we can find.
Michelle Holiday’s design principles in the model above have helped us see more layers and become more conscious about them in our work.
This fascination made us in the process redefine our stakeholders - who they are and how we can work with them. See more about this under Community Engagement.
Credits to Laura Storm and Giles Hutchins, Regenerative Leadership. Slide from the Regenerative Leadership Journey '24
Mapping and evaluating our ecosystem through the key lenses in the model above was a good guide in our analysis and this made us feel we covered all the important angels. Each of the lenses brought about important discussions as to how we relate internally, externally and in a wider context.
We used the Regenerative DNA Diagnosis Wheel in an auto-assessment of our living ecosystem. You can see the result below. This identified areas of priority, which need improvement:
we need to improve data collection, when mapping supply chains, trace a bigger part of our supply chains, more consistently calculate the impact of products and start preparing for Life Cycle Assessment of products produced by brands in our manufacturing network
we have to find ways to work more intensely and consistently with biomimicry. Some of our supply chain partners in tier 2 + 3 have made important headway and we need to learn more and secure uptake by brands of these new solutions
we have introduced yoga philosophy in the way we manage processes in our work flow, however, this is still new for us and we do not yet adequately use the rhythm of the breath cycle we have defined. Read more below.
Win-Win Textiles also made workshops with the Danish brand strategist, Vibe Bangsgaard. This was yet another way to analyze our ecosystem, to understand our culture, analyze customer needs and focus on the communication with brands, who are part of our ecosystem.
These different tools in juxtaposition have created a very detailed picture of our ecosystem and a higher level of understanding of where adjustments will have most effect, how we can better explore the potential we have within our stakeholder network and how we can make more impact.
In the company we started practicing yoga in 2021 under the guidance of Yogadhipa Studio and Diana Marques. This has lead to an important collaboration, where we are implementing yoga philosophy in the processes and procedures and in the way we manage our work. We have noticed changes in our culture, how we create focus and patience, the stress levels and well-being, which is the basis for thriving and performing. You can read here about our work with yoga philosophy, which also lead to the creation of our regenerative logo below on the t-shirts. Follow the link to our regenerative logo, which represents our own version of working with the Inner Development Goals. Under Diana’s profile you can read about how we offer yoga togetherness and classes to anyone visiting our company.
When sitting together in meditation our relationships change and we can feel the power of our spirits uniting. This influences how we can collaborate and what we can create together. We invite you to visit us.
