Sustainable Sports Branding: Community and Conservation.

Join Sid Bensalah in this enlightening Pre-Zero Sports Talk Podcast episode as we delve into the significant yet often overlooked world of sports and event branding. Discover its profound impact on the environment and communities across the globe, from the vibrant streets of South Africa to the bustling markets of the Middle East. This episode explores how sports branding intertwines with ecological and social responsibility through the innovative work of our guests.

Key Points Discussed:

• Sustainable Branding Innovations: Neil Hamp-Adams, Owner & Chief Customer Servant of Driving Force Advertising, unveils his sustainable branding solutions, emphasizing the reuse and better management of event materials to minimize waste and environmental impact.
• Community Impact and Recycling Efforts: Donovan Bailey, CEO of ExpandaSign, discusses how his company recycles waste into valuable products while supporting wildlife conservation through partnerships with The Bateleurs.
• Innovative Recycling Initiatives: Tanya Bailey showcases Uzwelo Bags, highlighting their unique approach to converting fabric waste into functional products like school bags and supporting conservation efforts.

Key Takeaways:

• Innovation in Waste Management: Learn about Uzwelo Bags' creative recycling initiatives that are changing lives and contributing to environmental conservation.
• Wildlife Conservation Efforts: Discover how ExpandaSign supports The Bateleurs, an organization dedicated to wildlife protection and environmental conservation, through innovative branding solutions.
• Community Empowerment: Hear about Harry Bailey's impactful "Run For Rangers" event, which supports to support the rangers who protect Africa's wildlife.

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Transcript

Sid: 0:22

Hello, and welcome back to the PreZero Sports Talk Podcast. I'm your host, Sid Bensalah. Today, we're delving into a world where the roar of the crowd meet the buzz of innovation. Imagine yourself in the heart of a bustling stadium surrounded by banners, flags, and signs that proudly display the logos of your favorite sports teams and sponsors. But have you ever stopped to wonder where these branding materials come from? How are they made? And what impact do they have on the environment and local communities? As the excitement of the game fills the air behind the scenes, there's a story waiting to be told. It's a story of creativity, craftsmanship, conscious consumption, and most of all, impact. This industry hidden in plain sight is a vital part of the sports and events landscape. Yet its impact often goes unnoticed. Today, we're peeling back the curtain and shining a spotlight on the world of event branding. From the factories that produce these materials to the communities that benefit from their creation. But we're not stopping there. Our journey will take us across continents, from the bustling streets of South Africa, to the vibrant markets of the Middle East. Along the way, we'll meet three extraordinary individuals who are leading the charge for sustainability, community engagement, and environmental conservation in the world of sports and events. Joining us today from Dubai is Neil Hamp Adams, owner, and listen to this, chief customer servant of Driving Force Advertising, and a familiar face from our second episode. And from South Africa, we're also honored to have Donovan Bailey, CEO of Expandasign, a global leader in event branding with a passion for wildlife conservation. And last, but certainly not least Tanya Bailey, director of Uzwelo bags whose innovative approach to recycling is changing lives and protecting the planet. So sit back, Relax and prepare to be inspired as we embark on this journey of discovery. Welcome to the show, Neil, Don and Tanya. It's a pleasure to have you here with us.

Neil: 2:36

Thanks for having us.

Tanya: 2:38

Thank you, Sid.

Sid: 2:39

Before we dive into today's discussion, Don and Tanya, could you please introduce yourselves to our audience and share a bit about your work and how it intersects with sustainability, community and preservation?

Don: 2:50

My name's Donovan Bailey. I'm the CEO of Expandasign International. We are in the business of doing soft signage. We export around the world. The journey has taken me into the textile industry, but has also. Taking me into the sustainability industry, which came from the fact that we produce a lot of waste and I have a passion for conservation. So I knew I had to back myself and start looking for better ways of using textiles and what we would do with our waste. So today we take our waste and with Tanya's business, we make product through community. Using the waste that we make and through that I'm able to put a bit of funding into conservation projects that I'm involved in. So we hope to do the full wheel of doing good.

Sid: 3:36

Wonderful.

Tanya: 3:38

I'm Tanya. I run Uzwelo Bags, and Uzwelo Bags is the sustainability arm of Expandasign. We are in the business of sustainability and we ensure that we redirect all of the waste or as much of the waste that is produced by Expandasign. We ensure that we redirect that from landfill and we turn that into a product that is usable within all forms of industry. And we do this in conjunction with skills development within the community and then donating portions of our sales into conservation through The Bateleurs. And yeah it's been a journey since 2016 and one that's growing all the time, thankfully, and with greater knowledge and greater awareness and greater conversation. So thanks for this opportunity, Sid.

Sid: 4:23

And Neil, it's been a year since our last chat, and I've been eager to catch up on your strides in promoting sustainable branding solutions. Can you give us a glimpse into how things have progressed since then?

Neil: 4:34

Yeah. Well Sid, thanks very much. And thanks again so much for inviting me back onto your podcast. I've been watching and listening to your shows since the last one. And you've come a long way as well. And it's been really interesting to see how the subject matter has also evolved. Of course, Just as a precursor to this call today, having Don and Tanya on the call was an obvious progression to from where we were last year. So as last year, I obviously introduced the Sustainabrand model for those that are not or haven't had the opportunity to listen to the first podcast. I'm sitting in Dubai and Don and Tanya are in South Africa. And but I represent their company in Dubai in the Middle East, which is manufacturing portable branding flags and tents, umbrellas, inflatables and various other products made out of synthetic, materials, polyester material. And last year, when you interviewed me, I was talking about this idea off of managing this branding in a more far more sustainable way. And subsequently, after that interview, it actually helped me a lot in terms of getting exposure for the idea and having a formal podcast was a nice way for me to share the idea and that helped me to develop the message a lot more. I had the privilege of being involved in a fringe event at COP28, again on the back of the Sustainabrand idea. And that was fascinating because really, as I said, I think in the last podcast, I mentioned the fact that I was a small player, making a small difference to a big problem. And the same applied when I was in this fringe event, I was sitting amongst some heavy hitters in the sustainability space, which can be very intimidating. And I think in many respects, people the subject matter is a little bit gray in some areas. And so it's been a journey of discovery and education for me, mainly to understand what I was actually trying to do. Because for me, the fundamental issue was just this unbelievable amount of wastage. You know, the environmental impact is obviously, little of that. But I just couldn't Get my head around the amount of wastage, especially in the event industry. Dubai, as you know, is very intense in the event space, and the amount of wastage, unfortunately, is significant. And so, understanding what sustainability, how sustainability and the idea of reducing waste started playing into this message. And obviously uh, this whole idea of sustainability is becoming incredibly topical. I've noticed in the 12 months, a big difference in terms of the conversations that we're having. So where we're selling a portable branding solutions and typically speaking to marketeers, with my Sustainabrand positioning, I'm now starting to talk to people in the ESG space, that are focused on the environment and within organizations. So, those boardroom meetings, which were just traditionally looked at talking to people in marketing. I have now broadened my base in terms of the people that are in those meetings. They happen to include finance and procurement and of course ESG. And the ESG conversation is gaining a lot more traction. We're in a space where we're very competitive space with a lot of players selling the same products that we do. So our objective was really to try and differentiate ourselves. And one of the things I learned in the last year was unknowingly, and I, and it sounds a bit sort of, vain to say this, but from a company perspective was that our products are probably the best quality on the market. Now, everybody hears that and everybody sees that. But I know that for a fact and and having Don and Tanya here as the owners of the companies, they know exactly what I'm talking about. And one message that I got from this from my journey was that Sustainability Equals Quality. And that really rang true to me. It was like, before you worry about how you're going to recycle something, think about making something that doesn't need to be recycled. Now imagine that as a thought process, an idea, and that really came, you know, that, that hit hard. And so for me, we have a product that's a very high quality, unfortunately, or fortunately, it's a lot more expensive. So to justify people spending money on our products is very difficult. But when you explain to them that if it's looked after, which is where Sustainabrand comes in, Then they don't have to worry about recycling because they're not gonna have to buy more. And so that's really been one of the big outtakes of my journey over the last year was this idea of quality, which we had already, and then managing your branding. So looking after it and maintaining it, etc. So we've had some fantastic meetings with some people that I wouldn't have met with normally, because I wasn't talking to sustainability directors of companies. I was talking to marketeers. And sometimes marketeers, they really are more interested in the end result when it comes to the event, they're not that focused on where it's going to be stored and how it's going to be, you know, managed in the future. They just buy more. So the ESG group, the ESG crowd have had a big impact on my dialogue and conversation, and that's filtered down to marketing. In fact, yesterday I was in a meeting with a big corporate in Dubai, and I had sitting at the table, two people from the sustainability side of the company, two marketeers and one in procurement. And I thought to myself, wow, if I'd known this two years ago if somebody had told me this, I wouldn't have believed it. But now that's exactly what's happening. So it's really, it's real, it's happening. And the push for buying sustainable products is now very much on the agenda. So it's, you know, I think we're in for an exciting journey over the next few years. And that's really sort of, for me, the big outtake from my last 12 months.

Sid: 9:45

Fascinating progress, Neil. Now looking back on your sustainability journey, could you, each of you, share your experiences in integrating sustainability into your operations and management?

Don: 9:57

I'll start. I mean, it is been difficult at the beginning because, you know, I have this motto, everybody wants to save the world as long as it doesn't cost them a cent. So you have a lot of what the term greenwashing, a lot of corporates talk big, but when it comes to the shove they find it difficult, but the trend is changing in a factory environment. It actually was quite well taken in. You know, we were going through five large skips a month. We down to one now and we embrace people giving us ideas all the time about how to use our waste, to be a lot more conscious of our waste. And that goes right from the factory sweeper. Up to the top, you know, who's looking around and very conscious that every little bit of waste we try and sort up by product, meaning different fabrics. So yeah, it's definitely being something. And then the other embracing is just as South Africa, we need people to have jobs. That's what's going to empower people. So we as a little, that's also part of sustainability, I guess, is more people being able to work and educating. I think Tony will get in more You know, being going, being able to go to rural schools and talk to school children about sustainability, not littering is a big thing for us.

Tanya: 11:05

Yeah, I mean, Sid, from my perspective, as I said to you when we were, you know, just chatting about doing this podcast is how the conversation around sustainability has changed and how when we Um, I started in 2016. The phone calls were going outward bound from my side, trying to convince people that, you know, that there is value in waste and that we could make a product that would be wonderful for an event or a conference or a, or you know, an in house campaign. And it was a hard, it was a hard task to get people to be convinced about it. Whereas now the phone's ringing the other way around and it's wonderful to see because it means that the message is being received and that people are looking to be more conscious and they don't always know how to and I think that's a big factor in, in education is what can you do and in ours, when we started this, it was a case of just starting because we didn't know either. I mean, we didn't know at the time how much value we were going to be able to produce through a product made out of waste. And you know, as I said to you as well, when we looked at our skips and what was going to land for number one, we found people going through our skips and they obviously saw value in, in excess materials or scrap fabrics. And so we soon realized, well, we, there must be product that we can make. And we also looked around and as Don said, you know, we need to, you know, upskill and train people and put people to work and give them opportunity and you know, busy hands and feed mouths is a famous old saying, and so seeing the value in that waste, and I also think that our opportunity that we have through our school back program, particularly, which I know that you'll probably touch on at some point, but Through all our opportunities with our corporates, we always take that moment when we are in rural school settings to talk to the teachers, to talk to the children and to encourage the awareness and to really actually bring the topic up for discussion because often you'll see In Africa, particularly, you'll see in transport, people just throwing rubbish out the windows. When they realize that there could be a value in it, they suddenly don't throw it out the window and suddenly there's a different route for that product. So, I think my take on the journey so far has been that the awareness is definitely growing, which is fantastic, particularly considering we are in Africa and we aren't in what's considered a first world country. So there hasn't been that same campaigning and that same education, but it is positive and it's positive from a corporate South African point of view as well as from Private and as Don said from our staff, we employ some deaf staff members and I was actually on a call with one of our private deaf organizations with an app that they're developing to make communication easier within a workspace environment for them. And It was amazing because they're obviously in touch with the with the deaf team that we have, and they were saying how happy they are to work in our environment and what amazing ambassadors there are for Uzwelo as a workspace and for what we're doing. So what we don't even realize what's really been so powerful is that our staff are such amazing ambassadors going out into community, and that's exactly what we need is people to work within the industry to share. The knowledge and to share what can be done. So for me it's been a very, although it was a slow start, it's gaining momentum and it's a very positive change.

Sid: 14:24

Neal and Don within your business, what new eco-friendly event equipment and innovations in branding have emerged in the past years?

Don: 14:33

So we've been able to develop an rPET, meaning recycled bottles into a yarn. And be able to make a fabrics from recycled bottles. So it just keeps the circle, everything in the loop, basically, rather than going to landfill, which is obviously massive. And then as Neil said earlier, the quality stake is that we've never gone off course. You know, we've got customers, big brands that, you know, just order skins over time where the hardware is still out there 10, 15 years later, not being replaced every year.

Neil: 15:04

And I think it's just another very important part of what Don is saying, of course, is again for the listeners is that Expandasign or Expandabrand in South Africa have their own loom. So when you're actually manufacturing your materials it gives you a lot more control. Not just in terms of the raw materials, as Don was saying, you're using this rPET recycled and then creating and using that yarn, but also the type of fabric that you produce for the application. So very often we'll find people especially here in Dubai, our competitors will just use one standard fabric for a multitude of applications when, in fact, a flag and an umbrella require two, Different, very different types of materials, but the consumer doesn't know that. And of course it doesn't last. So having your own being able to do your own and make your own raw material fabric, at least make the material is another huge advantage for us as a supplier.

Sid: 15:55

And Don Could you elaborate on the design process, especially how it begins with understanding the client's needs and requirements? Do you have input into designing the product with a focus on aspects like longevity, quality and other considerations?

Don: 16:11

Not really. I think we've just been, you know, to go back right to the beginning, the main products being a folding A frame and the flying banner were invented by us. So nobody knew the world needed that product. Neither did we, to be honest. The fact that it's now, you know, if you look at events, soft signage is such a big thing. It's sort of, we led the way. Um, not the clients. but I mean, that's just saying that we've always been proud of, you know, we, we always been at the leaders and always wanted to make the best product. Sometimes to our own detriment, but those are, then those are markets we don't want to be at. we've seen it in the U.S where generally when an umbrella industry, if you doing across many stores in the thousands of stores, they'll buy the cheapest, most horrible umbrella, which invariably last one month. And then they've got a pile of it and they throw it away where we would be going in there to say, no, no, buy umbrellas and they're going to last your lifetime. So, and that's saying you want to stick to, I think once you find your place, you stick to it and that's this, the strength that you want to have, not to be influenced to go down the rabbit hole.

Sid: 17:12

and Neil, we spoke a couple of months ago about about the logistic of moving, storing, cleaning, and reusing all the brandings with your clients. Can you please elaborate on that?

Neil: 17:22

Yeah. So while, Don and his team are manufacturing in South Africa and distributing globally, as an agent in the Middle East, we obviously sell the product onto the clients. The Sustainabrand model came in because there are some clients that are actually manage their branding for them. And it became very evident to me after COVID when one had time to reflect and look at the ceiling and wonder what's going to come next, that these clients were still using the same branding that they purchased five years ago. And it kind of got me thinking as to why is it working with them and not with others? And of course the reason was because we were managing, and that's not to say that we, you know, were anyone special, but the reality is clients we sell them the idea of being able to do it yourself. And that notion is what is one of our, I suppose, one of our USPs. And but the part that the clients don't understand is that in order to do it, the word managed encompasses quite a few moving parts that includes storage. It includes making sure you, you pack everything properly so that when you do the event again, you've got all the pieces, it includes being able to deploy it and put it up properly. And while a lot of clients can do that efficiently, a lot. Can't. And so they end up just buying more product from us. And while it's good for us for sales, it doesn't really, it doesn't make sense to me. It's again, one of those situations where we're not going, I'm not talking so much about the environment. It just seems like such a waste, you know? So what we've done is we've provided that and given that as an option to clients to say, look, we'll manage it for you. But what we did, which is where I feel Sustainabrand as a concept is quite unique is that we identified Two parts to the product and I'll take a flag, for example, or if you want to use a gazebo on umbrella, there are two components. One is the branded fabric, which has got your brand or the client's logo on it and therefore is only usable by the client and the other part is the hardware and the hardware is the part that very often the client loses parts for or gets damaged and then the entire product becomes obsolete. So what we did is we separated the two and we said to the client, right? If you want to join the Sustainabrand drive or become part of the Sustainabrand family, you just buy the fabric from us. We will manage all the hardware. Two things happen. One is we can store that fabric for the client at a very low cost because it's just fabric. And number two, our hardware gets utilized more frequently for multiple clients. So you immediately start getting efficiencies there in terms of how much that hardware has to work. The second most important part is we have all the spare parts. So when something breaks or is lost, we have the capacity to replace it. The client never has to worry about that. So what we do is we take the concept of selling a product to a client and we say to him, look, we'll sell you part of the product. We'll even look after it for you. All you do is call us and we'll deploy it for you because we know how to store it. We know how to set it up. We know how to clean it. We know how to fix it. And we know how and we can do that very efficiently. And that's where the cost savings come in. So not only does the client now not have to buy products every year, replace the product, but they actually don't even have to worry about storage and manpower or anything. And so the real cost savings come in the savings on that side, which we never really discussed with the client. And. I cannot tell you how amazing it is when I tell clients and I talk to clients and explain what I've just explained to you now. And I just see their heads nodding like this. And it's literally it's quite unbelievable. And when I sit in these meetings and I have, I've had situations where I've had people with me or that I've been telling about sustain and they see it actually unraveling in front of them where the client goes, that's amazing. You know, that sounds like something I'd really like to do. It just tells me that we have, we're onto something really interesting here. And and so that's really what I'm doing. So taking what Expandabrand are doing in South Africa and their great initiatives, which they'll elaborate on a little bit further, but now where I am further downstream, finding ways to make these products last even longer and work even harder.

Sid: 21:30

Good. Let's shift gear to community engagement. Tanya speaking to impact, tell us about the school bags Uzwelos' makes. How are they important for the children in South Africa and what broader impact do they have?

Tanya: 21:43

So Sid we developed the program actually having looked at a just witnessing firsthand children in Africa and particularly in our own country having to walk long distances to school And often with very few items. I mean, often very, you know, they don't have full uniforms. They don't necessarily have shoes. And if they're in rural communities. Their walk is often 20 kilometers to school and 20 kilometers home. So there's so many barriers to education. And, we looked at that and thought, well, what is it that we can do in our own capacity to assist? And the school bag became the very kind of obvious idea for us and along with school accessories. But. We added, what we did was we developed the school bag using all our excess material. So number one, each bag is unique. So a child actually truly receives something that belongs to them and them only. It isn't something that's just a broad handout with with someone else's label on it. And we added in a poncho and we've sew in the poncho in, and the poncho is there to protect the child and the school bag and the school ca school bag contents during inclement weather. And it's just in, it's one barrier that's removed that actually, encourages them. To store a teen school and to walk those excessive kilometers that they sometimes have to. What we've done with that bag is, it's obviously then is explained to each child that receives it, what the bag is made from. And we've gone into rural schools where it's been so interesting to see the children's reaction when they realize that actually. Some of the fabric is made from recycled plastic bottles, and when you actually give them the physical bottle and you give them the bag, and they look at it, there's this light bulb moment that just goes off on, I certainly can't name a brand here, but, you know, it's in, it became, you know, The plastic bag is like the national flower in Africa. You just see it everywhere. And so when they see the school bag and they look at the bag, they're kind of going, okay, so we can get rid of e plastic bag and this is what we get instead. And so there's been such wonderful learning from that. It's been a wonderful opportunity for corporate South Africa to get involved because we truly believe that if you're going to spend funds on corporate social investment. You want to actually see what you are giving your funds to so quite often It is just a check that gets written and a box gets ticked which is really what we don't want. We actually want to involve corporates, within our products So when we do a school bag handout and that they are kindly purchasing the bags to be donated. We strongly encourage them to attend the bag handouts with us We then try and partner with other NGOs to add content to the bags, particularly food, through feeding schemes, along with wonderful partners that we've developed along the way. So the school bag initiative in the communities is important because we want children to understand the necessity for care for the environment, for recycling, for repurposing product. Well, You have to engage. You have to have the opportunity to talk to them and to teach them. There are a lot of children that are children led households without parental figures. So how are they going to learn? How are they ever going to understand the importance of it? You know, we speak to protecting the environment and wildlife, but most children won't ever have the opportunity to ever actually walk into the wildlife and see a rhino or an elephant. So why would they care? Why? They have no reason to care. So we actually have to help them learn. Why it's important and why we need to care for the environment within which they live to create a better future for them and to keep it in a way that they will be able to actually farm their land And make and have a living so it's hugely important and we really see massive value in it And honestly Sid one day when you do come and visit us here we'll take you on a school bag handoff and you'll see how it emotionally changes you. No one walks away from those events having been and it's an incredibly powerful tool. And as you know, we've also had members of, we try and encourage members of our own staff to come to those handouts as well, because it closes the circle for them, that they see it and they understand that they've seen the scrap fabric. They've made it into product, they've handed it over and there's a child that's benefited from them. So it's very powerful.

Sid: 25:49

And Don, your work with The Bateleurs is crucial for the wildlife protection. Can you expand on that?

Don: 25:54

Been involved with an organization called The Bateleurs where we are 200 volunteer pilots with aircraft and we serve the environment. The idea was started 25 years ago. We're Dr Ian Player, who's Famous for saving the rhino and a lady, Nora Kerr, wanted to show the impact of the open cost mining and then not that they weren't rehabilitating the land and the idea came to get friends with airplanes and fly politicians and journalists to show the damage. And that flight led to later the Sundusa Wetlands becoming a World Heritage Site. And the idea was born, how could we use aircraft, which have to be used in conservation, being that there are lots of social pilots that have aircraft and skill set, what could they do to give back? And for 25 years now, yeah, we do a lot of observation flights, looking at the health of rivers. We move animals, we rescue animals, there's obviously poaching is a big buzzword we deal with that. Right this morning I was involved in a call up for, to move a lion. A lion we move for genetics because we fence them in so that they genetically cannot spread. And Endangered Wildlife trust does DNA testing and we find out the best genetics and we help spread them. And the reason we use aircraft is because if you've got a, This guy is a big 200 kg male lion and he's amazing specimen, but to transform three days by road, it puts a lot of risk on the animal of stress and death. So we've flown many lion, wild dog, cheetah, leopards. We've got helping right now, moving rhino to Uganda again for genetics and safety. So, It's very diverse. We've even had to help search for little beetles, flying dogs to sniff out rare beetles, even mouse in conservation. So it's a wonderful give back. It's amazingly uplifting. We don't have a pilot who comes back with a massive smile from rather being flying somewhere for a very expensive cup of coffee actually has a purpose now and feels very important about what he does. So we could do a whole lot more. It's a charity. Dino fatigue is tough. So, you know, last two weeks ago, massive storms in the Cape and we had 70 baby turtles that were washed up and they were all recovered and we helped move them over a weekend back to where they could be released again. So that's 70 baby turtles that were rescued over a weekend and returned.

Sid: 28:20

and how many mission flight missions do you do a per year for example?

Don: 28:24

Uh, we average out at about one a week. Things like whether pilot availability does knock us and finances. So we try what we say. We're always very wary of sharing the love, meaning we can't just fly Lions all the time. We have very diverse projects that we go. I mean, we even had a mission once looking for the Wood Eye Cactus. And then it's a cactus that they believe there are only two female species left here in the Durham Botanical Gardens. And there's one male left in the Ngoma forest up north. And he blossoms at a certain time a bright orange. And they believed if we flew over above, we would see him. And we try to help over a week flying up and down to see if we could see this orange blossom in a unique forest. And that way they could go and try and retrieve pollen from him and help breed back the Wood Eye Cactus. So very diverse. No, we didn't find it.

Sid: 29:16

And don't you work, sorry, go ahead.

Neil: 29:19

Yeah, so I was just saying, Don, with The Bateleurs, I think it's also worth just mentioning how ExpandaBrand and The Bataleurs are connected. I mean, obviously the initiative with the pilots, but I think

Don: 29:27

Yeah. So as a business,

Neil: 29:31

we're also, we're part of that process as a sales agent in Dubai. We're obviously supporting that.

Don: 29:37

right marketing And then what Tanya does, 5 percent of that turnover goes towards The Bateleurs. We do have many other donors, but basically we're very unique because most charities, for every dollar you receive, maybe 20 cents gets to the beneficiary at the end. But for every dollar you give us, we put 4 back into conservation because the biggest give up is our pilots in the aircraft. So because of that, we've put over 6 million back into conservation. So I don't think you'll find any other charities. So you give me a dollar and I'll put 4 back into conservation.

Tanya: 30:19

One of the best ways I found it was described was that at the one of the AGMs and one of the wildlife parks members stood up and said, I don't even think you pilots understand the give back and they'd just retaken wild dog up into Mozambique into an area that was really decimated. The biodiversity was really unbalanced. It was just awful. And the wild dog came and they not only had two successful litters of pups, some of which have actually not been brought back into South Africa, but through their natural hunting processes they brought back the vultures and the vultures brought back the next animal and the next Insect and so you have to understand that the biodiversity suddenly rebalanced and you can't calculate that and to just simply see an Environment restored to what it should be rewilded essentially Actually incalculable

Sid: 31:07

Absolutely, there is no denying the positive impact of this initiative on the local communities and the environmental awareness. How would you describe the perception of sustainability or environmental protection in South Africa, especially among the younger generation, considering your significant work on the ground?

Don: 31:27

You know, Sid I think, you know, like I said earlier, you give someone a job, you give them power, but when you don't have a job and you destitute, why would you care about anything? Because it's just about you surviving that next meal. So that's, yeah. You know, we believe what we do as The Bateleurs conservation is a massive, it's in theory, as big as our mining in this country tourism, bringing tourists to this country, bring tourists. Every tourist provides eight jobs that then around these communities and these rural areas that have game farms, you find a lot of them support the schools, which we've been doing with Uzwelo as well. And a lot of these private game farms actually bring the children into the reserves. To show them the animals up close and to understand, you know, to not thrive to be a poacher, basically, and that there's jobs in the conservation space. And, you know, just to reiterate I believe we all want to save the planet, but it's very hard because you'll be liars to say, Oh, well, I'll never drive my car again. It's never going to happen. But the amazing stats that everybody drove 10 kilometers less every year. If everybody bought one less item of clothing every year, the massive difference it could make. And yes, I fly an aircraft that burns petrol. But if I could use that to save animals and do good work in conservation. That's the sort of my net that I'm trying to achieve. And as in a business, if I try not to throw everything on a landfill, again, I'm trying to get that net. And if I empower people that start having money that enables them to educate their children about the environment, that's my net that I'm trying to achieve.

Tanya: 32:58

Also Sid, you know, the Uzwelo program is one of our biggest things, particularly whether it's a school bag or it's a shopper bag, but when we do work with events and we do a lot of work with events, the whole point is to try and benefit the community where the event takes place, because you can't just keep benefiting one community. And so, you know, if there's an event up in Zululand, we want to We try and get school bags up into Zululand along with other feeding schemes or reading programs and help for classroom rebuilds or it'll be down in the Cape. So our biggest thing is to make sure that wherever an event takes place, that community is impacted positively by it because the event that's taking place, if it's done with consideration, it empowers the community with employment and it empowers the community with the With therefore funds injected into in there and we need to make sure that the education becomes important and it's opportunity. I think it's always opportunity to lead with a better example and to lead with better knowledge. So we really try and use those events to our favor for those positive impacts.

Sid: 34:00

Great. Just for our listeners, I want to emphasize that although we have yet to delve deeply into the intersection of sports and sustainability, it's essential to recognize that branding plays a significant role in most sports events. Neil in Dubai and Don in South Africa, you're both involved in producing, selling, supplying, and managing branding materials for various events. Likewise, Tanya, your work with Uzwelo bags as discussed in our second episode last year profoundly impacts the community. Tania, earlier you mentioned your work with schools and how you distribute these bags to the kids. Besides raising awareness about the bags, how do the students perceive sustainability? Is it a concept they are familiar with or does it seem complicated to them?

Tanya: 34:49

It is complicated, I think, because in their world, they don't have access to possibilities to recycle and they don't have those avenues to understand that it is possible. Having said that, though, a lot of them have very little, so they use what they have very wisely. So I can't actually point fingers at that, but you have to remember what is of value to them. And so if it's not of value, it gets chucked very quickly. So it's not an easy word. It's also often lost in translation and lost in need because I think there are particularly are the communities that we do would land up working in, you know, their basic needs aren't being met. So it's very difficult to then ask them to now recycle and to do things that actually are not part of their daily lives that are not important to them. You know, what's important to them is getting seeds and growing vegetables. What's important to them is putting food on the table and getting water and access to that. So sustainability and recycling is very much a secondary thing for them. So it's a slow burn. It's not a quick take up.

Don: 35:48

Sid then I think you remember I engaged with a politician and we would like to hate politicians, but he did strike an accord and said, Stop complaining and do something and doing something never necessarily means writing a check or giving someone money. Sometimes your words can change someone's life. And, you know, remembering that we've come from very privileged places because we went to good schools and the importance of that every master try to drill something into you about being good and doing good. So sometimes, and we chatted before this, you know, we talked about Springboks there's our captain Siya Kolisi who came from a very impoverished background. But just got inspired by somebody to go a little bit further. Look where he is today. Now he is out. There's a big influencer and that's always the hope. It's just as one or two kids that you can reach that just say, wow, I want to be this. I want to be there and can climb out of it because there's a guy we like Siya who literally come out from living on sugar water to try and sustain his hunger. To being, you know, in the times 100 influential people of 2023. So that's the other hope. You just got to keep hoping we can influence that one or two that can make a change.

Tanya: 36:59

And that's why we try and take every opportunity within those, you know, those community engagements to just sit and if you find someone who's willing to talk, you take that opportunity and you run with it and you just keep going back because I think that it's also it's about the commitment and the persistence and the consistency of the messaging that goes out. So we do try also and work with events on a consistent basis within community so that we are benefiting them all the time and it's not just a one off.

Sid: 37:25

And the kids in South Africa. Do they learn about the environment, climate change, sustainability at school? Or is this topic included in the school curriculum?

Tanya: 37:35

It is to a certain extent, but certainly not enough. It can always be about you know, when we grew up there was a massive campaign I don't know if you remember that Neil the Zap and the Zibi Can I mean everyone knew that it was on television. It was everywhere It was don't throw your rubbish to Zap in the Zibi can and we need more campaigns like that in africa that are that are very visible and visual because that's the biggest thing. But what is interesting is that We've got what's known as the street surfers here, and they are the guys that go and collect the plastic bottles that go to be recycled. Before this there was no value in a plastic bottle on the side of the road and suddenly there is because they're getting paid by a kilo that they deliver to the recycling plants And depending which province you're in and which province has got those facilities and capabilities But it's created a value. So much so that there's a pickers or a waste pickers organization, so it can happen It's just there's got to be a value attached to it and there's got to be a value a drive, because as I said, you know, when your basic needs aren't being met, why would you pick up a plastic bottle? But if you are getting paid to pick up the plastic bottles and you're being paid per kilogram, there's value to it. Suddenly there's that aha moment. So yes, there is education, but it's not enough. And I think that the bigger campaigns are needed, but because the primary needs aren't being met it's secondary.

Don: 38:51

But I think Sid, you must remember to the diversity in this country. You've got probably the biggest wealth disparity in the world. So you've got from schools that rank up on the top in the world to schools that we go into these children. We're basically not one child as a pair of shoes. Most 100 percent of those children arrive at school in the morning. So though and the teacher who's going to teach in this very rural areas, you know, the chance of them having that lesson to say, let's think about the environment is very slim. Although then these top schools that do, it is become a big things at schools. They do talk about it, but those are schools that have money.

Sid: 39:25

Yeah. And the sports teams and organizations, do they promote sustainability within their organizations or no?

Don: 39:32

I'd say not enough. You don't see it. No, it's, you know, as I mentioned earlier, everybody wants to save the world, long as it doesn't cost you anything. It is becoming more, there is more and more awareness about it. It's definitely happening, but there's not enough of it. No,

Sid: 39:46

Okay. Okay.

Neil: 39:49

I just wanted to, on that point, just got me thinking is that it's my motivation for what I'm trying to do is I can sit here and say it was because of the environment, but it was more just the basic concept of waste, you know, just. inefficient use of resources. You know, to me, that is a big problem. It's just like, just use stuff properly be sensible. They might just, and yes, you can say, you know, throwing stuff away and then the impact on the environment and, you know, but I just think if people just get that part right, you can make a huge difference. It's just like, don't waste, you know, like, you know, you turn the tap on when you're brushing your teeth and you brush your teeth when the tap just runs. I'll put my hand up and say, that's how I used to do when I was a kid. And then like literally 10 years ago, I was like, what are you doing? What is this going down there? Why are you brushing your teeth? And I don't know it's that kind of, you know, as you were saying, the Zap in the Zibi Can, I remember before that campaign and I would have been six years old or something. I know. I used to see people driving down the road. They'd throw rubbish out the window. It was just normal. Wasn't questioned. It was just that's what people did. I think if anybody listening, you're probably not the heads as well in the fifties and sixties and seventies. You just threw stuff out the window. No one ever thought about it. So again, if you're sitting in an environment or a community where you've got nothing you're not worried about where something is going to get who's going to pick it up. And you just like, as you're saying, you just want to get a meal in your stomach and maybe get a pair of shoes. Those are your priorities.

Tanya: 41:16

yeah, when we started, you know, so much gets said about what we can't do. So, we can do something, and I think it's to just look within your own environment. So, I, we don't produce food. We can't do a feeding scheme. We don't produce cars, we can't provide vehicles to get children to and from school. We, but we do make fabric. We do weave our own textiles. We do print our own textiles. And where it does amazing is, you know, our inks are all natural water based inks, non toxic. We recycle our paper in the factory. We are now completely and utterly online. So there is no paperwork in the factory. So we've reduced our consumption of, you know, non renewables and renewables as much as we possibly can. So if you, if everybody did what they can within their own capacity. So when Neil's doing what he's doing is amazing because he can't produce the product, but he does sell the product. He's sitting in Dubai, and what he's doing is he's making sure that he's being as sustainable as he possibly can in his own capacity, and I think that's the biggest key is that messaging is to go is that, you know, when we go into the communities is what can they do? They can do very little, but if it's possible for them to not let in, it's possible for them to think about it and to really understand the importance of that, then that's key. So, and that will eventually be driven home. So I do believe it's just doing what you can in your own small capacity. Yeah.

Sid: 42:36

Let me take you back in 2007, a remarkable year for sports enthusiasts around the world. It was during this year that Team Shosholosa made its debut in the America's Cup, capturing my heart and the hearts of so many. Since the inception and the launch of Team Shosholosa, the folk song Shosholosa has stuck in my head, echoing the spirit of this pioneering team. This spirit mirrors the resilience and determination that South Africans are known for. And who can forget the epic victory of the Springboks during the 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted in South Africa. This first epic win inspired the movie Invictus in 2009 by Clint Eastwood. Matt Damon featured as a team captain urged by Nelson Mandela played by Morgan Freeman. These examples illustrate the resolute spirit of South Africans in the face of challenges. and there are so many examples Tania I had the pleasure of watching the Uzwelo videos you shared with me. And I must say, I was truly moved by the stories of individuals whose lives have been transformed by Uzwelo bags. Take for instance, Gugu Kandabilli, who started as a cleaner at Uzwelo. Through this opportunity, Gugu discovered a newfound purpose in making school bags for underprivileged children in South Africa. And then there is Kingdom Sebiya. A young man who joined Uzwelo in 2016 with no prior experience whatsoever. Inspired by the ethos of Uzwelo, Kingdom began creating his own bag collection. Driven by his ambition to become an entrepreneur and why not the best South African designer at all time. Let's take a moment to hear directly from Gugu and Kingdom in this short audio clip.

Gugu & Kingdom: 44:21

My name is Gugu. I came to work as a cleaner, and then they gave the opportunity for someone who wants to sew. I started making school bags for underprivileged children of South Africa. To make these school bags, we use offcuts or scrapes. This school bag is so special because of this poncho. When the rain starts, the child just opens the zipper and takes the poncho out. We put the poncho and cover the body and the school bag as well. Now the poncho has protected everything. Up until today, Uzwelo has made 10, 000 school bags. My dream was to learn how to sew and I've done that. Now my dream is to help other people. That's like the most amazing part about Uzwelo is that, like, we recycle stuff and, like, As soon as someone hear about like the recycle part they're like wow It doesn't look like this stuff has been recycled but it's more like they They resurrect the fabric Yeah, there is a right it's like into something beautiful, which is which is like Amazing that is like on some godly level

45:38

It makes me feel so good. Every time I make a bag, it's like, okay, I made this bag out of a recycled material. If I tell the person that no, I made this bag out of recycled material. Like, Oh, it doesn't even look like it's been recycled. So that's like the whole, it's like, ah, it's, it's inspires me too, man. It's like, yo, yo, yo, I have no words about that. Cause yeah. So yeah, I'm having fun. Yeah. And like, uh, I'm growing as an, as an artist, as a designer, it's like I've grown so much when it's come to, to sewing and like designing and like putting colors together, putting like, cause sometimes, you know, you know, when it's come to like recycle, it's either they blend in or they don't. Yeah, that's, Well, okay. First thing first, in fashion, I want to be like an entrepreneur. I want to be the greatest South African designer of all time. Yeah, that's the whole, the whole aim. Like, I want to be everywhere in fashion. In bags, in jewelry, Jewelry is going to take some time. But shoe, shoe design, I'm coming there. But then for now, I like, I'm going to be releasing collections now in, now in the game. Just like, trying to get people to get used to the vision that I have when it comes to clothes. Yeah, that's why I see myself. I see myself as like the greatest designer of all time.

Sid: 47:06

Fantastic, Amazing

Neil: 47:08

Wow.

Sid: 47:08

Let's explore now the material sourcing and recycling. Tania, I noticed that Uzwelo bags, as mentioned by Neil in our previous podcast, utilizes around 14. 2 tons of waste fabric from Don's company, Expandasign. Could you shed some light on the number of bags produced using this quantity of fabric?

Tanya: 47:30

Yeah, well, if I look back at the stats from 2024 because we always kind of look back on our year and what we've taken from because it's quite, it's always interesting because I use multiple products. I use not only fabric from Don, which is the fabric with a 40 percent RPT yarn content, as well as what has just been natural waste. I also use materials from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles, so RPT And so that in the form of felt and in the form of stitch bond. So it's really very much a case of at the moment. So our stats from last year, we recycled 60, 000 meters of material. And what that equates to was basically up in a while, not, it wasn't up until last year, our stats from beginning to the end of last year was 60, 000 meters. And that equates to 412, 500 plastic bottles that have been redirected and recycled.

Neil: 48:23

Wow.

Don: 48:24

And I know last time Tanya also, we were close on 80, 000 school bags that we put back into communities.

Tanya: 48:31

Sorry. Yes. beg your pardon. I didn't answer to that question because we do so many multiple products. But yeah, we've done at least 80, 000 school bags. I do countless shopper bags. And you know, we work across so many industries. I work with surfers, eco surfers who want a different bag for their surfboard. So we make, you know, surfboard bags from recycled materials, which they absolutely love. We work with the garden industry, making raised bed planters, I work with the hotel industry you're making, you know, laundry bags with recycled felt. So it's actually quite difficult to equate how many bags and how many products but yes, as Don says over 80, 000 school bags to date.

Sid: 49:09

a year

Neil: 49:11

Now that's too late.

Sid: 49:14

to date Okay. Okay.

Don: 49:16

there's a big fund in Dubai that will pay. And we'll, then we'll do 80 to

Neil: 49:21

Keep trying, man. We keep trying.

Don: 49:23

have to try. You don't try, you don't get

Neil: 49:25

We need to, you guys need to update the website on as well Tanya, because I think it's only, I don't know, it's about 30 or 40, 000 on there.

Tanya: 49:32

Yeah, you

Neil: 49:33

I didn't, I didn't realize that you almost doubled that. Well, you have doubled it.

Tanya: 49:37

Yeah, we have actually

Sid: 49:40

Tanya, in our previous conversation you mentioned that people can hesitate to purchase recycled products due to potential misconceptions. About quality and safety. Could you elaborate on that further?

Tanya: 49:52

Yeah, I mean I think the word when we were chatting You know, I think our language is so important and the word recycled often, you know is a used good secondhand it's not new. It's not clean and shiny and bright and it's not acceptable And you know, everyone wants, as Don says, you know, everyone wants the good story, but they don't want to pay. It's the same thing with when they're looking at using a sustainable, buying or purchasing a sustainable product. Unless you're the real eco warrior who is determined that they're only going to be purchasing second hand, recycled, reused Vintage clothing or product the average person and particularly when you're looking at marketing departments and who are the you know The buying the purchasing power people and they like the idea, but they don't want it to look secondhand They don't want it to look used they need it to look curated and they wanted to be well made and good quality. And that affects how you produce the product because we have tried to work with satellite sewing organizations, but unfortunately it doesn't always work because you have to have consistency and quality in order for your good delivery. And that is a conception that we all are continuously trying to educate on and trying to dispel that myth that a secondhand or reused or recycled, repurposed sustainable product doesn't necessarily have to be of poor quality. And, you know, with our products at the moment, I mean, a lot of the fabrics that we use from Expanasign Uh, actually have great value and in its uniqueness as well. Because no two bags will be the same, and that's one of the important things, particularly when you're doing a school bag handout, but a lot of our event partners love our shopper bags because it's like they have literally given somebody a unique gift because every single one is different. We might anchor

Neil: 52:07

How are they unique?

Tanya: 52:08

With a badge label. Sorry?

Sid: 52:10

give you

Tanya: 52:13

has a different pattern. Each one has different, a different front panel, back panel, side panel, handles. No two are the same.

Neil: 52:20

So from the waste the branded

Tanya: 52:22

Yeah, it's now from all the branded waste products and also don't forget what we try and do to maximize be as much wastage as possible when you're printing in the print game. When you lead a fabric into a machine, there's about a meter of fabric at the front and a meter of fabric at the end that does not contain the print that will become product for one of Don's customers or one of Expandasign or Expandabrand customers. So we add a print onto that lead on and lead off to ensure that we maximize because people don't just want to white bags. So we try and print onto that lead on and that lead off, maximize the fabric usage. And we take that and use it in a lot of our shopper bags and for panels and school bags, or. Even through COVID we use it on masks. So I mean, it's amazing what you can do and we've reduced our waste exceptionally from that

Neil: 53:09

So then Tanya, do you, do the guys in the studio, in the design studio, they add that pattern onto the artwork

Tanya: 53:15

Yeah, they do. So we choose a whole, we select a whole variety of prints. We make sure we're mixing it up all the time because it must go with our whole ethos of trying to produce unique bags. But with the 40 percent rPED yarn product, it's become a little bit easier for those that really do want something that is Sustainable to be completely custom printed. So I do have that option now, which makes life quite easy for those very particular customers. But generally a lot of the events that want, they are, they're now so sold on the uniqueness of the bags that's what they're really after. And they actually write to us and say, you are going to make sure that every bag is different, which we now laugh at, because we had to try and explain why that was a good thing in the beginning. And now it's the thing that they really want at the end. So that's progress.

Don: 53:58

Neil and Sid, one of our good stories, during COVID we made screens for the L. A. school counties, and they're basically a piece of fabric that had to have a cutout for a window, but we printed the cutout, and we designed it in such a way that that panel, we kept it, 90, 000 panels of it. that are now being used to make school bags. So that would have gone to landfill, it didn't. We kept them, we designed it into that we could keep those little pieces of fabric. And now we use them to make school bags.

Sid: 54:27

Excellent. Don, Expand Design is a global leader in event branding. You have many offices and distribution hubs in Africa, the USA, Europe, and the Middle East, with Neil's presence. What emerging challenges or areas of concern should the industry know?

Don: 54:45

Well, I think it, as Neil said, it's a case of, there's a lot of, and you'll see it in the bigger countries where the guys plan for an event and it's just for that day, that's as far as they think. So if there could be a bit more thought into it, so for argument's sake. Printing with a date on it for your vent is not clever because you can only use it for that date. Try and think of your artwork that you can therefore use the product afterwards. And you find a lot of big, uh, corporates where the left hand doesn't talk to the right hand, where you have multiple brands and no one's talking to each other where they could collab. Use one set of hardware and different skins. There's not as much. So I think that side of it needs to grow maturity in industry, uh, thought into events a lot more. Um, and then we also, some of the product we can get back, uh, and turn into more product to keep it in the, in the, what's called the cycle of life of a banner.

Tanya: 55:44

we have quite a few corporate customers locally in South Africa that then contact me and say either they've changed their logo or someone in marketing decided it was a great idea to change their logo and they can no longer use the pull up banners or the skins that they've got and they'll send that to me and they either donate it directly to Uzwelo or I actually convert it back into product that they use in house for campaigns or And hand it to staff, whether it's in lunch bags or it's in just general shopper tote bags or book covers. So there is actually there's been a lovely progress on that side as well.

Sid: 56:15

Yeah. I think we've covered a lot today. Let's end with uh, lightning round. Are you ready for speedy Q and A

Tanya: 56:24

Okay

Neil: 56:25

You better try.

Sid: 56:26

Don? You ready?

Don: 56:27

Yes.

Sid: 56:28

Imagine you could implement one groundbreaking innovation in sustainable sports events tomorrow. What will it be?

Neil: 56:35

I'll answer that. So one of my missions, and I'm still trying to do this perfect opportunity to maybe there's some listeners out there. we can develop a, an ink that can be washed out of a fabric with a biodegradable solvent And then you're cutting it up and stitching it afterwards. But I just still think that there's an opportunity there if we could have a flag that you could use for an event like Don was saying for one day, stick it into a washing machine with a particular solvent that dissolves that ink and allowing you to at least print on it with a UV printer one more time. And you know, you've already halved the wastage. That would be something that I think would be amazing.

Don: 57:14

mean, he has one left field is that, you know, the reality is people forget they all want green energy. Yes. Solar panels, et cetera, but they don't always work. Every country has to have a base load and to do a base load, you have to burn carbon or nuclear. And the reality is, is that polyester, if it could just break the stigma is a very good burner coefficient. And so theory, you could, you know, we always in a burn oil. We always in a burn carbon. I don't think we can get in our lifetime, get to ground zero, but if that stuff could be used correctly, put back correctly in places like Norway, Sweden, they do it, they would burn it and generate energy from it because that energy has to be burned anyway. So you, it's either going to come in the form of like it does in Dubai, straight gas or oil to burn for turbines. It can be burnt if used correctly and given back correctly.

Sid: 58:05

What book, movie, or documentary do you recommend for people on sustainability?

Don: 58:10

A meaningful book, um, is because my heart's in conservation. And I believe if we can't look after what we have right now, that means our wild animals must give up on everything. And it's Saving the Last Rhino You know, that two men, we were down to 50 rhino. Nobody knows that in 1960, it's two men who decided to do something and everyone laughed at them and they did it today. Every rhino we see genetically comes from those rhinos that they saved.

Sid: 58:35

Thanks for the recommendation, Don. What is the worst career advice you've ever gotten?

Don: 58:44

Be an accountant.

Sid: 58:45

Tania.

Tanya: 58:47

I think possibly, you know, it's, I actually think it starts before then. I think career advice, I think it can start with a teacher that doesn't believe, you know, I think you need one person to light something within you. I think that you know, when you've got a when you've got a good mentor in life that's key to everything. Somebody that actually enhances, I mean, our son does this amazing run every year in the bush and he had not, he hadn't run more than five kilometers ever in his life. And he Went and seconded another master who was doing a big run and a cycle campaign And at the end of supporting his master, he turned around after that and was so moved by it that he Actually said well, what am I going to do now? You know, it made him think so. I think from worst career advice is more who was your mentor and who did you believe and who believed in you because I think that, that's key. So I mean, like going back to your best book, there's a wonderful book called The Art of Possibility. And I think so many people think things are impossible, but they aren't. There's it's actually, it's how you set yourself up for it. It's a beautiful book and I do highly recommend it, but I think it comes down to who your mentorship is and who's guiding you to make your decisions.

Sid: 59:55

Okay, one piece of good advice for the listeners on any topic.

Don: 1:00:03

Well, I'd give it, you know, you talk, how can I be, as I said earlier, just try and drive 10 kilometers less this year. Try and help someone else throw rubbish. Just do one thing, just start with one thing. And if we all did that, it'll make a big difference.

Neil: 1:00:16

I mean, that it is, it is, uh, and it's obviously that's sometimes a little bit cliche when, when we say that, but you're absolutely right Don. For me, it's like I said that in the beginning of the story. This podcast is that, you know, we're a small player making a small difference to a big problem. And when you acknowledge that and understand that you're a small player, you can make a small difference and that there's a big problem. You're already halfway, you know, you're on your way because that's all you need to do is to start that process. I think a lot of it is, is what Don was saying is if it costs money, then it becomes Uh, question, you know, and you've got to find your why, like why, why do you want to do it? Very often it's about solving a pain point. So, you know, if it selfishly, it's like, okay, if this is going to make my life easier or if it's going to save me money, then I'm interested. But the other part is the money thing is a big debate because obviously people don't want to spend money, but if you can take away an identifier, a pain point. and relieve people then they will then take notice and listen. So yeah, that's, that's again, just to reinforce what Don's saying, but it's about just actually making that decision to, to make a bit of a difference. My, my motivation, and I'm not saying I'm not, obviously the environment's important, but my motivation is, is about wastage. It's just, you know, we, like I said, it doesn't make sense. So we're going to get our head around just not wasting. Like Don was saying, just drive 10 Ks less or just instead of just, just don't waste, just think about everything and, and, and how you consume and you're already making a huge difference.

Tanya: 1:01:47

So for us, you know, the word Uzwelo translates into compassion. And we translate that into everything. Compassion for the Environment. Compassion for Community. Compassion for Self. And so that speaks to everything that Don and Neil are saying. And one of the best pieces of advice I ever received was No Conversation is Ever Wasted. Talk to people, just talk because you never know what ideas get sparked and you never know what you're going to learn and what help you can give. So it's, to me, it's as well as compassion. Compassion is everything. And just keep talking because you just will learn so much and you will also be able to give so much back.

Sid: 1:02:26

Lovely last, how can people help and support what you're doing with Uzwelo Bags bags and The Bateleurs. Heh

Tanya: 1:02:34

So with Uzwelo

Neil: 1:02:36

buy

Tanya: 1:02:36

Bags,

Neil: 1:02:36

buy, expand a brand.

Tanya: 1:02:37

yeah, exactly, go through everything. Well, if you're going to make a branding choice, please let it be Expandabrand, Expandasign, because of the work that I get to do with Uzwelo and the donations that we then give to The Bateleurs. So it's definitely that, and they can go onto our website. It's www.uzwelo.co.za and you can donate a school bag or you can also purchase a sustainable product. So the next time you are buying just a personal gift or you are looking for a new corporate gifting idea, please contact us. We curate product all the time.

Don: 1:03:12

And Sid, for us as well, I mean, the other thing is, as Tanya said, just keep talking. So for people to share The Bateleurs' story is epic, that being on social media, I won't lie, any donation goes a long way. We got a lot of work to do. We don't do all the work we could do. And it's terrible when things like saving pangolin that are just too far for us to save. And every pangolin, I mean, we are down to the number of animals we have on the red list now are horrific. And when we can't save an animal, we are distort. And if it's sometimes just because of simple finances that we can't do it. And as I said, everyone counts.

Neil: 1:03:50

I think, uh, this is also a perfect opportunity really to tell Sid Don about Harry, your son, Harry's, uh, new project that he's launched, which I think is amazing. And I've said to him, I messaged him on LinkedIn. I'm going to see if I can try and come down and join it. I said, please pencil me in. I'll see if I can get there. But, um, I'd love, yeah, I think you should just tell Sid about that because that's another great example of somebody doing a little bit, just doing something small. And it's going to be, I think it's going to be an amazing event in the next 10 years. I really do. I think it's fantastic. It's a great story.

Don: 1:04:19

Yeah, since I think hopefully his parents were inspired our Children in the school that was about giving back that if you, you know, if you have privilege, you do need to share it. And my son, I think Tanya mentioned it earlier. Um, had a very inspiring teachers and one of them decided he came from a very rural area, the same places that we assist. And he was inspired by a science teacher that told him that he's better than this place. And he put his head down. So we talk about influence. He was influenced by a rural teacher who And ended up becoming a teacher at one of the premier schools in South Africa. And he now wants to build a science center at this rural school. So over 600 kilometers, he decided to run and cycle. My son asked if he could support him by sitting in a vehicle. And he only had his learner's license. I sat next to him. And it was an amazing few days. And then we started questioning himself and said, well, what am I going to do? And a teacher had started an organization called Sports for Lives. And being that how our kids in sport use sport to give back. Being that they commit that every goal they score they will give back to community. And in another conservation program I had to be sitting with my son. Had to be doing termite conservation. He said, you know what Harry? It's one thing about the animals. It's the people that look after the animals that need the recognition. Being that there are. Rangers that get no recognition, they put their lives at risk every day to keep our conservation right. And Harry felt, yeah, he said, that's wrong. And he was asked, so what are you going to do? He said, well, what do they need? And that's basic equipment. So the whole journey started. And in 2022, he did his first run where he phoned me and said, Dad, I'm going to run 100 kilometers. And I said, what? You can't even run a bath, nevermind a hundred kilometers. He said, I am, he said, I know, you know how much I hate running. And that's exactly what I'm going to prove. I can run a hundred kilometers and an incredible journey started as a premature baby who's ended up growing into a big chap with issues with lots of medical issues. And it ended up, he got, uh, ex rugby star got a hold of him. Nelson Mandela's bodyguard got a hold of him. And together they said, we're all going to help you, Harry. And, yeah, he said about it where over two days, 50 kilometers a day, through Big Five country, we ran into elephant, buffalo, all sorts. Harry had to find the right mindset to push himself through. And when he, I remember when he finished, and I walked up and said, there you go, boy, don't tell me you can't do anything. And it's grown to now where a lot of people ask, well, what can we do Harry? And he decided to invite 20 people a year to raise a certain amount. And you come every year to run with Harry for 20 kilometers through a big five game reserve.

Tanya: 1:06:58

hundred kilometers, not 20.

Don: 1:07:00

Oh, sorry. which is a mammoth task.

Sid: 1:07:02

Fantastic. Yeah, no, absolutely. Absolutely. I will definitely reach out to

Tanya: 1:07:06

and today said

Sid: 1:07:07

him to be part of the show.

Tanya: 1:07:08

you know, just close on three quarters of a million Rand for conservation. And that's just one young man running two times a year and now bringing, you know, and bringing people on board with him. So, you know, as we said earlier on, it just takes one person. I mean, I think you said that Neil, you know, we just all have to do our own little thing. All of us just find your thing and make sure it has positive impact.

Don: 1:07:29

And a lot of kids ask, well, what can I do? And I use Harry that first year, he, the first 20 kilometers, he ran to little rural school and we provide a cake. And Harry spoke to the kids saying, Hey, I'm not a runner. Look what I'm doing. What can you, what you can do something started with a dream. So

Sid: 1:07:43

Amazing. Amazing. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Tanya, Don, Neil, for sharing your valuable insights and experiences with us. Thanks a

Tanya: 1:07:52

Thank you for having us.

Neil: 1:07:54

Yes. Thank you.

Don: 1:07:55

thanks. I appreciate it.

Sid: 1:07:56

What a fantastic discussion we had today with our amazing guests. Neil, Don and Tanya have not only enlightened us about the complexities and innovations in sports branding, but have also shown us the profound impact of sustainable practices on communities and the environmental conservation. Their dedication to transforming the industry is not just inspiring. It's a call to action for all of us to think differently about the products we use and the legacy we leave behind. As we close this episode, I'm reminded of the power of conscious consumption and the role each of us plays in fostering a more sustainable world, one event at a time. Whatever it's by supporting companies that prioritize eco friendly practices or by being more mindful of our environmental footprint, there are countless ways to make a difference. Thank you, Neil, Don and Tanya for sharing your journeys and for being beacons of change in our fields. If you want to help and support Uzwelo Bags and The Bateleurs, please check out the episode notes for more information on how you can contribute.,And now as we end today's episode, let's embrace the spirit of SHOSHOLOSA. This song stands for encouragement, hope, and solidarity. I've created this rendition using Udio AI. It's just awesome what you can do with AI technology today. So turn up the volume, relax, and enjoy listening. Until next time, Keep pushing, keep pulling together. wishing you all a wonderful day.