Acting Globally

-- Interior Design, 5/31/2009 12:00:00 AM

As eco-consciousness matures beyond the reuse-and-recycle stage, forward-thinking manufacturers are broadening the definition of sustainability to include socially responsible business practices. This is all rather old news for Carolyn Wilson, who has spent the past 18 years forging a model of sustainable sourcing. Wilson founded Better World Arts as an importer of Kashmiri handicrafts; but the company's 1996 alliance with Kaltjiti Arts—an arts center in the remote northwest corner of South Australia—paved the way for today's cross-cultural collaborations. Anangu artists gather in a Port Adelaide studio to create aboriginal images, which are then turned into rugs, cushions, and jewelry by villagers in Kashmir's Himalayan region. But rather than merely collecting royalties, the Anangu artists are given ownership in the business, which in turn helps to support Kashmiri artisan communities some 6,000 miles away. Another fringe benefit: "When Anangu see their images, they respond spontaneously, often with song and story that belongs with the image," says Wilson. Now that's music to anyone's ears. 61-8-8240-3373; betterworldarts.com.au. circle 716