Monthly Meeting

What do reverse osmosis, four tons of salt, a cow bell, windmills and a yellow whale have in common? Well, if you were one of the 47 women who attended ZIWA's October Monthly Meeting, you know the answer ... Robin Cornelius, Chairman of Switcher, and our meeting's guest speaker.

Okay, I confess the cowbell was used to call the meeting to order at 10.30, and wasn't actually part of the presentation. It really was the only thing that could be heard over the animated conversations going around the room during the pre-presentation coffee time.

Our President Christine Gilbert, after welcoming everyone, shared two pieces of very important information - first, was the happy news she now has a "darling" granddaughter. This was met with a round of applause which prompted Christine to say, "Thanks for the applause, but I didn't do anything!" Next, she told us to congratulate ourselves because ZIWA membership has reached 700! She then turned the floor over to Francesca.

She started off by telling us how a rave review from her daughter about a guest speaker at her school had been the catalyst that propelled Francesca into "checking him out online". Her email inquiry to him about speaking to us was answered in the affirmative. So with no further preamble, Robin was introduced and proceeded to captivate his audience for the next hour.

We learned that the Swedish-born Robin moved to Switzerland when he was only a year old. He was sent to boarding schools, but confessed that since his father, a diplomat, never checked to see if he actually attended classes or not, he chose not to. At 17, his parents decided to return to Sweden, and he remained in Switzerland, attending business school in St. Gallen. He knew the whole "suit and tie" business world was not for him, so in 1981 he started Switcher. Their first two products - sweatshirts and t-shirts.
The yellow whale, Switcher's logo, began life as an orange whale, but Robin told us he was concerned that as orange was associated with Migros, his products might not develop the distinct branding he was after. He wanted Switcher to equal sweatshirt, the same way that Kleenex means tissue, or Q-Tip is identified with cotton swabs. Additionally, the idea of "energy" associated with yellow was appealing.

Listening to him speak, you get the idea he has the type of brain that jumps from topic to topic, making seemingly unrelated connections, and then comes full circle again to sum it all up. This was obvious as he proceeded to describe to us how he put his philosophy about how a business should operate into practice. Robin stunned us when he stated that the garment industry is one of the most polluting - 10,000 liters of water are needed to produce one kilo of cotton fabric. He set out to ensure that Switcher would strive to lessen this impact.

Social responsibility, ethics, respect, transparency, education, production aspects, culture and values were all addressed and woven into a fascinating tale. For example, Switcher produces four million t-shirts in India. This requires the use of 700,000 liters of water and four tons of salt a day! An investment of nearly $3 million was needed to set up and maintain a special 'reverse osmosis' system which reduces salt use by 90% and saves water. The spinning mills in India are powered by the 32 windmills funded and built by Switcher.

The company has set up schools in India, and young women, aged 18-25, and who work in the spinning mills, are taught English, computer skills, reading and even dancing. His acute understanding of cultural norms was made clear when he explained how these women live in a protected compound, and a portion of their monthly salary is set aside each month, so that when they return to their villages to marry at the expiration of their contract they will have the 25,000 rupee dowry necessary for marriage. Switcher has also set up education programs in China and Africa.

Transparency was described as "product DNA" - in other words, he wanted consumers to know exactly what was required to produce each Switcher item. By logging on to the website www.respect-code.org you can learn everything about how a particular product was made by typing in the code on the garment. Robin believes this allows consumers to shop more ethically, as we can know the consequences of our purchases. He raised some questions such as, "Do we know what a brand stands for? How easy is it for us to shop responsibly when companies provided no transparency regarding their products?" that certainly gave us pause to think about our own shopping habits.

His vision and endless stream of ideas have turned Switcher into an multi-award winning company. A quote from a current press release, "Switcher gives priority to the use of natural and recyclable materials and guarantees respect for the working conditions of all employees throughout the entire production chain," seems to sum it all up nicely.

The question and answer session at the end of the hour could easily have turned the presentation into a full afternoon event as Robin was plied with question after question, and his answers revealed more and more fascinating information about him and Switcher.

However, Francesca reminded us that lunch was yet to come, and so we turned our attention to the lovely meals set before us. Robin remained for lunch and took time to speak individually to all the ladies who approached him with their questions or comments. "Charming man", "fascinating", "interesting" ... were just a few of the things I heard as those in attendance talked later among themselves about Switcher's chairman. Even a week later, when I was at another ZIWA outing, those who had heard him speak were still talking in glowing terms about him and his presentation.

It seems that the October Monthly Meeting will be long remembered by those fortunate enough to have heard this remarkable guest speaker.

Pictures by Cassandra and Graziella
Report by Cassandra Budlong, 30 October 2009

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