Lectures by Mr. Satoru Inoue, a Social Entrepreneur, on Dec. 9 and January 6.

Mr. Satoru Inoue who owns and runs The Inoue Brothers conducted creative dialogue sessions with the IBSP students on Dec. 9 and Jan. 6. Titled “Can fashion be a force for good?”, he argued that “social entrepreneurship” is not just pursuing profit but aiming social values and positive changes in society through the business. Fashion (and its expression) has been a source of personal identity and expression and is deeply connected to human nature and behavior. But, the fashion industry is also the third most polluting industry in the world. He explained in depth the three institutional guidelines of The Inoue Brothers, such as sustainability, fair and direct trade, and no investors involvement. In the following session, the students presented the findings of their research. Mr. Inoue inspired the students’ minds and encouraged them to become more conscious consumers and members of the global society.
 

Sustainability has become an important issue only because of the current environmental situation in which we are all in together. The word ‘crisis’ is probably a more fitting word for it. A crisis that we human beings have created and therefore the solution must come from us as well. As long as we keep a “buy, use and discard” mentality, it doesn’t matter how sustainable the production-methods are, it will not solve the fundamental causes of the problem.
Sustainability is a state of mind and starts with the individual, in the family and with our local community. It is a challenge rather than a sacrifice. It can be fun and life-affirming and not a burden. It must be rooted in human qualities such as empathic caring, gratitude, creativity, and courage.
True sustainability should be a win-win for both you and the planet as a whole. Youths and women must be empowered since they will play some of the most crucial roles in changing our values from a growth-related economy to a cyclical economy and from the profit-first orientation to a welfare-first worldview.
If we all change our habits just a little, it will accumulate and create a huge overall change.

“I was deeply inspired to become a Social Entrepreneur myself.”
“It was such a pleasure to have this golden opportunity to listen to a successful entrepreneur on how they overcame obstacles they faced throughout the journey.”
“The session was really interesting and it gave me a real insight into the real world business.”
“It gave me hope that there are businesses out there that genuinely work for the betterment of people and the planet.”
“What struck me the most about what Mr. Inoue said is that it all boils down to the gratitude for being a part of life, of being a part of humanity, for living in this planet, and that our existence depends on the resources available to us in the world.”
“Mr. Inoue shared his vision and his belief of the importance of thinking about the impact that we are creating. It is not always about profit and money, but the changes that each of us could create as an individual. I think this also correlated with Soka University’s principle of value creation. I will always remember this throughout my life and in my future job to create changes in our society.”