Responsibility is no longer a brand value, it’s a brand fundamental.

But why have so many pioneering brands in sustainability come from the North?

Why do so many brands focussed on purposeful design and eliminating disposability originate in Canada and other Northern territories?

Think Arc’teryx, Houdini or Norda.

At FreshBritain, we believe it’s because the ‘North’ exists in harmony with nature, in equilibrium with its complex environment, in balance with its surroundings.

This is in rather direct contrast to the ‘West’ which so often carries connotations of conquering, dominion and ego over the natural world.

So, it appears that Northern brands are instinctively translating these primeval Northern values into brand values.

We term this ‘essentialism’. It is born of the classic philosophical definition; that things have a set of characteristics which make them what they are. In brand design terms we have expanded this notion to things that are nothing more that they need be.

This means brands and products should have a simple set of attributes that are strictly necessary to their identity, and that every product should be intentional and justify its own existence.

This is an emerging trend across the global brand landscape, helping to promote more responsible consumption, and improve sustainability.

It focuses on a minimalist aesthetic and making products that eliminate the disposable throwaway mindset.

But brands from the shamanic North get this, instinctively.

Founded in Canada, Arc’teryx create products that celebrate simplicity. Maximum simplicity in fact, at the point of optimal need. Their design philosophy is the elimination of aesthetic resistance, born of humility and the abdication of ego.

Up and coming trail running brand Norda is inspired by the beauty of running in the natural world, and they are quite rightly obsessed by ‘durability over disposability’.

Another outdoor brand successfully deploying Northern values across their brand ecosystem is Houdini from Sweden. Their brand proposition is uniquely focused on ‘after-purchase’, so their progressive and technical minimalist outdoor garments can be repaired and re-used.

For the first time, we live in an age where the consumer leads and brands follow. Consumers are demanding responsibility and transparency from brands. They are connecting with brands that help them to recalibrate their lifestyle and purchasing habits to be more conscious and considerate of their impact.

We believe that brands from the North get this, instinctively.

It’s up to the rest of the world to catch up.