Jasmien’s reflections on the event:

“A few weeks ago, I was honoured to speak at the Captains of Industry Ladies Cup in Nieuwpoort. Mieke Pieters from The Circular Kickstart invited me to talk about sustainability in the fashion industry and how Xandres is trying to lower its environmental and social impact. 

When we wrapped up, Mieke asked me ‘which woman inspires me’. I answered that on an entrepreneurial level, I admire Lies Mertens for her amazing work but that earlier that week, a woman really close to me inspired me on a sustainability level as well… my grandmother, or ‘moemoe’ as we say in my hometown.

I visited moemoe  that week and whilst she was preparing a classic Flemish dinner (‘chipolata’ sausage, potatoes, carrots and peas), I looked at her standing in the kitchen and realized that her kitchen sink and cooking fire were probably about 70 years old. That the pots and pans she was using were probably also used by her mother.
And then I saw her salt shaker. It was a regular plastic salt shaker from a convenience store but the label was so faded that I asked her ‘moemoe, you don’t use salt that often, do you?’.
And she said ‘no, not really, why?’.
I mentioned her salt shaker and the fact that she’s been using that tiny object for quite some time probably. And she answered ‘oh but I refill it of course’.

In my generation, people sometimes build entire ‘temporary kitchens’ because they want to renovate later on without realising the materials and energy we waste in this process. 

So what woman inspires me when it comes to sustainability? My moemoe, and an entire generation of women that still ‘use’ instead of ‘consume’ the valuable objects in our life.”