INSPIRING POSITIVE CHANGE
WORDS Joshua Brosnahan PHOTOS Kia Dirkson
Peri Drysdale could be the most innovative Cantabrian you might meet. Thirty years in the making, Peri’s vision has led the way in sustainable practices in textiles and brought to life brands Snowy Peak as well as Untouched World. The latter boasts a unique identity here in our city – a combination of the Burnside flagship store, the manufacturing plant, the Untouched World Kitchen, and a garden café oasis.
“My vision was to promote a cleaner, greener way of living, so this space brings that whole philosophy together to promote a healthy lifestyle. For us, it means doing our best to make our clothing sustainable, by trying to use natural fabrics and fibres that aren’t going to leech chemicals onto your skin or wash microfibres down the drain. It means keeping our manufacturing local, so we can be sure we’re delivering quality and those making our garments have great working conditions and fair pay.”
The company came into fruition at a time in Peri’s life where she was travelling frequently, and she became alarmed at the state of the planet.
“Sustainability was just not on the radar back then. People were focused on profits and didn’t really give the planet – or working conditions – a thought. I decided to create a brand that was more than beautiful clothes.”
Through the use of luxurious natural fibres and fabrics and adopting sustainable business practices that don’t harm people or the planet, Untouched World has extended their reach beyond the business, engaging the community in a way that raises awareness around issues they see in the world that need addressing.
“Rather than throwing money at the problem with short term solutions, we decided if we were to do it, we’d do it properly. We committed to channelling a percentage of all sales to our Untouched World Foundation, working with stakeholders and community partners to roll out ‘Leadership for a Sustainable Future’ programmes around the country for students. Our aim was to ignite the passion in youth to do things better and lead their generation toward a more sustainable future.”
Peri mentions that while all of this is hugely rewarding, there is a lot of tireless work done behind the scenes. The entire team behind Untouched World authentically care about leaving the world in a better state than they found it. “People don’t tend to get excited when you start talking education, but we need to start at a grassroots level if we’re going to encourage behaviour change.”
An auspicious acknowledgement from the United Nations has further cemented Untouched World as a global exemplar in sustainable development. In Peri’s words, this was ‘humbling’.
“It confirmed for us that our efforts were having an impact. We’re getting more and more interest from different organisations wanting to get on board with what we’re doing, which is really exciting.”
Constantly pushing the boundaries with new sustainable fabric combinations, their latest Autumn/Winter range includes shirts made from eucalyptus trees, sweatshirts made from organic cotton and recycled fibres, and a new children’s range made from fabric and fibres left over from their men’s and women’s collections.
“I really want Untouched World to inspire positive change in the world and to challenge the status quo.”