On being a preacher (and wearing the right clothes)

last night, i gave a talk at box thai, which was hugely inspiring for me, because it was the first time that i spoke to the general public, instead of a group convened specifically to hear about air pollution.
it was a chance to actually touch the minds of everyone in the audience and to galvanize them into action through the delivery of some simple wake-up call facts — the same ones printed on the back of my business card – air pollution kills 3 people a day, only 41 days are healthy to breathe, hk is 3x dirtier than ny.
hard to believe but the scmp had sent over a reporter to cover the event for the “cityseen” section. considering my long history as the frontperson of a glamorous international brand, it made me chuckle that our environmental shindig qualified as a “see and be seen” soiree. when you see my dopey pic in the paper, you’ll believe that i was distinctly unprepared for the photo opp. then again, it’s great that i can show up with converse sneakers and a CAN t-shirt at most bashes these days. tonight, i’m speaking at CIS’s climate change forum, wearing argyle-patterned tights, chuck taylors, a mini-kilt and, yup, you guessed it, my CAN tee shirt! i go into some sartorial detail (because this blog post may double as an article on hiphongkong.com, later. i met the founder of that website last night and she’s already encouraged her online following to support CAN.).
last night, which i enjoyed vastly, reminded me WHY i left the private sector to head up an NGO. since the beginning, even in law school, i’ve been a preacher. when i was the creative director of shanghai tang, i was a preacher too — but in designer clothes of my own making. i wasn’t selling clothes, but a cultural patrimony spanning 5000 years. at filligent, i wasn’t just flogging face masks, but creating an fmcg consumer brand which could hold its own in any market and prove that a hk company can create durable value in today’s cut-throat global economy. whatever journey i have chosen, the compass has always secretly pointed beyond the immediate destination, to a larger, if concealed, personal goal.
at CAN, i can now say, unabashedly, without a hint of delusion or grandiosity, yes, i want to inspire you. finally, i’ve showed up to the party in the RIGHT clothes….

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