Cyndi Rhoades

Cyndi Rhoades set up Anti-Apathy to help people understand the impact of their everyday choices and live sustainably. The organisation was not so much a business idea, says Cyndi, as an evolution of her personal values and passions. “The job I wanted to do didn’t really exist a few years ago,” Cyndi says, “So I created it myself.”

Anti-Apathy started life as a series of evening events, combining issues and entertainment and bringing together musicians, artists, politicians and social commentators. The aim was to engage a wider audience in key global issues like climate change and poverty by making the debates around these issues lively, engaging and accessible.

Anti-Apathy now celebrates and supports people making positive changes in their lives. The organisation is behind projects like The Nag, a site where the well-intentioned but chronically lazy can sign up to receive an email a month explaining a simple and easy way to be greener and change lives.

The Nag is a perfect example of how Anti-Apathy uses humour to engage with people who might feel too cynical or even guilt-ridden towards social and environmental issues to change their lifestyle. For example, if saving the world isn’t enough of a draw, The Nag also enters new supporters into a monthly “crap prize draw”. The chance to win a slightly chipped ceramic pig with oversized umbrella is a particularly compelling reason this month to sign up and help change the world one click at a time.

Alongside Anti-Apathy’s activities, Cyndi collaborated with Galahad Clark (from the Clark’s footwear family dynasty and Director of eco-shoe company Terra Plana) to create Worn Again footwear and accessories. Worn Again rescues materials headed for landfill and “upcycles” them into sought-after products. Seat belts, post-Glastonbury tents, bicycle tires, parachutes… There is no material too weird and wonderful to be Worn Again in bag and shoe form. The brand’s Worn Again Virgin bags, made from recycled Virgin Atlantic Airline seat covers, have been a particular hit with both fashion followers and the media.

Continuing the ethical fashion connection, Anti-Apathy (along with partners Ethical Fashion Forum and Futerra) are also behind the RE:Fashion Awards, the world’s first awards to celebrate improving social and environmental standards in the fashion industry. The 2008 Awards will take place on 13th November at the Shoreditch Town Hall.

Cyndi on the birth of Anti-Apathy and the future of enterprise:

How did you get your first break?

There hasn’t been one big break. The incremental successes make the hard times worth it – they validate your reasoning for doing what you do and give you the energy and inspiration to work for something you believe will make a difference in the world. It’s extremely rewarding to be doing work which reflects my personal values and has real meaning. It may be tough at times, but I’d have it no other way.

Have you ever worked for someone else?

During my first few years of employment, I worked at restaurants and bars, but since then, I have always been freelance, as a film maker and carried on film making while starting up my own businesses. I think I would shrivel up and die if I had to work for a large company in a typical 9 to 5, especially if I didn’t believe in its wider vision and purpose. I don’t look at the work I do as ‘work’. Although it can sometimes be extremely stressful and take up every breathing moment, I am able to be creative in my work and take chances.

What would your advice be to someone thinking about setting up their own business?

My advice for someone setting up his or her own business is to make sure it is something they are doing because they feel the world needs it, not just an opportunity to make a fortune. The world is changing quickly and I strongly believe that the businesses which are being set up to solve problems and address social, economic and environmental injustices are the ones which will take us into the 21st century, and survive. If you fail along the way, you learn. In the end, determination will get you a long way.