Benny Yuen | Founder of EARTH.er — Telling the story of this land with my heart
Benny is a designer living in Tai O. He has created an environmentally conscious fashion brand with a “Tai O/Hong Kong is our home” theme while being cognizant of environmental and social issues around the world.
“Perhaps a lot of people think that Hong Kong is in the worst of times, but I don’t think so. I feel an unprecedented unity and a strong sense of self-identity for Hongkongers. ”
Journalist: Sara
Photos: provided by interviewee
Editorial: Zucchhi, Fuigei, Flore Herbe, JM
My family started living in Tai O three generations ago, but I’ve actually grown up in the city. After graduating eight years ago, I wanted to have my own creative space and thought of the old house my grandmother left behind, so I moved to Tai O and created my eco-friendly fashion brand, EARTH.er.
EARTH.er’s concept is to experience the world as a starting point, creating designs to make the best use of the products using environmentally friendly materials. By hiring workers in developing countries to make products by hand at reasonable prices, and donating partial proceeds towards sponsoring children in poverty, EARTH.er hopes to convey information about environmentally friendly and fair trade practices.
Perhaps consumption is unavoidable, but we hope to provide Hongkongers with another choice to transform resources we have on hand into sustainable power that we can transfer to people in need around the world.
EARTH.er is like shrimp paste
I really like the rural areas. After moving to Tai O, I’ve discovered that life here is very close to the life that I’ve always wanted.
Simplicity has been preserved here. There are no 24-hour convenience stores, supermarkets or large chain stores, only small shops. In the mornings, it’s natural to greet neighbours on the streets. At night, based purely on the trust between neighbours, it’s not necessary to lock doors. Life here is comfortable and laid back. The atmosphere is liberating for the soul and, combined with the tight-knit community, are all things I could rarely experience in the city.
EARTH.er sometimes leaves Tai O for pop up or consignment stores for a “moving from Tai O to the city” concept. Many regular customers recognise us as being from Tai O, just like they recognise shrimp paste as being synonymous with Tai O. The small fishing village of Tai O is close to the brand’s concept as it is relaxed and laid back where customers can chat and relax. Thus, the brand and Tai O are deeply interconnected.
To feel the value of others with your heart
Some customers, upon knowing that the products are handcrafted by Nepali or Northern Thai villagers, immediately think that the products are not worth the price. They even think that these products are cheap. However, I think that there is no difference between these villagers and us. We are all human beings so their time is equally precious; therefore, I insist upon fair trade principles when collaborating with them, respecting their handcrafts and their worth as humans.
There was once a customer who described the linen product that her boyfriend was holding in his hands in depth. The boyfriend felt the product for a long time and I curiously approached them. He explained to me that he was visually impaired and couldn’t see the product clearly, but really liked it. Feeling the texture of the linen was as if he could feel the Nepali women’s hands from twisting and winding the thread to the weaving of the cloth.
I was spontaneously moved upon hearing his words, realising that through my designs, not only had I brought back products from Nepal to Hong Kong, but I also brought the warmth of the villagers, connecting those villagers’ hands with a particular Hongkonger. Mechanical production cannot give us this kind of connection. I think perhaps closing the distance between people and letting them feel each other’s presence is my duty as a designer.
It’s the worst and best era
I’m asked occasionally if I’m afraid of being the talk of the town for having such a distinct stance. To me, the creation of this brand is to bring environmentally friendly and fair trade information to others. When many large scale events happen in Hong Kong, I’m simply hoping to express my concern for society through this personal space. There will be people who hold opposing stances, of course, but we do not need to argue or become hostile over this. We need to explain our ideas and thoughts instead to keep up the good neighbourly relationships.
Perhaps a lot of people think that Hong Kong is in the worst of times, but I don’t think so. I feel an unprecedented unity and a strong sense of self-identity for Hongkongers. The real world is dark and terrifying and will cause us to be pessimistic about the future, but pessimism is not akin to negativity. As long as each person works hard at their posts, turning past suffering into nutrition for growth, maintaining unity and not giving up on each other, we will see the dawn someday.
“I am Benny Yuen, I am a HKer.”
Support our Journalism with a Contribution
Many people might not know this, but despite our large team of contributors, which we are immensely grateful for, We Are HKers is still a small bootstrapped group that runs on no outside funding and loans. Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities, time, meals and sleep to help give HKers all over the world a voice and keep our culture alive.
However, we still face many trials in the running of our platform, from finding the necessary equipment for our video interviews, to subscribing to the necessary tools to facilitate our remote work process of our global team, to trying not to get fired from our main jobs as we run this project secretly in the background, and to keeping our platform running and storing our files securely.
We hope you consider making a contribution, so we can continue to provide you with moving stories of HKers all over the world and keep our heritage and culture alive. Even a £1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for everyone’s support. We love you all and can’t appreciate you guys enough.
**Please note that your support of We Are HKers Ltd. does NOT constitute a charitable donation. We really appreciate your support in independent journalism. If you have any questions about contributing to We Are HKers, please contact us here.
- February 2022
- December 2021
- August 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
This article was featured on Apply Daily English Version. See the article @ https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20201114/ZEJ5BROODZA3JJ7PHLIAD63XWE/