President/Co-founder, Lotuswear, lotuswear.com
by ERICA GEHRKE
What book is on your bedside table?
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey D. Sachs (Penguin).
How did you come across the book?
I am familiar with his work as I taught gender and development before I started Lotuswear. He tends to steer away from the theoretical and focuses on practical solutions, which is why he has been on the New York Times bestseller list.
What’s the main idea/theme of this book?
It focuses on the imminent need for global change and aims to eradicate unnecessary poverty, uneven distribution of global resources, and disease and famine. The book offers both micro and macro solutions for why the above is necessary, desirable, and achievable.
Page-turner or doorstop?
It is a slow page-turner, as I feel I am contemplating what was said on the former page. His ability to make complex problems understandable is why he has such a great following. Bono is quoted as saying, “God might have given him a voice with an amplifier built in, but it’s the argument that carries the day.”
Would you put it on your Desert Island list?
No, I think I would need a few books on self-sustainability first! Fishing for Dummies and How to Make a Hut and Hammock in Five Days.
If you had to design a poster for the book, what would it look like?
A big picture of the sun with a smile on its face.
Who would you recommend the book to?
This book is for everyone who has a heart and hope in the future. As we are beginning to create a non-profit arm of Lotuswear, I will encourage all Lotuswear employees to circulate it as a discussion point on where we can do more. I feel private business has a great responsibility to be accountable to both local and global solutions for community sustainability.
How would you rate the book, on a scale of 1-10?
It is a 10, a book that makes you feel an intense desire to do more.
