Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times: Asian Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact during COVID-19

ASIA BUSINESS COUNCIL HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 3 2 Esquel Group (Hong Kong) Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times Yang recalls being at MIT in the 1970s, when there was the emergence of an environmental movement around books like Silent Spring and The Limits to Growth . The people in her social circle were very environmentally conscious and very much influenced by these works. So Yang came out of that era where that was the fashionable thing to do, and that influence stayed with her as the environment became worse and worse. Yang’s father also inspired her. A textile chemist by training, he studied chemistry as an undergraduate and did his Master’s degree at Lowell Textile Institute. He used to tell Yang, “The textile industry does not have to pollute. There are ways of doing things better.” After Yang joined Esquel, she found herself at one of the sat- ellite factories and noticed that the fish in the nearby fish- pond had died. When she asked the factory manager about this, he said, “Boss, we are in the textile industry, and this is natural.” But when she went home and asked her father, he responded from a very practical engineering perspective. He said, “That is not so. We can treat it.” So she felt that Esquel should adopt this as the way to work in the company. Yang’s daughter, Dee Poon, is also an environmental champion. In an interview in September, Poon spoke about “50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth,” a book Yang gave her as a child. 2 Poon recalls going into Yang’s office when she was growing up and putting little notes here and there saying “Be careful how much toilet paper you use,” or “Do you need to print that.” 3 It is safe to say that the concern for the environment runs deep in this family, and that they are prepared to act on it. Esquel’s eCulture In fact, the Environment is a core component of the eCulture at Esquel, which also includes Ethics, Exploration, Excellence and Education. Yang credits the eCulture for Esquel’s sustainable mask story. In terms of Ethics, Esquel wanted to help. The mask initiative stemmed from a deeply ingrained ethos of caring for people and the community. Importantly, Esquel was transparent with the limitations of its mask in comparison to a mask that was designed for medical use. The involvement of public health specialists on Esquel’s consulting panel ensured that the company delivered what it promised, but did not promise more than what it could deliver. Exploration is another component of Esquel’s eCulture, and it is worth noting that the sustainable mask, which was ready for shipment within 10 days, was the result of years of R&D and materials science knowledge. As an example, the outer “We had to go through so much pain trying to make the first 300,000 masks, trying to find the chemicals and other materials. We used the interlining from men’s shirts—talk about innovation— because the regular material was not available.”...As of December 2020, Esquel has shipped 43.5 million reusable masks to more than 27 economies worldwide.