Commitment is at the heart of their activity. These women and men are inspired by the world to act differently and sustainably, and to make their environment a path of expression, creativity, innovation or solidarity. Finance, culture, crafts, industry and the media are all fields embodied by these personalities, who have agreed to take part in the Proust questionnaire La Mèche. What are their lasting secrets? For you, they "let la mèche out of the bag".
Production: Cornland Studio
After obtaining a master's degree in international relations, Marie spent the first 15 years of her career in the luxury industry, particularly in the watch and jewelry industry. There she gained experience in store management, marketing, strategy, product development and brand creation at an international level.
In 2018, she co-founded a watch brand within a large Swiss group that offers a committed and responsible vision of business. This experience allowed her to refocus on the planet, to put herself at its service and to explore new perspectives in terms of management and governance. She broadened her vision of the role of the company within its ecosystem, and then chose to become a catalyst for the transformation towards a society that acts for a more responsible and sustainable economy.
Marie founded La Mèche in 2020, an ecosystem dedicated to impact whose mission is to inform, connect and support change agents, citizens and organizations, through a consulting agency, a media, a social network and events. It is now dedicated to this paradigm shift towards which we must all converge and works daily to make people and organizations aware of their power to act and to make the business world a positive force, leaving a better world for future generations.
"Albert Einstein said that you cannot solve a problem with the same way of thinking that generated the problem. The world that is preparing for the world of tomorrow must reinvent its codes of consumption, marketing, communication, management, law, seduction, production, living together... The world of tomorrow must find a balance between what it consumes and the capacity to renew nature's resources. This world will be biocentric, regenerative and fair. »
Transcript
Who are you and what do you do in life?
My name is Marie and I am the creator of La Mèche, which is a digital platform dedicated to impact and whose mission is to inform individuals and organizations, to create an ecosystem that brings these two spheres together to generate collaboration, information, education and action.
What is your current state of mind?
Optimistic like most of the time in my life. I prefer to see the positive side of things because I think it's more driving than pessimism or defeatism. So very optimistic but still realistic because we have big challenges ahead of us.
How did your desire to get involved come about, what was the trigger?
I was lucky enough to grow up in the countryside so I was very close to nature and aware of its importance. This was transmitted to me by my parents and grandparents. But the real trigger for a strong commitment, which has now become my life's mission in a professional capacity, was a few years ago when I had the opportunity to co-create a brand and reinvent the way we did things. It was a watch brand and we had the opportunity to reinvent the way we made watches and to propose another paradigm, to propose something different, more conscious and more reasoned. That was the trigger for me to say "this is my mission". I searched for it for a long time, I finally found it and I am delighted.
How does this commitment manifest itself on a daily basis?
Personally, I would say that it's really a journey because you become aware and then little by little you integrate behaviors, changes, improvements and it's really a learning process every day. I try to be aware every day of my actions and the impact they can have. And as a professional, one of the missions of La Mèche is to bring light and inform people. I want to make sure that people are informed, that they are educated and that more and more of them embrace this awareness and act.
In your job or in this project, how do you integrate the notion of sustainability?
It's really for me at all stages. If we talk about business now, it's really through the whole value chain that we have to be conscious: from the conception of things, whether it's a product or a project, to its delivery and its end of life. It's a process of reflection to begin with, it's a way of thinking and always designing with an awareness of the consequences and obviously trying to have the least impact possible. On a personal level as well as on a professional level, without describing exactly what I do, it is to try to have the least impact possible and to have the most positive impact possible.
What are the biggest issues you face?
In general and in my past experience, it is the change of mindset and I think it is the biggest challenge today for society to create a new society with new values. The change of culture in companies as well as in homes, the idea of doing a reboot of our processor and thinking things differently.
What does preserving the planet mean to you?
Preserving the planet means offering a future to the generations to come, it means taking responsibility for what we have been able to do and then making sure, to the extent that we can, that future generations not only can exist but can live the life that we have been able to have and enjoy it as much as we have. Obviously once again in a reasoned way with another way of consuming and conceiving consumption and society.
What environmental action makes you feel good?
Getting around by bike is good for me in every sense of the word because it makes me exercise and it makes me feel free and at the same time it gives me that "feel good" feeling of not being burning oil.
What would your green or sustainable motto be?
I don't really have a motto, it's what I apply every day, this notion of responsibility, of awareness and then reflection on the consequences of our actions and what it implies for others. It's really this notion of just being open to others and not being only focused on oneself and one's own well-being. This collective consciousness is very important to me and that's what I want to achieve, to contribute to the growth of this collective consciousness.
What is your idea of happiness?
Over the years I have evolved. My idea of happiness a few years ago was tomorrow's happiness, the happiness that is on the horizon, the happiness to come that we always imagine to be perfect! Today it is really the present moment, living the present moments fully and making the best of them.
Your idea of fun?
Shared!
How can we act at an individual level to make a difference?
Very much so! I fully respect the fact that there are different levels of commitment. There is the systemic level where there are major issues, regulations to be put in place and obviously the States have a big role to play. That's where it has to happen, but it's at all levels: at the business level, at the industry level, and at the individual level. It is important that people understand, and I think that most people are not aware of the power they can have on the evolution of things: on the evolution of brands, products, consumption patterns. If tomorrow the whole of Switzerland, or the whole of Europe we'll say to see things in a big way, decides to stop buying fast fashion, decides to stop buying a 10 francs t-shirt every two weeks, what will happen? There will necessarily be a questioning that will have to be done. It is done but it is done slowly and I think that individuals often underestimate the power they can have on the evolution of things as an individual. It's a bit easy to say "yes, but if I do something, it's no use". It's not, it's really the sum of everyone's actions that will make it happen.
What is your utopia?
My utopia is a real utopia! I think it's terribly unfair, everyone should be able to eat, to sleep, to be happy and not only to be able to provide for their basic needs but also to be able to live a life, to have beautiful stories, beautiful encounters, much more futile things too. My utopia is that there should be much more equality. I find it really terrible to see that the more we are in need the more things and events have a negative impact. This is really my absolute dream.
And there concretely, in a more realistic way, the three indispensable things to change the world?
I would say collaboration, and at all levels. I think that today there is still too much compartmentalization between government authorities, industries, business in general and individuals because the solutions must be found together and must take into account the constraints and problems of each. It is by listening to each other that we will be able to find solutions. There is also humility and this is important because I think that this is not at all a trait of the capitalist world today. So less egoism, more humility, much more empathy and then maybe like that we will succeed.
What would the world of tomorrow with its constituent communities look like?
For me, the world of tomorrow will have changed its codes. It will have changed its codes of consumption, communication, marketing, business, finance and it will have understood that if we continue like this we won't make it, that's important. I come back to this question of state of mind, we really need to change our mindset. And then more benevolence and solidarity and less egocentricity and selfishness. I think that this propensity to want everything for ourselves, to want to get the most out of society without considering others is a huge problem. I hope that tomorrow's communities will be more sensitive and that we will also come to understand that the human being is a part of the whole but not the master of everything.
You too can tell us your stories that can inspire us all! If you want to try your hand at the Proust questionnaire or share your experience, your commitment, your tips or your gripes, go to the "Share with us" discussion forum on the La Mèche platform:
