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Nature-first booze brand expands into festivals
Revolutionary spirit maker Evrythng is changing the way business is done, one gin bottle at a time.
The Welsh not-for-profit has found its spirit home in Bristol where its climate-conscious approach has been adopted by a range of establishments.
Already found behind bars ranging from the Old Duke jazz pub to the Arnolfini art gallery and Nadu Sri Lankan eatery on Gloucester Road, the brand has now announced they will be a vodka supplier at Shambala festival.
“Chasing personal wealth is for dinosaurs,” and leaves a bad taste leaves a bad taste in light of social and environmental problems the world is facing today says Evrythng founder James Law
Taking a pragmatic approach to solving the climate crisis, Evrythng gives 100 per cent of its profits to active, on-the-ground nature restoration projects such as those run by the Wildlife Trusts.
With the attitude that “giving all your money to millionaires is weird” – in reference to the operations of big name booze brands and the ‘business as usual’ approach of corporates – the company proudly works on a no shareholders, no dividends, no corporate reinvestment schemes basis.
Instead they are solely focused on ‘great drinks funding real solutions to the ecological crisis’.
Founder James Law has designed what he says is a radical model which minimises operational costs to maximise what is given to nature.
He has pioneered an open accounting system which means consumers can view the movement of every pound through the company, and operates a pay-on-performance system with no fixed salaries, expense accounts or marketing budgets draining resources before profit can be released.
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Law sees festivals as a perfect home for his brand, inspiring creative solutions to pervasive problems like the climate crisis.
Alongside Shambala, Evrythng will be supplying gin, rum and vodka to Green Man and Green Gathering in Wales.
“Festivals are where we gather to feel something bigger,” he said. “They’re perfect places to challenge old assumptions, learn from each other and grow as a community.
“The idea that profit always needs to flow to shareholders or disappear into offshored bank accounts is so ingrained that we’ve forgotten that there is another way. What we do is simple, we make great things that you love to drink and then give all the profit to those who fix things”.
Shambala, run by Bristol’s Kambe Events with a distinctly eco-minded ethos that includes plant-based catering, sustainable energy, climate talks and food waste composting, could not be a better fit for Evrythng.
“Yes we make our drinks in the Welsh Hills using the famous water of the Rhondda Valley, but Bristol has always been our second home,” said Law.
“Ever since we landed in our first BS1 venue, the Arnolfini, we’ve seen doors open across the city so that now we’re stocked everywhere from the Plough in Easton to Lupe in Bedminster.
“We’d like to say thank you to all the Bristol owners and operators and to the team at Shambala for taking us on and allowing us to spread our message”.
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Environment organisations receive the lowest level of funding, at around two per cent globally, of all charitable causes.
With over five million people attending UK festivals this year, there is potential to raise significant amounts of money for environmental causes from bars without any sacrifice from consumers.
“If the groups doing the real work of fixing the planet need serious funding, and we can’t count on governments or big business to provide it, then why not take a chunk of the profits those businesses create and give all of it to the cause?” said Law.
“The Evrythng model is like tapping a champagne fountain at a billionaire’s party and using it to water a community garden.
“For centuries, big businesses across the world have been able to use natural resources to create vast amounts of wealth for their executives and shareholders and it’s these actions that have dug the climate hole we find ourselves in.
“Our simple approach is to change the last step of this system, so that the profit created when we all buy the things we need in our weekly shop is used to fund solutions instead.”
Find Evrything drinks in the Old Duke, Small Bar, the Kings Head, the Barley Mow, Lupe Bar & Kitchen, the Plough Inn, the Good Measure, the Arnolfini, the Junction and Nadu.
All images: Evrythng
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