It is undeniable. The corporate world is undergoing a paradigm shift; it is experiencing a change in its core way of thinking and operating that is both timely and much needed. Far from being wholly transfixed on the bottom line, corporate citizens are slowly
And then there are those who go 10 steps further. Taiwan native Carol Chyau, 28, and Hong Kong native Marie So, 31, met in class at Harvard Kennedy School’s Masters in Public Administration/International Development (MPA/ID) program and shared a common interest in social enterprises – businesses that were not only mindful of the social and environmental contexts that they operated in, they worked with a triple-bottom line (financial, social and environmental targets) in mind where the social and environmental targets remain central to their operations. Drawn to the concept, Chyau and So were keen to spread the idea of ‘social enterprise’ in Greater China where it is still not widely known. They soon realised however that the best way to do so is to start one of their own.
So in 2006, armed with a fiery passion for social enterprises and determination to strike the perfect balance between their love for entrepreneurship, sustainable economic development of people who lack access and choice of opportunities to do so, and community development, the two socially-conscious Harvard graduate students put on their thinking caps and hearts together and eventually created Shokay, a social enterprise that brings together the world of fashion, sustainability and community.
Who we are
According to its website, Shokay (which means Yak down in the Tibetan language) is the world’s first lifestyle brand focused on using yak fibres to create an adult accessories line, knitting yarn and home collection. Sourced directly from Tibetan herders, Shokay enables them to earn a sustainable living and maintain their traditional lifestyle. Currently, it reaches out to 260 households in Hei Ma He Township in China’s Qinghai province.
Chyau explains the working relationship that Shokay has established with these Tibetan herders in detail, “They already have yaks, so on average each herder family has three to four yaks. They use the outer hairs to make tents and they use the soft down to make blankets mixed with other coarser hair. They also use yak’s milk for dairy, and its dung as a source of fuel. So they raise the yaks for all these other purposes, and we source specifically the wool.” In fact, with a limited yield of only about 100g of fibre per yak, Chyau shared that a scarf may take three to four yaks.
After the yak fibre is sourced, the rest of the production process (which includes machine-weaving and machine-knitting the yarn) is carried out outside of these rural communities, because of its sheer volume. Chyau added however that one of Shokay’s goals is to take more and more of the production in a sustainable way back to the community, “Starting from next season, you will see some of our products that are hand-spun so the spinning and the knitting parts will be done by our women’s cooperative of knitters in Chongming Island (near Shanghai).”
Hand-combed during the summertime, when the yaks naturally lose their fine down, yak wool is considered a luxury fibre that remains relatively unknown in the fashion industry. So how did they stumble upon it?
Finding their footing
The journey of Shokay began with an encounter with a local NGO, China Exploration Research Society. Although its primary work is in cultural and environmental preservation, Chyau shared that it was the founder of the local NGO that had inspired them to really look at the yak. “The founder knows so deeply the various needs of the communities in Western China, and he felt that yak was the direction we could go so he pointed us in that direction.” The team was in the Yunnan Province to search for inspiration for social enterprises and had ventured to Western China because they felt that it was a place that had tremendous opportunity and resources that remain undeveloped sustainably.
After that encounter, one thing led to another and the team eventually took the concept and wrote it up in a business plan. The plan eventually earned them the first place in both the 2006 Harvard Business School Business Plan Competition and 2006 Business Development Competition, amounting to about US$50,000 in prize money.
Soon after, they returned to Western China to determine the feasibility of their business plan on the ground. By November 2006, they realised that they had something special in their hands and decided to give it a shot. And that was how Shokay really began.
Finding the perfect balance : business and community
Starting a social enterprise, the women soon discovered was a daunting task. As Chyau reflected, “I think in running a social enterprise, you almost have double the challenge. The success-rate of a start-up company is very low to begin with. You have all these separate challenges. And running community development work is also very difficult and non-profits can struggle for years before they find the right formula with the right way to support the communities.”
But they were always clear in their aim to strike the perfect balance between business and community with Shokay and made sure that they were conscious and targeted in their efforts. Chyau explained, “We said on the first level we have to work on income generation and economic development. And then, second level, is well let’s find out what their needs are and see what kind of resources we can bring together to address their specific needs.”
For example, the majority of products that Shokay makes are machine-woven and machine-knit, which means less people are involved in the production process. But the products sell very well and they drive up revenue that supports Shokay’s community development work that includes a healthcare program that provides awareness training on women’s health issues for the women in these rural communities.
Running a social enterprise : a strategicapproach
In their quest to strike the perfect balance between business and community, Shokay’s founders also quickly realised that being strategic in the running of their social enterprise was key. As entrepreneurs, So and Chyau were never short of ideas and fervour to implement them but in the beginning, it was this strength that proved to be their greatest weakness.
As Chyau shared, “I think for people with ideas, like entrepreneurs, the strength is you have many ideas. The weakness is if you have many ideas and you want to implement them all at once, you end up diverting your resources and you spread yourself too thin.” More recently, Shokay’s founders decided to cut the kids’ product line all together from their line-up starting this season in their goal to be more strategic about what they do from a business standpoint.
As a young social enterprise however, Shokay’s team is constantly learning and it is with the passion and hard work of its people that it has been quickly gathering speed since its inception in 2006.
Looking towards the future
Since 2006, Shokay has been growing steadily. From a business standpoint, it opened its flagship retail store in Shanghai in 2008, giving its customers a bricks-and-mortar alternative to its online Web-store and indirectly purchasing from their distributors in over 10 countries. From a community development standpoint, it has worked with over 200 herding families providing training for them in fibre-sourcing (hand-combing the yak fibre) and improving their access to healthcare.
Looking towards the future, Shokay aims to double or triple the number of households they source fibres from to over 1,000 families next year. The team is also working towards opening more retail stores and expanding its distribution network. More recently this fall, it is starting to partner with several major fashion brands and having them use their designs with Shokay’s yarn to make their products.
Shokay’s founders however are clear about the over-arching goal of their social enterprise. As Chyau explained, “What it really means in the end is that it has enabled us to source for much more…in much greater volume and impact more lives that way.”
Summing up her thoughts, she reflected on her own personal journey as social entrepreneur and in building Shokay: “I’ve devoted my life and my career in the social business, and so I would love to get more people involved, and build solid terms to pursue the many ideas that are out there. But to do so in a sustainable way – sustainable in terms of business, sustainable in terms of personally, and sustainable for the communities that we work with.
“I really feel that the work we do is important but it is not something that can be accomplished in a few years. It is not a sprint but its a marathon and it’s a lifelong journey.”
Chyau added: “I felt that I was born very fortunate to have a good family and a good education but there are many of those who are less fortunate not by choice but because we don’t get to choose what kind of families or environment that we are born into. So because I’ve been so blessed and entrusted and endowed with resources, I felt like it was my responsibility to do something with it. So doing what I do not is a combination of my love for entrepreneurship, for development, for business and all these things mixed together.”
Article was originally published in the Humaneity Magazine, October 2010 issue.