Braving wind and rain, some 6,000 people headed to Marina Barrage for the return of Singapore’s sustainable living festival, EarthFest, on Sunday, February 12.
It is second year that EarthFest has been held in the city-state.
The event featured a planet-friendly food fair that sold food produced using less water - and no palm oil - as well as stalls to swap clothing and books, and a maker’s fair for green products.
There were talks on sustainable living and environmental issues, such as climate change and deforestation, to raise the profile of sustainability in Singapore, and philanthropist network Awesome Foundation held a competition for entrepreneurs to win S$1,000 in backing for sustainability-themed ideas.
The event was promoted only using digital media (no paper pamphlets) and brought together businesses, government agencies and non-governmental organisations including water authority PUB, Animal Allies, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, the Vegetarian Society of Singapore and Green Is The New Black.
“It often takes somebody just to be that first catalyst that starts it, and then people get on board and they’re interested [in sustainability],” said EarthFest founder Michael Broadhead.
“There is positive progress, especially among the younger generations - they’re really concerned about sustainability. We see a lot of them starting to form groups in schools,” he said.
Jessica Cheam, managing editor of Eco-Business, noted: “You can tell that consumer awareness of sustainable products and responsible businesses is increasing in Singapore, because you get a festival like this, which has never happened in Singapore.”
