Bling without the sin
A documentary about a sustainable underdog in the cutthroat diamond business.
Remember back when sustainability was just for hippie tree huggers? Those days are over. Today, even high-end fine jewellery brands are going green. No surprise, according to Bernd Damme: ‘If you look carefully at the entire supply chain, it’s not that shiny.” House of Eléonore sells laboratory created diamonds sourced in an ethical and transparent way. However, challenging the establishment is no easy task.
In the brand new documentary series ‘Fix the World and Make Money’ filmmakers Erik Loots & Linda Vermaat share the inspiring stories of six social entrepreneurs from all over the globe. We follow the entrepreneurs on their road to success; from disillusion and despair to hope and excitement. On the 25th of September the episode ‘Bling without the sin’ will be released in partnership with Amsterdam Capital Week and online on TwentieFour’s Youtube channel.
The stones are identical
House of Eléonore is a joint venture of the famed Dutch jewellery house Royal Asscher, known for catering diamonds to Europe’s royal families. Serial entrepreneur Bernd Damme became the CEO of House of Eléonore at the age of 25. Crafting laboratory made diamonds into beautiful jewellery pieces is no different from natural diamonds. The stones are identical, even on an atomic level.
Innovation = fear
The more established retailers were less than pleased with the arrival of the fine jewellery startup. Bernd: “You get hate mail when you start working with laboratory created diamonds”. Unfortunately after three hard years of being the sustainable underdog in this old-fashioned industry, House of Eléonore didn’t make it. Due to a lack of investment they stopped at the end of June 2018.
Behind the scenes
In every episode, filmmakers Erik Loots & Linda Vermaat follow one “Fix the World” founder for 24 hours non-stop, resulting in an intimate look inside in their home and work life. The focus of this series is not doomsday threat of climate change or capitalism. Instead, meet the dreamers, pioneers and go-getters that have chosen entrepreneurship as their weapon for change.
The power of good business
‘Fix the World and Make Money’ is the first international documentary series by production company TwentieFour. By celebrating unconventional social businesses from around the world they want to inspire people not to give up; on themselves or on a better world. Innovation and positive change is happening, not just in Silicon Valley, but also in India, Peru and Amsterdam.
Other episodes in the series
Edible Cutlery — Spoons vs plastic pollution
Narayana Peesapaty (India) wants to reverse our dependency on plastic by providing an alternative; edible cutlery. A brilliant invention that almost didn’t survive huge financial backlash. A story about perseverance and good karma.
Dr Bronner’s- All One
Mike and David Bronner (United States) run a multimillion dollar organic soap brand that gives most of it’s profits back to their employees and charitable causes. The business seems to prosper, but how easy is it to run a business with your entire family?
Laboratoria- Code your way out of poverty
Mariana Costa Checa (Peru) educates young underprivileged women to become competitive web developer to escape poverty. How do these women fair in their new environment and will they get a good job?
Erika Lust — Is feminist porn hot?
Is porn by definition chauvinistic and racist? Feminist and independent adult filmmaker Erika Lust (Spain) believes it doesn’t have to be and is providing a friendly alternative.
Note for the editors
Download press kit
Interested in interviewing one of the entrepreneurs or the filmmakers?
Please contact:
Linda Vermaat
linda@twentiefour.com
Tel: +31 6 24214970
Check out our website for more information. We can share other episodes, trailers and press releases upon request.
About TwentieFour
Video production company TwentieFour was founded by creative couple Erik Loots and Linda Vermaat. They write and produce (long and short form) films and commercials for companies and organisations making this world a better place. Erik is an independent filmmaker and Linda works as impact start-up scout and moderator. They came up with the idea for this documentary on their third date in Marrakech. They are married and expecting their first child in the Fall.
This series is a co-production with BrightVibes, a media platform for positive news and stories with a global reach of more than 1,5 million.
We would love to thank Triple for their support and faith in our project. Triple is the innovative digital partner voor A-list brands. Schalk & Lex, without you this could not have been possible.
