Key Note Speaker: Annuska Toebast-Wensink
Annuska is a bridge-builder between science and practice, translating academic insight into real-world impact. She holds an MA in Business Communication and an MSc in Business Strategy from Radboud University Nijmegen, complemented by a semester at UC Berkeley. She is also a certified NLP trainer. With a background in marketing, communication, and consumer behavior, Annuska helps professionals move beyond understanding sustainability to actively applying it in their work. She believes meaningful impact occurs when knowledge is translated into action.
Her career spans consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, strategic portfolio management at ABN AMRO, and entrepreneurship as the founder of a sustainable fashion brand. These experiences gave her firsthand insight into the challenges of sustainable production, market positioning, and collaboration across value chains. Currently, Annuska is a lecturer at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, where she teaches sustainable marketing, and a trainer specializing in meaningful behavior change. Her PhD focused on how to encourage sustainable consumer behavior.
Nathan Goddefroy – Second Life leader Decathlon Belgium
Passionate about sports, innovation and business I joined Decathlon in 2013 after finishing my studies in Business Engineering at the University of Ghent. Having had quite the traditional ‘retail’ career path, I enjoyed my time as store leader of the store in Ghent between 2016 and 2018, leading a fundamental human transformation centered around boosting intrapreneurship. After taking a break of 6 months to travel in South-America I returned to Decathlon wanting to change the company from within from a sustainability perspective. Having worked on the co-creation of our international vision towards 2030 (in 2020) where sustainability was key I came back to Belgium in 2021 to focus on CO2 calculation. Beginning 2025 I joined the circular economy team, exploring the short-term rental model first. Today I have the responsibility to scale-up our Second Life project, a key model in reducing our environmental impact and boosting economic performances.
Martine Ernoux – Senior Creative at INDIGO BLUE CREATION
“Martine Ernoux is a designer and artisan specialising in materials, colour and plant-based dyes. For over 20 years, she has been exploring the creative and ethical possibilities of natural dyes, constantly seeking alternative solutions that respect the environment and society.
At the head of Espace Indigo and Indigo Blue Création, she has developed an artistic practice that combines textile creation, reflection on the uses of natural materials, and the transmission of traditional and contemporary know-how. Martine runs workshops on plant dyeing, indigo and natural fibre colouring techniques, both in her own studio and in partnership with external venues.
As a teacher and lecturer (notably at ESA in Textile Design and ITA), she shares her expertise with an intergenerational audience, inviting everyone to discover the richness of colours, textures and the dialogue between nature and creativity.“
Adeline Fery – Co-Founder Fil & Fringue
After I graduated in fashion design, I worked as an intern for several Belgian designers and coordinated a big event about fashion in Liège, Echiquier Mode. I always loved fashion and clothing but at a very young age, I became aware of the environmental impact of fashion and the toxic industry that it can be on a human level. In 2021, I opened a shop in my hometown, Liège, with a focus on sustainability and good social practices. We made a list of criteria such as the use of natural and organic fabrics, ethical certifications, local production when possible, low-impact transportation… At WeCo Store, customers can expect respect and transparency. We have a large selection of clothes and accessories for men and women through which we show that ethical and sustainable fashion can be stylish and colorful. Besides bigger brands, we are very proud to showcase products by small-scale local designers. Two years ago, I co-founded Fil & Fringue, a non-profit aiming to bring together responsible textile producers and retailers in Liège.
