Franz Kuttelwascher:

“Everything is connected to the universe”

He doesn't want to preach, but to enlighten: What do people need, what could be left out?

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

In his new series "The Land of Volunteering", author Robert Schneider brings people in front of the curtain who are committed to helping others - this time Franz Kuttelwascher tells him about his commitment to the CONSOLNOW association.

We don't shake hands when we greet him. Instead, he folds them in front of his chest and bows, whispering "Namaste", the Indian greeting that comes from Sanskrit and means something like "bow to you". Naturally, I am curious to know why he greets me in this way. Franz Kuttelwascher, chairman of the CONSOLNOW association, which stands for "Konsumentensolidarität - Jetzt" (consumer solidarity - now), answers soberly and pragmatically. "I haven't caught a cold since I started greeting people like this. Quite simply."

The association he heads was founded in 2012 by Hubert Feuerstein and six other supporters. The aim was and is to promote a fair, social and ecological economy through conscious consumer behavior. It is about raising awareness of a new consumer culture that is to be gradually implemented through solidarity among consumers. It is about the regional and global promotion of justice, peace and the preservation of natural resources, as the association's statutes state.

Going to work instead of university
Franz immediately offers me the first name. He grew up in Braunau. He smiles painedly when he mentions this place by name, and you can tell that he has had to listen to a lot about it. His surname is also unusual, but it doesn't come from the word "Kutte", but from the cow's gizzard: "Kutteln". Franz went to school in Braunau, graduated from HAK and took his A-levels, and wanted to go to university, but his father died. His mother was left alone with four children and a low income. So he had to go to work.

Franz Kuttelwascher is committed to conscious consumption.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

 He applied for a job at a small advertising agency in Munich. "At first, I was the goof for everything there, from running errands to making coffee." He then moved to Stuttgart, where he worked his way up to Creative Director at another advertising agency. In 1994, he set up his own business and in 1997, after meeting his wife, he moved to Vorarlberg. He is still active in the advertising industry and is well aware of the often merciless market practices. "Today, I have the arrogance to only work with customers whose products I really stand behind. There's an organic retailer, a toolmaker who specializes in long-term, sustainable products, an organic hotel in the Kleines Walsertal valley, and so on. That fits in with my inner idea, which also has something to do with the association. I no longer have to bend over backwards. Besides, if you still can't choose things after thirty years of self-employment, you've done something wrong anyway."

The collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory in Bangladesh in 2013, when over a thousand seamstresses lost their lives, gave him the impetus to think outside the box. Although ominous cracks had been detected in the eight-storey building the day before, the factory operators forced the employees to go back to work. The large factory had mainly produced clothing for export. These included brands such as Primark, Benetton and C&A.

 "When I saw the pictures of this disaster on the internet, I felt really anxious. I suddenly realized that we think far too little about what our consumer behavior actually triggers," says Franz, becoming passionate. "In our rich, fat Europe, we often only consume for substitute satisfaction. According to the motto: I make myself happy through consumption. But we don't even think about what that does to the environment, the transportation routes and the unfair working conditions."

Franz Kuttelwascher immediately adds: "Don't get me wrong. I don't feel like Jesus walking here on earth and wanting to proselytize. There are so many things in my daily life where I think I don't need to be. But I like to ride my motorcycle in the summer, I'm sometimes too lazy to browse through yet another store in Vorarlberg and I shop online instead. I'm not a saint. I say that at every lecture. I am also on the way. However, it's the small steps that get me further, and it's precisely these alternative steps that we try to bring closer to people through the lectures and key topics that we offer in the association. Forty years ago, there was no supermarket that sold organic food. But at some point, one or two people started asking about it. And there were more and more. Today, no supermarket can afford not to offer organic food. Thirty years ago or more, people who only traveled by train or bus were almost pitied. The poor can't afford a car. That's what I mean by small steps. Everyone always has to decide for themselves. We consumers hold the greatest power against all the corporations in the world in our hands by simply saying: No. I won't buy it. I don't need it. CONSOLNOW is about creating this kind of awareness."

The earth cannot continue to grow. It's not getting any bigger. And we have nothing else far and wide.

Franz Kuttelwascher

I like listening to him, Franz, because he talks about himself and his work in such an atypical way, without pointing a finger. As a person, he places himself in the contradiction between actual and artificially generated demand. The association now has over 250 members, including around 40 companies. Franz is in his second term of office and hopes that he can continue to do this and motivate people for a long time to come. And he seems very confident: "It's all linked to the universe. If I could look down on Earth from the ISS, I would only see what I already know. The Earth cannot continue to grow. It's not getting any bigger. And we have nothing else far and wide."

I shake his hand as we say goodbye. Oh yes, I remember, he doesn't shake hands. But his short bow with his hands folded in front of his chest and the whispered "Namaste" seem just as authentic to me.