Tori Richard: A Blue Zones Project Approved Worksite with Passions Beyond Fashion 

How Tori Richard’s The Good Life (TGL) and Corporate Citizenship Council (CCC) strategically foster well-being culture at work and in the community

Iconic print and resort wear designer, Tori Richard, registered with Blue Zones Project Hawai‘i in August 2019, committing the last three years to earning the coveted Blue Zones Project Approved^® worksite designation. Most of us are familiar with the phrase, “time is of the essence,” meaning that something needs doing immediately; but sufficient time is also essential, indeed paramount, to a functional and enduring design. Whether it’s aloha shirts or a well-being program that garners genuinely enthusiastic participation, we acknowledge that quality takes time to develop. After all, the Tori Richard brand has been 60 years in the making and it's only gotten better with time.

Visiting their Kalihi headquarters where administration, art and design, manufacturing, and distribution all occur, one will see a really cool work environment with cute garden beds, pickle ball courts, a rooftop kitchen and an outdoor dining area (pictured below). But these amenities alone don’t make a healthy workforce – the secret to Tori Richard’s success lies in their organizational prowess and diversity of activities that colleagues can get excited about.

Founded in 2019, The Good Life (TGL) is the name and title of Tori Richard’s internal wellness committee and program, whose over-arching intention is to create a holistic approach to well-being by empowering individuals on their path of personal excellence through education and activities that support a wholesome lifestyle. That’s their mission statement – concise and to the point. Their foundational and strategic approach is based on the National Wellness Institute’s Six Dimensions of Wellness: emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual – which parallels with Blue Zones Project’s Power9^®?

TGL is led by three champions, each tasked with devising missions, goals and objectives based on two of the six wellness dimensions. With guidance from their peers, they created a marketing campaign, project timeline, communication/implementation plan, and evaluation methods (from TGL’s Strategic Plan). To measure their success, they assessed employee well-being (with Blue Zones Project's parent company's Sharecare RealAge Test), culture and morale, retention and attraction, engagement, and job satisfaction. Examples of TGL’s programming include family-fun days, nutrition education, and healthy office snacks, as pictured below.

Predating TGL and founded in 2018, Tori Richard’s Corporate Citizenship Council (CCC) conducts what companies refer to as “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR). The CCC is “committed to ethical behavior and practices and changes toward sustainability [as] our primary drivers. Our time and efforts will go toward playing a part in the betterment of society and our environment” (CCC Strategic Plan).

Above: Tori Richard team and family members enjoy a day at the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation’s Learning Farm in Haleiwa

Above left to right: donating 25 boxes of clothes to the Institute for Human Services; volunteering with River of Life Mission to feed those in need; donating gifts to Helping Hands Hawaiʻi’s Adopt a Family Program

As you can tell, the CCC has been responsible for a lot of engagement, so when the need for organizers dedicated to internal well-being programming became apparent in 2019, TGL was born. Both TGL and the CCC are employee-led teams that have positive side effect on members in the form of professional development as many do not previously have backgrounds in business and strategic planning, project management, and marketing. But because executives and company culture provide the right conditions and resources for both to grow and develop, TGL and the CCC are able to successfully fulfill their respective yet complementary missions. Moreover, both groups are led by genuinely passionate and purpose-driven members, who in turn attract and empower colleagues who likewise value health and happiness for themselves and their community.

Congratulations to Tori Richard for earning Blue Zones Project Approved Worksite status and for making Hawai‘i a healthier, happier place to live, work and play.