Jonas Reyes Forsberg is a family man, business owner and consultant, with nearly two decades of hands-on experience from business development in Sweden and Bangladesh.
Jonas is a problem solver, often driven by frustration or anger. When faced with the fact that most consumer goods are produced without regards to workers rights or the environment, he tried to start his own factory to prove that there is another way. When he couldn’t find a book keeping firm who spoke (and charged) according to the needs of small business owners, he started his own book keeping company.
Today Jonas co-owns a book keeping company, runs a consultancy firm for business development within food and retailing, and speaks about business development as a frame within which profit, human rights and environmental sustainability all need to fit.
redQ
In 2007, Jonas and his friend Anders Sandlund wanted to show that it was possible to produce goods without harming workers or the environment. They started redQ, their own factory in Bangladesh, producing carpets and baskets for the Swedish market. Employees were given training on workers rights, and hands on guidance on how to run a local union. Salaries, working hours and benefits were set in negotiations with elected union representatives. All raw materials were grown without agricultural chemicals or irrigation. The production was done without chemicals. redQ, albeit under new ownership, still sells products to Swedish home interior chains.