Celebrating Green Crew Heroes! Joy Montgomery, Founder of On Screen, & Circular Procurement Specialist
Green The Bid Crew Heroes is a series that highlights individuals who bring sustainable practices to any area of the production process, and seek to inspire others to do the same. Production can’t happen without all crew-members (both on set and off), and the same is true of their support of Green The Bid.
This week Green The Bid’s Jessie Nagel spoke with Joy Montgomery, Founder of On Screen, which specializes in circular procurement, about what it takes to source and and rehouse environmentally responsible wardrobe and props.
J.N. What is your job title and what does that typically involve?
J.M. I’m a Circular Procurement Specialist for the screen industries. I provide a circular approach to buying production materials, considering the whole lifecycle of a product. From purchase in prep, to what happens to it once filming wraps. This involves negotiating best prices on products required by Costume and Art Departments and creating an exit plan as to how we will reuse, resell, or recycle those products once they’re finished with.
J.N. What was the moment that made you decide to transform your career and help mitigate the climate crisis?
J.M. I’ve been sourcing products for films and TV shows since 2010 but it wasn’t until 2019 after attending a Carbon Literacy training event at Bafta that I started asking questions about what happens to all the ‘stuff’ we’ve accumulated once we wrap. I was horrified by the answers: ‘don’t know, put in storage, thrown away’ and mortified that I was a part of the problem. Greta Thunberg was also in the UK around that time, and she really made me think about how my career was impacting the environment. As a mother I knew I had to do my bit to try and reduce my carbon emissions and reverse climate change for future generations.
J.N. How did you evolve what you do to encompass sustainability?
J.M. Initially I sourced products from a wish list given to me by whichever department I was working with, no questions asked. But as time went on, I started recommending eco-friendly alternatives that matched the brief; and was pleasantly surprised by the positive response. To be fair it was an easy sell as sustainable fashion and homeware brands were now as stylish as they were environmentally friendly. But my biggest achievement was negotiating loan agreements with luxury brands which meant we could return products once we’d finished with them. Saving production thousands and reducing waste and carbon emissions.
J.N. What are some things you’d like to become common practice when it comes to costuming and props?
J.M.
Sustainable initiatives discussed in the development stage
Less reliance on virgin materials
Exit plan created in prep to reuse, rehouse, or recycle products
All production materials to be bio-based or made from biodegradable materials
Supporting suppliers who prioritise sustainability, environmental responsibility, and fair trade
Borrowing or renting instead of buying
Sharing platform for unwanted materials
J.N. How can people find good information on authentically sustainable fashion brands? What should they be looking for?
J.M. Luckily, there are lots of organisations around that have done the hard work for us, such as The Costume Directory, Positive Luxury and Project Cece. Alternatively, the Good on You app can tell you how sustainable any brand is. A simple search will show you how they rate based on the conditions in which their clothes are made, the resources that have been used and the impact they’ve had on communities.
Chloe behind the scenes.
J.N. If you could do any other job, in our industry or otherwise, what would you do?
J.M. A Producer! I love the variety and hands on nature of the role. From coming up with a story idea and securing finance, to casting and distribution; and of course, I’d make sure it was a green production from start to finish!
J.N. Do you have a hero in your life past or present? Who are they and why are they your hero?
J.M. My career hero is film and TV producer Jane Hooks. I first worked with Jane in 2014 on The Woman in Black 2 starring Daniel Radcliffe. I was offering a free Personal Shopping service at the time, as a way to get my foot in the door, providing complimentary ‘Welcome to Set’ gifts for ATL talent.
Jane asked me to source gifts again for the cast of MI-5, but this time she asked if I could also help costume find an executive briefcase for one of the characters to use on-screen. It had to look expensive, but they didn’t have any budget left. I quickly found the perfect bag free of charge and Jane took me for lunch as a thank you. She started asking me about my business and how my service worked and was shocked to find out that the brands weren’t paying me either.
Jane made me realise the value of my service and insisted on paying me on the next film we did together, Crooked House with Glend Close. She introduced me as a friend and promoted my service to costume and props, which lead to me sourcing wardrobe from heritage brands for Oscar winning Costume Designer Jenny Beavan.
Since then, we’ve worked on an additional 8 productions together and she has become a mentor as well as a really good friend. Jane’s my hero because she took me under her wing and helped me turn an idea into a business and has been an avid supporter ever since.
Productions I’ve worked on her with.
Gold
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
Living
People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan
Blithe Spirit
Come Away
People Just Do Nothing (TV Movie)
Patrick the Pug
Crooked House
MI-5
Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death
Chloe case study.
----- Are you a crew hero or do you know one? We want to hear from you!
