Geneco pieces together a message of second chances

Geneco is turning the Japanese art of Kintsugi ('golden joinery') into a metaphor for rebuilding family relationships in its latest campaign, spotlighting families separated by incarceration and the role strong family ties can play in rehabilitation.

Titled "Forevermore", the festive campaign was launched in partnership with Yellow Ribbon Project, Awful Grace and Families for Life, and centres on a collection of Kintsugi pottery pieces created by individuals with experiences of incarceration.

Kintsugi is the Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold, embracing cracks rather than attempting to conceal them. Geneco is using the practice to represent how relationships affected by incarceration can be repaired while acknowledging the experiences that have shaped them.

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The pottery pieces were created as part of Awful Grace's 14-week programme, "The journey", which uses trauma-informed reflection and creative expression to support incarcerated individuals and their families.

Participants were guided through the process of crafting, deliberately breaking and repairing their pottery, with each creating a piece for someone significant in their life. The programme culminated in an open visit where participants were able to reunite with their families and share their completed pieces.

The campaign comes as the impact of incarceration on families, particularly children, remains a concern. According to a 2023 Ministry of Social and Family Development factsheet on youth delinquency, children whose parents had offended were three times as likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system in future compared with other children.

Meanwhile, figures from the Singapore Prison Service and Yellow Ribbon Singapore showed that the number of young inmates rose from 307 in 2024 to 418 in 2025.

Beyond the pottery initiative, Geneco and Families for Life are extending the campaign to social media through a series of Instagram Reels featuring former inmates discussing their experiences, family relationships and the process of rebuilding those connections after incarceration.

Taking 'Forevermore' to the wider community

The 10 Kintsugi pieces and the stories behind them will also be featured on the "Forevermore" campaign website from 29 October to 31 December. Members of the public can vote for the piece that resonates most with them, with the voting initiative tied to Geneco's donations to Awful Grace and Yellow Ribbon Cares.

The campaign will move offline in December with a pop-up outside Wisma Atria along Orchard Road from 7 to 20 December. The installation will showcase the Kintsugi pieces and their accompanying stories, alongside interactive elements designed around family connection.

These include an AI face-swap photobooth that places visitors into characters featured in the campaign's key visual, as well as a "Wall of Forevermore" developed with Families for Life, where visitors can leave photographs with their loved ones as a pledge to nurture their family relationships.

"'Forevermore' reflects how families can hold on to one another through challenging times. Our mission has always been to #PowerTheChange by building a more compassionate and inclusive Singapore," said Alex Chan, head of brand, communications and marketing at Geneco.

"With 'Forevermore', we hope to remind people that rebuilding does not mean going back to how things were. It means having the courage to take the next step together and creating the possibility of a new chapter," he added.

Christine Tan, founder of Awful Grace, said the physical process behind Kintsugi gives participants another way to think about recovery and rebuilding.

"Through pottery and Kintsugi, we experience a truth that standard conversations often miss: our cracks and scars aren't things to hide, but lines of beauty and resilience," she said.

"The physical process of shaping clay, seeing it break, and gently mending it back together with gold gives participants a deeply personal way to heal and feel whole again," Tan added.

Wu Chenghui, director (aftercare) at Yellow Ribbon Singapore, added that strong family relationships can provide inmates with stability and encouragement throughout their reintegration journeys.

"Through 'Forevermore', we hope to recognise the strength of these family bonds and the important role they play in one's reintegration journey," said Wu. "We are heartened by Geneco's continued partnership with the Yellow Ribbon Project in rallying the wider community to help build a more inclusive society for those seeking a fresh start and a new beginning."

The campaign follows Geneco's use of craft and personal storytelling to tackle another social issue earlier this year. For National Day, the electricity retailer partnered creators Edwin Goh and Rachel Wan on "Begin again", a campaign using crochet to open conversations around youth mental health, grief, renewal and personal growth.

Developed with Beyond the Label and youth wellness centre grovve, the campaign featured nine crochet creations inspired by Goh and Wan's personal experiences with loss, burnout and rebuilding. The pieces were exhibited at grovve at *SCAPE, with public voting contributing towards Geneco's SG$10,000 donation to Beyond the Label.

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