Fletcher Jones established a clothing design, manufacturing and retail business in Warrnambool, Victoria -  Fletcher Jones & Staff. At its peak the business had 55 stores throughout Australia and employed 2750.

It was called Fletcher Jones & Staff because Fletcher Jones was committed to worker ownership. At one stage the staff held 73% of shares.

Jones was greatly influenced by the Japanese Christian pacifist, co-operator and labor activist Toyohiko Kagawa (188-1960). In his autobiography. Not by myself, Jones wrote that he "was fascinated by the pioneer co-operative movement among the flannel weavers of Rochdale in England" and "the writings of Kagawa seemed most satisfying to me. " (p 209)

David Fletcher Jones

Between 29 March and 5 April 1935 the Warrnambool Standard published seven short articles by Jones on Kagawa:

Kagawa, the Student
Kagawa and the slums
Kagawa, the author
Kagawa, the citizen
Kagawa, the Emancipator
Kagawa, the Pacifist
Kagawa, the Prophet

The articles are reproduced as an appendix in Not by myself. ( pp 233-240)

Jones arranged for Kagawa to visit Warrnambool when he was in Australia in 1935 as a guest of the Presybtyerian Church.  In 1936 Jones visited Japanese co-operatives. In Not by myself, Jones wrote: "After returning to Australia, the idea of turning my own businessw into a staff co-operative co-operative grew within me."

Kagawa wrote Brotherhood Economics which was first published in 1937. Brotherhood Economics offered an alternative to capitalism - a co-operative economic system.

It was in the 1940's that he began the  process of turning his business into a worker co-operative.

His autobiography, Not by myself, Kingfisher Books Pty Ltd, was published in 1976.

Not by Myself, 1976

The director and writer of The Fabric of a Dream - the Fletcher Jones Story is Dennis K. Smith. Its runtime is 52 minutes.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography entry on Fletcher Jones
John Lack, 'Jones, Sir David Fletcher (1895 - 1977)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, Melbourne University Press, 1996, pp 579-581.
http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140662b.htm