Q&A: Dealing with 'Fast Fashion Anxiety', a Breakdown of Fabrics, and More

102) Leveraging Your Slow Fashion Skills To Make Money Beyond Products: For our first-ever Conscious Fashion Collective Membership panel discussion, we discussed a topic that is often taboo in the slow fashion space — money! We believe that financial sustainability is essential for creating a more just, and sustainable, fashion ecosystem with thriving businesses that care about people and the planet. by Conscious Style Podcast

37 min listen

101) Demystifying Financial Sustainability in Slow Fashion: Financial sustainability is essential for creating a more just, and sustainable, fashion ecosystem with thriving businesses that care about people and the planet. But how do you go about actually making money in this space, especially when you care about not overproducing? Money-making is a topic that is all-too-often taboo in the slow fashion space, but our panelists Dani Des Roches, Mahdiyyah Muhammad, Jacqueline Schumann, and Aiste Zitnikaite are unpacking their experiences, transparently, in this episode! by Conscious Style Podcast

51 min listen

5 Key Pillars for a Net Positive Fashion Industry with Holly Syrett of Global Fashion Agenda (Bonus): How can fashion take action right now for a net positive future? From climate and biodiversity to worker livelihoods and fair wages to overconsumption and textile waste, the gaps between where we need to be and where we are right now feel… vast. But in this episode, we're discussing ways that fashion act right now — like tomorrow — on 5 key pillars that encompass both people and planet. These are areas where the research, and tools are readily available, even for implementing at a large scale. Ahead you'll hear my conversation with Holly Syrett, the Impact Programmes and Sustainability Director at Global Fashion Agenda, a nonprofit organization that accelerates measurable impact in the fashion industry. by Conscious Style Podcast

51 min listen

100) What Would a Better Future for Fashion Look Like?: We have reached the 100th episode of the podcast! For the past 100 episodes, at the end of each episode we have asked our guests the same question: What would a better future for fashion look like, to you? This question is important, because it sums up exactly why the podcast exists in the first place — to unpack exactly what it will take to cultivate a sustainable and equitable future for fashion. To celebrate this 100 episode milestone, we decided to mark the occasion by sharing a montage of some of our favorite answers, from guests we have had on the show, over the years. Plus, we are sharing a few listener answers to this question too. And, right at the end, we’ll share our reflections on the topic as well. Enjoy listening to these visionary — yet practical — answers. Hopefully they’ll give you some food for thought and reflection points for your own relationship with fashion. And thank you for tuning in to celebrate 100 by Conscious Style Podcast

36 min listen

99) 10 Lessons Learned From 100 Episodes: As you might have noticed, we are just one episode away from the 100th episode of the podcast! We're starting the celebrations early and changing up the usual format with this episode. Instead of interviewing a guest, this week we’re sharing 10 lessons we’ve learned from 100 episodes of the podcast that features interviews with some of the most inspiring changemakers in the fashion industry. by Conscious Style Podcast

49 min listen

98) Should Resale Sites Ban Fast Fashion?: Is it green... or just greenwashing? This week, we’re sharing a recap of a few Green or Greenwashing topics we covered this season! Green or Greenwashing is a segment on the podcast where we evaluate if a certain sustainability measure is more green or whether it veers into more of the greenwashing territory. These Green or Greenwashing segments were previously published at the end of some prior episodes. The first segment we are resharing is whether third-party resale sites should ban fast fashion after a decision from Vestiaire Collective to do so. Then we will move into a recording where we discuss whether we really need "climate adaptive clothing". Finally, we evaluate if recycled polyester is truly circular. by Conscious Style Podcast

38 min listen

97) Fashion's Overlooked Sustainability Policy Opportunities with Kenya Wiley: Policy is an important lever in creating a better, more sustainable, and equitable fashion system. But if we only focus on policy that explicitly talks about the fashion industry and sustainability, we may be missing some opportunities. In today's episode, Elizabeth speaks with fashion policy expert Kenya Wiley. Kenya is sharing behind the scenes on the processes behind legislation and regulation — and even explaining the difference between the two terms — and some of the current policies in the works that could involve fashion that the fashion industry isn't talking about. These could be potential needle movers to cleaning up fashion, but aren't being taken advantage of right now. Kenya is also discussing the much-anticipated Green Guides from the Federal Trade Commission to help reduce greenwashing, what recent US Supreme Court decisions mean for the fashion industry, a funding opportunity for sustain by Conscious Style Podcast

47 min listen

96) Choosing Hope Over Climate Doomism with Isaias Hernandez of Queer Brown Vegan: After learning about climate emotions, and seeing climate doomism proliferated in the media, Stella knew she wanted to have Isaias on the show to unpack this and understand how it's connected to the fashion industry. In this episode, Isaias Hernandez (who you might also know as @queerbrownvegan on social media) unpacks the complexity of climate emotions and the harms of climate doomism narratives, and discusses why “evidence-based hope” is essential for reorienting action and working towards equitable solutions for the fashion industry - and how we can all cultivate this hope in our own lives. Hit play to dive in! by Conscious Style Podcast

57 min listen

95) Is Carbon Offsetting Fashion’s Excuse to Emit?: Carbon neutral. Net zero. Carbon positive. You may have been seeing more and more claims like these lately from companies, including fashion brands. But in today's Green or Greenwashing episode, we’re diving deeper, beyond the surface of these claims, to see if they really can be trusted. Many of these carbon neutrality claims are asserted based on the company purchasing carbon offsets. This episode was inspired by the UK watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority, recently banning advertisements that claim products are carbon neutral through using offsets due to a growing concern that these claims are misleading consumers. This isn’t just about the fashion industry, but in case you missed it: many fashion brands are using these sorts of claims, especially as global awareness grows around fashion's environmental impact, including its carbon emissions. You may have seen various estimates of fashion's contribution to global carbon by Conscious Style Podcast

35 min listen

94) Can Slow Fashion Businesses Scale Without Encouraging Overconsumption? With Mahdiyyah Muhammad: How can we reimagine the traditional role of fashion designers in a world filled with fashion waste? And how can we rethink our primary role as consumers in a way that allows us to become contributors to collective wellbeing instead? It’s no secret that we live in a world with far too much clothing. If we are to work towards a more sustainable fashion industry, we need to unpack the ways that fashion brands and designers can pivot away from the mainstream business model of take-make-waste and embrace alternative sustainable fashion business models that limit waste. And our mindset as consumers plays a pivotal role in this too. In this episode, we hear from Mahdiyyah Muhammad who is a sustainable fashion designer, circular fashion strategist, and educator. We’re talking about the realities of designing, building a business, and engaging with fashion and style in our current fashion sy by Conscious Style Podcast

49 min listen

93) What If Fashion Put Workers First?: What if fashion brands put garment workers first? What if a fashion brand set the prices they pay to their suppliers based on ensuring workers were making a living wage, rather than negotiating the prices as low as possible to maximize profits? This is part of implementing more responsible purchasing practices — purchasing practices meaning not how the consumer buys something, but how the brand purchases their orders from their suppliers, since most brands do not produce their own clothes. The reality is that right now the system is set up with the wrong incentives. For example, Buyers at many fashion brands receive bonuses if they achieve larger margins with their orders they purchase from their suppliers — larger margins meaning they pay their suppliers less, and thus the supplier will have less money to pay their workers fairly or invest in sustainability initiatives like transitioning to clean energy. So we need a paradigm shift. True s by Conscious Style Podcast

25 min listen

92) From Extractive to Regenerative Fashion: Slow Growth, Climate Beneficial Textiles, and Cooperative Models with Laura Sansone of New York Textile Lab: What if designers could go all the way back to the source of the fibers their garments are made from? Many of fashion’s favorite fibers — and our favorite garments — begin on farms. From cotton to wool, hemp, and linen. But, often, designers are so far removed from the places where these fibers are produced. Bringing designers back to the source would result in greater transparency and traceability in fashion that would allow designers to make choices that are kinder to people and the planet. The fast fashion system thrives on building one, uniform, global fashion system that requires a lack of transparency and traceability to continue perpetuating its profit-seeking harms. On the other hand, a more equitable future of fashion will comprise multiple regional and local textile systems that are each in tune with the contexts of local by Conscious Style Podcast

41 min listen

91) From Fast Fashion Designer to Slow Fashion Founder with Dani Des Roches of Picnicwear: What is it like to work as a designer for a fast fashion brand? And what is it like to build your own sustainability minded small fashion brand, from circular design practices to figuring out your pricing? That's what we're getting a glimpse into in this episode with Dani Des Roches, designer and founder of the upcycled brand Picnicwear, recognizable by its groovy 60s/70s aesthetic, bold and playful use of color, and most notably its use of vintage towels as its primary material. Before that, Dani attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and was behind the scenes as a sweater designer for household names like Urban Outfitters and Express. Feeling dissatisfied with the industry, Dani started her own B2B design studio, Kismet Concept Studio and of course her Direct to Consumer brand, Picnicwear, which creates high-quality pieces using 95% pre-existing materials. In this co by Conscious Style Podcast

58 min listen

90) Rethinking The Traditional Supply Chain with Ria Ana Sejpal of LilaBare: What is the process like to create a regenerative conscious fashion label? What does it mean to create long-term partnerships in a localized supply chain that are beneficial for people? Or to make clothes that are beneficial for the earth? In this episode, Stella interviews the founder of slow fashion brand LilaBare, Ria Ana Sejpal, about building a Kenyan fashion brand, rethinking traditional supply chains, and the value of building long-term relationships with the people involved in them. Plus they cover how Ria measures the impacts of the garments LilaBare creates and how size-adjustable gender fluid clothing can make sustainable fashion more inclusive. by Conscious Style Podcast

60 min listen

89) Will Return Fees Reduce Overconsumption?: Fashion's returns are a massive waste and emissions issue. In addition to the extra shipping and wastage, generous free returns policies from brands and retailers have also helped fuel the trend of buying clothes to wear once before returning them. However, the days of these free return policies may be coming to an end. Zara, Boohoo, Uniqlo, and Next have all recently announced return fees. These brands are likely making the decision to implement return fees for financial reasons, but what are the implications for sustainability? by Conscious Style Podcast

19 min listen

88) What Is Regenerative Fashion? with Safia Minney: It's time for an urgent shift in fashion. And not just towards a path of doing less bad, but of bringing positive change. Not just less harmful fashion. Not even just more sustainable fashion. But building a regenerative fashion future. In this episode, Safia Minney discusses the themes of her latest book on regenerative fashion. And what I loved about this book was that it wasn't just about regeneratively grown fibers and decarbonization — though of course that was covered and that's super important. But Safia also discussed regenerative leadership and regenerative relationships, the importance of revitalizing artisan crafts and textile traditions, why living wages and a just transition are central to regenerative fashion, and how our current economic systems are completely at odds with a livable future. by Conscious Style Podcast

42 min listen

87) Is It Possible to Overconsume Secondhand Fashion?: Overconsumption is a major problem in the fashion industry. And secondhand is often advocated for as a solution. But is it possible to overconsume secondhand fashion as well? This is a loaded question that comes with nuance and obviously, lots of opinions... which makes it perfect for a segment for Stella and I's Green or Greenwashing series — we love to cover complex and controversial topics in this series! Let's dive in. by Conscious Style Podcast

24 min listen

86) Holding The Fashion Industry Accountable with Journalist Sophie Benson: Fashion industry players — like big brands and their billionaire owners — have to be held accountable for their impact on our environment and on the people involved with making their clothes. Independent journalists can play a crucial role in this accountability, since they can provide a critical outsider's look on what's happening in the industry, such as ascertaining if a fashion brand's sustainability claims are legitimate or not. And it's also a role that comes with a lot of responsibility. One of the sustainable fashion journalists that both Stella and I have immense respect for is Sophie Benson. If you're subscribed to our weekly newsletter, The Conscious Edit, you know that I often share articles written by Sophie in those Saturday emails. So it's exciting to have her on the show this week. In this episode, Stella is interviewing Sophie to discuss her journey and her insights as a journalist in the su by Conscious Style Podcast

48 min listen

85) A People's History of Clothing | Sofi Thanhauser: When we talk about sustainable and ethical fashion, we often think about the future — at least I do: we ask every guest that comes onto this show what a better future for fashion looks like to them! But I also see immense value in looking to the past. To see where we came from so we understand how we got here and what solutions could actually be effective in bringing about change. So I was intrigued to read the book Worn, A People's History of Clothing, (bookshop affiliate link) to understand this history more deeply — and it did not disappoint. I learned so much from this book and I knew I had to get the author, Sofi Thanhauser (@Yesfutureyes) onto the podcast. And here we are today, Sofi is joining me to talk about some of the key themes covered in the book: like how the industrial revolution spurred mass-production in fashion — and not just from the standpoint of technology — how the rise of advertising helped enable the ris by Conscious Style Podcast

55 min listen

84) How I Built a Career in Sustainable Fashion: Want to work in sustainable fashion but not sure how to begin or how to transition from what you do now? Or maybe you work in sustainable fashion now, but you're ready for a bit of a change. In this episode, I'm sharing my sustainable fashion career and entrepreneurial journey and the lessons I learned along the way. by Conscious Style Podcast

30 min listen

83) What Is Circular Fashion Design? | Carmen Gama of EILEEN FISHER: Fashion has a major waste crisis. Circularity — along with slowing down production — can be an antidote, if done right. But what does real circular fashion look like in practice? What would it look like to have a true systems approach to circular design and circular fashion? Today Stella is interviewing Carmen Gama, the Director of Circular Design at Eileen Fisher, which is a company that has been leading the way on many circular fashion practices. Carmen Gama also founded a B2B circular service called MAKE ANEEW which you'll hear a lot about in this episode. Carmen Gama shares what circular design means in practice and how brands can create their own post consumer waste reduction supply chains. If you're curious to hear more about what it's like to be a circular designer, and how you might be able to explore this career path, you can read a Conscious Career Chat with Carmen on Conscious Fashion Collective Also in by Conscious Style Podcast

53 min listen

82) Rana Plaza 10 Years Later: What's Changed and What Hasn't? | Ayesha Barenblat: Elizabeth speaks with Ayesha Barenblat, CEO of the global advocacy nonprofit organization Remake about the 10th Anniversary of the Rana Plaza Factory Collapse in Bangladesh to discuss what has changed in fashion since — and what has not. They talk about the impact of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire & Building Safety, what's next for the Accord 10 years on, and how Remake is continuing to hold brands accountable. *** Also in this episode, we're introducing our Green or Greenwashing segment where we (Elizabeth and Stella) share our thoughts on if a sustainability claim in the fashion industry is green or greenwashing. This week, we explore the decision of an online resale platform to ban fast fashion from their site. Should resale sites really ban fast fashion? We'd love to hear your thoughts over on Instagram! by Conscious Style Podcast

49 min listen

81) How We Can Expand The Sustainable Fashion Conversation | Samata Pattinson, RCGD Global: How can we make sustainable fashion more culturally and politically relevant? Fashion's environmental and social impact often gets overlooked by the climate movement and by governments, though this is slowly starting to change. Similarly, the conversations around sustainable fashion don't often feel aligned with mainstream media and culture. But there is a massive opportunity to harness the power of mass media and celebrities or artistic talent, to drive change in the industry. In this episode, Stella interviews Samata Pattinson, CEO of RCGD Global — formerly Red Carpet Green Dress — to explore how we can drive the sustainable fashion conversation forward and expand it to wider audiences. Samata also shares how she brought in fashion to decision-making spaces at COP27, what role celebrities play in the sustainable fashion movement, and more This conversation is a reminder that each of us — by Conscious Style Podcast

57 min listen

80) Where Does Fashion Stand On Climate Progress? | Rachel & Erdene of Stand.Earth: The fashion industry has an outsized carbon footprint. But many fashion brands have been making promising statements about their carbon emissions reduction or carbon neutrality goals. How does the actual progress and supply chain action match up to these goals, though? It can, frankly, be difficult to discern. But in today's episode, we're going to unravel the tangled web of confusing greenwashing and claims and dig into the nitty gritty of where fashion actually stands on climate action today. I (Elizabeth here!) spoke with Rachel and Erdene of the climate and environmental advocacy organization Stand.Earth. The team at Stand just released their 2023 Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard, ranking 43 influential fashion brands on their progress towards decarbonization in their supply chain. In this episode, we talk about this scorecard, discuss where fashion stands now on climate action, and what brands by Conscious Style Podcast

48 min listen

79) The Role of Fashion Legislation | Elizabeth Cline: In recent years, there's been an exciting increase in sustainable fashion legislation and reforms working to clean up this industry — from garment worker protections against wage theft to supply chain due diligence to greenwashing enforcement. In today's episode, Stella interviews author, educator, and activist Elizabeth Cline to dive into all things fashion legislation: historical context, what's going on now, why it matters, and how you can get involved. Plus, hear about: + Why we need to move away from the binary of individual versus collective action, + How historic changes in the law have influenced the fashion industry, + The role of fashion legislation in creating a more equitable fashion future, + And how investing in the lives of garment workers is part of the overlooked solution to fashion's climate impact. by Conscious Style Podcast

49 min listen

78) How To Dress For Your Best Self | Shakaila Forbes-Bell: Right now, are you dressing for the person you are, the person you fear, or the person you want to be? Not sure how to answer that question? Today's guest — fashion psychologist and best-selling author Shakaila Forbes-Bell — is breaking it all down for us. We're also talking about: + The chemical warfare we're up against when shopping + How we can make more mindful purchasing decisions + What the endowment effect is and how it can reduce fashion waste + How you can do a wardrobe ethnography by Conscious Style Podcast

50 min listen

77) What Is Democratizing Fashion Truly About? | Natalie Shehata: How can we cultivate our authentic personal style in a trend-focused, overconsumption-driven world? What would it mean to truly democratize fashion — as in not the fast fashion co-opted use of the term, but genuine style democracy? And how can fashion move beyond using diversity as a buzzword to create a holistically inclusive and intersectional sustainable fashion future? In this episode, Stella Hertantyo is interviewing ethical stylist Natalie Shehata to explore all of these questions and more. by Conscious Style Podcast

56 min listen

76) Getting Off The Fashion Trend-Mill | Nina Gbor: Ever felt like you were just on a hamster wheel of following trends or constantly shopping for clothes? Nina Gbor of Eco Styles is sharing her advice for "getting off the fashion trend-mill" and revealing the heavy impact that fashion's rapid trend cycles have on people and the planet. by Conscious Style Podcast

55 min listen

75) How Fashion Trends Are Really Formed | Mandy Lee: How are trends in fashion formed? What is the relationship between trends and finding your personal style? And what are the misconceptions surrounding trend forecasting? Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) answers these questions and more in this episode. by Conscious Style Podcast

61 min listen

74) What A Responsible Closet Audit Looks Like — Plus Personal Style Tips | Sophie Strauss: What does it mean to have a personal style? And how can we even go about finding it? And when our closet doesn't feel aligned with our style any longer, how do we go about doing a responsible clean-out? We cover all of this and more with Sophie Strauss. by Conscious Style Podcast

60 min listen

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Q&A: Dealing with 'Fast Fashion Anxiety', a Breakdown of Fabrics, and More

Q&A: Dealing with 'Fast Fashion Anxiety', a Breakdown of Fabrics, and More

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