Conscious Chatter
324 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 122 ratingsAn inclusive audio space, Conscious Chatter opens the door to conversations about our clothing + the layers of stories, meaning and potential impact connected to what we wear. Hosted by Kestrel Jenkins & Natalie Shehata, Conscious Chatter tackles nuanced sustainable fashion topics via a roundtable format. Through deep dive monthly themes, the focus is on making the conversation more circular.
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Episodes
Wafa Ghnaim of Tatreez and Tea & Dr. Tanveer Ahmed of Central Saint Martins on preserving culture, decolonial frameworks, and how intersectional reform can be a pathway toward sustainable fashion futures
April 23, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 87.3 MBEpisode 320 features Wafa Ghnaim, a Senior Research Fellow at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Curator for the Museum of the Palestinian People and Founder of The Tatreez Institute, alongside Dr. Tanveer Ahmed, a Senior Lecturer in Fashion and Race at Central Saint Martins and also Course Development Lead for MA Fashion and Anthropology at London College of Fashion. “Inherently, just by being Palestinian and by teaching about Palestinian life and history, and including oral history in my wo...
Sustainable fashion podcasters unite — Emily Stochl of Pre-Loved Podcast & Stella Hertantyo of Conscious Style Podcast help us reflect on 11 years since Rana Plaza, celebrating collective movements & ways to focus our continued advocacy
April 09, 2024 14:06 - 1 hour - 80.2 MBEpisode 319 features guests Stella Hertantyo, the co-host of the Conscious Style Podcast, alongside Emily Stochl, the host and creator of Pre-Loved Podcast. Stella also works as writer and communications coordinator, while Emily also works as the Vice President of Advocacy & Community Engagement at Remake. “There are so many painful roots when you look back at the way that certain dyes came about and you know, cotton farming — there are so many different legacies of colonialism that exis...
Upcycling artists Francisco Alcazar & Ella Wiznia of Series NY are redefining sustainable fashion while reimagining craft & challenging the gender binary
March 26, 2024 16:05 - 1 hour - 71.3 MB*DISCLAIMER — this episode features stories connected to eating disorders and sexual abuse. Episode 318 features guests Francisco Alcazar, a zero waste designer based in Los Angeles, California, alongside Ella Wiznia, the founder and designer of Series NY. Using his 25 years experience as a structural engineer, Francisco is leading the movement that promotes circularity in fashion, and expanding these principles to other disciplines, whilst celebrating the material stories of each texti...
How gender plays into the devaluing of knowledge and its links to sustainable fashion & wellness with Megan Schnitker of Lakota Made and Niha Elety of Tega Collective
March 12, 2024 14:02 - 1 hour - 78.7 MBEpisode 317 features guests Megan L. Schnitker, an Indigenous Traditional Herbalist and Niha Elety, a fashion advocate, designer, chef, and storyteller. Megan is the owner of Lakota Made LLC, who offer plant medicinals and personal care products. Niha is the founder and CEO of fashion brand, Tega Collective, a brand that co-creates with Adivasi (Indigenous) communities celebrating their craft and knowledge with each collection. “American herbalism was founded on Indigenous knowledge and ...
Celebrating the cultural tradition, past and present, of Palestinian Tatreez with artists / educators Lina Barkawi and Eman Toom & why sustainable fashion must include cultural sustainability
February 27, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 80.7 MBEpisode 316 features guests Lina Barkawi, a Tatreez practitioner, preservationist, and educator based in Brooklyn, alongside Eman Toom, a Palestinian Tatreez artist, teacher, sewer and crafter. “Part of just doing tatreez, in my personal opinion, is a form of resistance because we’re basically just existing and we’re showing our Palestinian identity, but there have also been very explicit uses of tatreez as a form of resistance. And so you have thobes that came out of the intifadas in the ...
Intergenerational knowledge & sustainable fashion — how clothing is more than just aesthetics; it’s about the upholding of cultural practices and the amplifying of knowledge & traditions
February 13, 2024 15:15 - 58 minutes - 65.5 MBEpisode 315 features guests Amy Denet Deal, the founder of 4Kinship, a Diné (Navajo) owned sustainable artwear brand, alongside Sha’Mira Covington, Ph.D., an interdisciplinary scholar-artist and Assistant Professor in Fashion. “Thinking about sustainability beyond just the textiles, thinking about the land that we’re on, how we can live in reciprocity with the people, the four-legged relatives, everything, the plants, the animals here — in all the work we do. Which is why community focus i...
Vintage stylist Beth Jones & Dounia Wone of Vestiaire Collective on whether fast fashion brands fit into the resale experience
January 30, 2024 15:00 - 1 hour - 72.6 MBIn episode 314, you’ll hear our first official roundtable format, featuring guests Beth Jones, YouTube star and creator of B. Jones Style, alongside Dounia Wone, the Chief Impact Officer at Vestiaire Collective, a platform that showcases luxury preloved fashion. “It’s few and far between that the fast fashion holds up against vintage or really quality pieces maybe made by a designer or things like that … Even if it has a vintage look to it, there’s something about it that doesn’t hold up i...
Why self work is integral to advocating for transformation in fashion & why we must deeply question our personal values to truly get active in creating a more sustainable fashion future
January 16, 2024 15:05 - 1 hour - 88.7 MBIn episode 313, you’ll hear from co-hosts (yes, co-hosts!) Kestrel Jenkins and Natalie Shehata in the launch of Season 7. This is also the first episode in which Kestrel and Nat showcase their new co-host dynamic. With this powerful community-driven change, they’ve teamed up to reimagine some aspects of the show. Here’s what you can expect this season: Roundtable Discussions — featuring at least 2 guests per episode Focus On Making The Conversation More Circular — bringing more folks to th...
Denali Jöel on fashion as an art praxis rooted in Afro-Indigenous philosophies, interrogating the emphasis placed on the *industry* & reminding us of the possibility of creating new ecosystems
November 07, 2023 14:30 - 51 minutes - 59.4 MBIn episode 312, Kestrel welcomes Denali Jöel, a non-binary Multidisciplinary Artist, Designer, Educator and Fashion Griot, to the show. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Denali has been an asylee living in the US since 2014, recently obtaining their U.S. citizenship this year. Their art praxis intersects design, performance, media and community engagement with particular focus on queer identities and Afro-diasporan histories, futures, collective healing, and radical imagination. “It c...
Julius Tillery aka the "Puff Daddy Of Cotton" on the need to remix both the perception of the cotton industry and the business model
October 30, 2023 19:16 - 35 minutes - 44.7 MBIn episode 311, Kestrel welcomes Julius Tillery, founder of BlackCotton, to the show. A 5th-generation cotton farmer from North Carolina, Julius founded BlackCotton to help center and uplift the Black community closest to the cotton fields in Northampton County, North Carolina. “There’s so many demons and like bad spirits and bad tropes around cotton and the industry in general, and you know, just coming from the South, and people having these perspectives of cotton production relating to...
Cassandra Pintro of Consumption Project on welcoming her community to challenge their buying habits and question what is *enough*
October 24, 2023 14:15 - 57 minutes - 64.8 MBIn episode 310, Kestrel and Natalie welcome Cassandra Pintro, the founder of The Consumption Project, to the show. With a focus on making impact cool, The Consumption Project serves as a catalyst for educating folks about the impact of their buying habits and nurturing a collective mindset that values quality, longevity, and the environment. “So, it was — how do I find myself in this space and how do I make space that opens up a door for other people to feel comfortable, and you’re startin...
Jeanell English on navigating the pressure to project a certain image in business & across climate spaces and balancing the worlds of activists & execs as a leader in impact
October 17, 2023 14:15 - 47 minutes - 55.6 MBIn episode 309, Kestrel welcomes Jeanell English, the founder and CEO of ELIZABETH, to the show. An experienced facilitator and people operations leader, Jeanell has worked in an array of roles, most recently as the Executive Vice President of Impact and Inclusion at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, before she dove fully into her own company, ELIZABETH. “Because the reality is — you’re never gonna win everything you aim to win. It’s not really a competition, it’s about prog...
Muchaneta Ten Napel on utilizing tech as a tool to change how fashion does business, not a crutch that will *save us all* & preparing for the fashion policy changes that are on the horizon
October 10, 2023 19:07 - 1 hour - 71.1 MBIn episode 308, Kestrel welcomes Muchaneta Ten Napel, the founder of Shape Innovate and FashNerd.com, to the show. As a fashion economist, a lecturer, a writer, a consultant and the founder of Shape Innovate and FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is powering change through a multifaceted approach. “To many people, today, to be sustainable is a way of draining money out of your company — it’s not a money-making initiative. And that’s the kind of thoughts that I would like to really change. Because fo...
*Breaking It Down* with Rachel Arthur, lead author of The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, an actionable guide co-published by UNEP and UN Climate Change
September 26, 2023 14:10 - 48 minutes - 56.2 MBIn episode 307, Kestrel welcomes Rachel Arthur, a strategist, journalist, and the Advocacy Lead for Sustainable Fashion at the United Nations Environment Programme, to the show. Rachel is the lead author of The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, which was published earlier this year by the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN Climate Change Fashion Charter. “Communicators themselves, on a couple of levels, have had the ability to participate and to contribute I think is...
Tameka Peoples of Seed2Shirt on rebuilding equitable + just cotton systems & fostering the reclamation of cotton acreage for Black farmers
September 19, 2023 15:00 - 46 minutes - 54.1 MBIn episode 306, Kestrel welcomes Tameka Peoples, the founder and CEO of Seed2Shirt, to the show. A Black-woman-owned vertically integrated ethical apparel production & boutique cotton merchant firm, Seed2Shirt is focused on rebuilding equitable systems and institutions. “You’re seeing laws put into place like the 1862 Homestead Act where there were millions of acres of land just given to white families. And Black people were at the same time, being burned out of their communities. What I m...
Lisa Diegel, Global Sustainability Director, on Faherty's Native Initiatives, what mutually beneficial relationships can look like in practice, and the nuanced ways brands must take responsibility for the products they put out into the world
September 12, 2023 14:12 - 40 minutes - 48.7 MBIn episode 305, Kestrel welcomes Lisa Diegel, the Global Sustainability Director at Faherty, to the show. A family business, Faherty is focused on making high quality clothing. “They knew they wanted to do things differently and not follow that conventional way of take > make > waste in the fashion industry. They wanted to build a feel-good brand. And I think to do that, you need to be accountable and you need to take responsibility for the products you put out into the world.” -Lisa As ...
Eric Liedtke of UNLESS on pressing fashion to ditch the plastic ingredients and ideating on what it will take for corporations to truly change
September 05, 2023 14:20 - 43 minutes - 51.9 MBIn episode 304, Kestrel welcomes Eric Liedtke, the co-founder and CEO of UNLESS, to the show. A collective of innovators, engineers, artists, and activists, UNLESS make plant-based streetwear designed to leave zero plastic waste. “I think sustainability is one of those hygiene words at this point — like everybody can talk themselves into they’re doing sustainable things. I think we need to get more specific. I think as marketers and storytellers, we need to really be very clear with our co...
A new era of storytelling at Conscious Chatter, meet our newest team member Natalie Shehata & what slow media means for us in practice
August 15, 2023 14:06 - 49 minutes - 56.8 MBIn episode 303, Kestrel welcomes Natalie Shehata, Conscious Chatter’s new Social Media Strategist + Storyteller, to the show. A sustainable stylist, community organizer, speaker and writer, Nat brings exceptional experience and knowledge to how we approach storytelling. “I feel as though storytelling for me has been a very powerful medium in being able to instigate change. I feel like stories really shift culture and they can shift culture on a really large scale as well. But personally fo...
Jessie Frances (@cappuccinosandconsignment) on the complications with resale's *moment* — fast fashion addictions becoming secondhand addictions, luxury's obsession with exclusivity & the gentrification of thrifting
July 18, 2023 14:00 - 49 minutes - 56.7 MBIn episode 302, Kestrel welcomes Jessie Frances (@cuppuccinosandconsignment) to the show. Highly knowledgeable on the world of preloved fashion, Jessie holds a BFA in Fashion Design and French with a Minor in Art History. Through her work, she shares ideas around luxury vintage savviness, smart travel tips, and slow-living hacks, and also consults companies on luxury resale. “It is an addiction. Even when you look on YouTube and whatever social media, you see thrifting hauls. I remember ha...
Winona Quigley of Green Matters Natural Dye Company on reimagining what *scale* means for natural dyeing & how accessibility and limits also play into the idea of *growth*
July 11, 2023 14:12 - 59 minutes - 66.2 MBIn episode 301, Kestrel welcomes Winona Quigley, the founder and CEO of Green Matters Natural Dye Company, to the show. Based in Lancaster County PA, Green Matters is dedicated to bringing pollution-free color to the textile industry by using all-natural dye ingredients. “I think that what brands are going to have to embrace about working with more sustainable fibers and textile-making practices, is the fact that we are working with plants. Not just for the dyes, but for some of those fibe...
Scientist Dr. Lisa Erdle of 5 Gyres on what we know about microfiber shedding from clothing & the solutions can make an impact
July 04, 2023 14:31 - 44 minutes - 51.8 MBIn episode 300, Kestrel welcomes Dr. Lisa Erdle, the Director of Science and Research at 5 Gyres, to the show. A microplastics researcher and lifelong sailor, Lisa is passionate about keeping waterways clean for wildlife and people. “A load of laundry can shed anywhere in the range of hundreds of thousands to millions of microfibers, depending on how you wash and what you wash. There can be 850 times more microfibers shed from a high-shedding item compared to a low, so the textile design r...
Liz Spencer of Dogwood Dyer on growing organic natural dye gardens to coax color from plants & acknowledging the cultural origins of dyestuffs along the way
June 20, 2023 14:26 - 58 minutes - 64.5 MBIn episode 299, Kestrel welcomes Liz Spencer, the natural dye wizard behind Dogwood Dyer, to the show. With experience in both tending organic natural dye gardens and coaxing color from plants, Liz has devoted her artistic practice to discovering as much as possible about color that can come from plants. “That’s sort of the pathway to understanding — is having the time to be intimate with one thing in particular like indigo or any dye plant, especially if you’re growing your color, or even...
Researcher Anjana Baburaj on the pervasiveness of Shein & the ways in which social media and the drive to increase social status are directly fueling the overconsumption of clothing
June 13, 2023 17:00 - 40 minutes - 48.2 MBIn episode 298, Kestrel welcomes Anjana Baburaj to the show. An impact-focused strategist and communications specialist, Anjana works with mission-driven organizations to leverage communication platforms to increase visibility and achieve sustainability and impact goals. “No matter how much we try to control — if we keep overconsuming, we’re not getting anywhere with anything that we’re doing for sustainability. So, that is one of the reasons I wanted to know — why is this happening? And t...
Lizz Leral of Quilting For Community on the links between quilting and mental health, and how accessing the flow state via hand-oriented activities can help unlock answers to life's questions
June 06, 2023 14:38 - 39 minutes - 47.6 MBIn episode 297, Kestrel welcomes Lizz Leral, the Executive Director of Quilting for Community, to the show. A nonprofit organization, Quilting For Community is focused on building community by teaching the art of quiltmaking. “The act of focusing on such a small area of the world — nothing else exists in that little area but that piece of fabric, and whether you’re measuring or you’re cutting or you’re pressing — and my experience has been that when you’re in that state, the answers for th...
Kelly Drennan of Fashion Takes Action on the importance of youth education that centers fashion's impact on people + the planet
May 23, 2023 14:00 - 52 minutes - 58.8 MBIn episode 296, Kestrel welcomes Kelly Drennan, the founder of Fashion Takes Action, to the show. A Canada-based non-profit, Fashion Takes Action works to remove barriers to sustainability through education, awareness, research and collaboration. “We often talk about our school program, and just fashion is inherently cool, you know. And so, we’re able to really, through our school program, touch on some of these bigger, broader climate change issues, but through the lens of fashion, which ...
Rayouf Alhumedhi, creator of the hijab emoji, on examining Gen Z's shopping behavior & highlighting why product designers should rethink existing product before designing new
May 16, 2023 15:20 - 42 minutes - 49.7 MBIn episode 295, Kestrel welcomes Rayouf Alhumedhi, the creator of the hijab emoji, to the show. Deeply passionate about bridging the creative space and tech, Rayouf founded the hijab emoji project to push for digital representation for Muslim women around the world. She was named one of Time’s Most Influential Teens and Forbes 30 under 30; currently, Rayouf is a senior at Stanford majoring in Product Design. “I think there needs to be more thoughtful exploration of when is it good to make ...
Jeff Garner of Prophetik on how synthetic fabrics & toxic chemicals connected to our clothing are impacting our health
May 02, 2023 22:08 - 48 minutes - 55.2 MBIn episode 294, Kestrel welcomes Jeff Garner, the designer behind Prophetik, to the show. A romantic visual artist, pioneer and unconventional designer, Jeff’s sustainably-minded label Prophetik is focused on changing our perception of luxury. “It’s interesting how everybody in their different segment of market just want to do the cheapest ingredient because they don’t expect the buyer to buy it, cause it’s more. So, it’s this idea that if you go into a design, and just try to make it the ...
Jenna & Jon of Revival Eyewear on what makes deadstock vintage eyewear superior in quality & how conglomerate Luxottica has created a monopoly-like hold on today's glasses industry
April 11, 2023 14:15 - 46 minutes - 53.5 MBIn episode 293, Kestrel welcomes Jenna Hanson and Jon Hershman, the cofounders of Revival Eyewear, to the show. Offering an extensive collection of deadstock vintage glasses and sunglasses, Revival Eyewear is dedicated to reminding us that it’s possible for old things to be elevated in both quality and style. “I fell in love with the glasses and the idea that these were vintage but brand new. I had never in my life heard of that concept — deadstock, new old stock. It was so fascinating to...
Denica Riadini-Flesch of SukkhaCitta on rediscovering Indigenous regenerative farming and dyeing techniques & challenging the status quo
April 04, 2023 14:30 - 56 minutes - 62 MBIn episode 292, Kestrel welcomes Denica Riadini-Flesch, a development economist and the director at SukkhaCitta, to the show. A social enterprise started in 2016, SukkhaCitta works to give women in rural Indonesia fair access to education and market. “We have grown this company, this mission, these projects on the ground with that mindset that we want to build a model for change. So, we are not here to grow and make the most profits or be the best company in the market, you know, but it’s ...
Abby Mills (aka @abbyontheinternet) on the de-influencing *trend* & questioning whether this movement can help us combat overconsumption
March 21, 2023 14:23 - 59 minutes - 65.4 MBIn episode 291, Kestrel welcomes Abby Mills, aka @abbyontheinternet, to the show. A product designer working in tech in the San Francisco Bay Area, Abby is a style enthusiast, thrifter, beginner sewist, and a slow fashion + sustainability advocate. “If we’re talking about the original definition of de-influencing, I think it’s great that more people are talking about this. There’s a wider conversation that’s happening now, and it’s this newer idea to a more mainstream audience. And I think...
Samata Pattinson, the CEO of RCGD Global on their Sustainable Style Guide, how it's being distributed to all attendees of Academy events this Oscar® season & the power of generative conversations
March 12, 2023 17:30 - 46 minutes - 53.1 MBIn episode 290, Kestrel welcomes Samata Pattinson, the CEO of RCGD Global, to the show. A women-led global change-making organization, RCGD Global is bringing environmental and social sustainability to the forefront of conversation and action within the global apparel and design industry. “All I really want to be part of is helping other people see where they fit in this. And helping them to identify something that means something to them. It could be any of the things we talk about — it ...
Amy Powney of Mother Of Pearl on the new documentary *Fashion Reimagined* and the need to reconnect to the people, the land & the process behind our clothes
March 07, 2023 14:55 - 42 minutes - 49.5 MBIn episode 289, Kestrel welcomes Amy Powney, a UK based fashion designer, creative director and activist living in London. After starting as an assistant who swept the cutting room floor, Amy worked her way up, and is now the Creative Director and owner at Mother Of Pearl. A luxury womenswear brand, Mother of Pearl celebrates individuality, authenticity and sustainability. Amy is also the star of a new documentary called Fashion Reimagined, that tells some of her story building Mother Of Pea...
Trish Langman of Sovereignty on the need for comprehensive fashion education from childhood and beyond, to help collectively shift awareness about how our clothes are made
February 28, 2023 15:30 - 49 minutes - 55.5 MBIn episode 288, Kestrel welcomes designer, Trish Langman, to the show. With over 18 years of experience working with a long list of prestigious fashion brands, Trish is currently the Program Knowledge and Content Lead for the Fashion CEOs Accelerator program by Sovereignty, a partner with Argentinian NGO Hecho Por Nosotros and an advisor to the Board of Fashion Ghana, West Africa. "Obviously, the companies need to be complicit — you know, they should stop making stuff. But the consumer, yo...
Sage Paul of Indigenous Fashion Arts on why thinking sustainably is innately an Indigenous cultural practice & why we must see Indigenous designers on a global stage
February 21, 2023 15:06 - 35 minutes - 42.6 MBIn episode 287, Kestrel welcomes Sage Paul, an award-winning artist and designer, to the show. An urban Denesuliné (Den-a-sooth-leh-nay) woman based in Toronto and a member of English River First Nation, Sage is the artistic director and founder of Indigenous Fashion Arts. “There’s all this talk about sustainability and you know buy this or buy that, but the truth is, is that these corporations that are preaching this are just making too much. They are making too much, they are mass produc...
Doen's Director Of Impact Kristine Kim on their 2030 Roadmap & the importance of welcoming discomfort when navigating value chain impact work
February 14, 2023 15:30 - 46 minutes - 53 MBIn episode 286, Kestrel welcomes Kristine Kim, the Director of Impact at Doen, to the show. An LA-based women-run business, Doen offers collections inspired by a nostalgia for the coastal California of decades past. Doen recently unveiled their 2030 Roadmap, spearhead by Kristine, which provides an overarching blueprint for the business that will encapsulate both social and environmental elements of impact. “We wanted to see our supply chain as a value chain — not just as a global supply c...
Kelly Lottahall on making art out of old clothes and bringing the fashion & art worlds together to tell stories about *waste culture*
February 07, 2023 15:30 - 41 minutes - 48.1 MBIn episode 285, Kestrel welcomes artist and illustrator Kelly Lottahall to the show. An artist and illustrator, Kelly incorporates preloved textiles and scraps into her unique works of art. “It’s so like not that significant to most people, but for me — when it’s an item, a shirt, anything that’s used … this doesn't have to be vintage, I’m talking about stuff that’s just regular old stuff people don’t want. Not like vintage that’s 30 years old and super cool because it’s another era — no, ...
Angel Chang on why listening to Indigenous knowledge & preserving textile traditions can offer solutions for a more sustainable future
January 31, 2023 15:00 - 1 hour - 72 MBIn episode 284, Kestrel welcomes designer Angel Chang to the show. Over the last decade, Angel has been working with artisans in southwest rural China, making garments using zero carbon design / Indigenous practices (all-natural, locally-made, zero electricity). “For the past 20,000 years, we’ve been making our own fabric and you know, using ingredients from our own backyard. It’s only in the last 150 years that electricity was invented, that chemical dyes were created, that plastic and pl...
Kristin Morrison of All Species asks: what if we *embodied* our garments by actually wearing the land?
January 24, 2023 15:00 - 45 minutes - 51 MBIn episode 283, Kestrel welcomes Kristin Morrison, the founder and designer behind All Species, to the show. A textile arts and design studio, All Species investigates the potential to create regenerative garments and textiles. The below story was written by this week’s guest — it’s vision-inducing and reminds us of all the value that can come from further connecting ourselves to the natural world. It’s a beautiful way to envision what could happen if we work toward literally wearing the l...
Katia Dayan Vladimirova on The Hot Or Cool Institute's new report, what a 1.5 degree wardrobe could look like & questioning how much is enough
January 16, 2023 20:28 - 49 minutes - 55.2 MBIn episode 282, Kestrel welcomes Katia Dayan Vladimirova, a senior researcher at the University of Geneva, to the show. In addition to her research on fashion consumption, sustainability, and degrowth, Katia is the founder and coordinator at the Sustainable Fashion Consumption Network, and recently contributed to the Hot or Cool Institute’s Report – Unfit, Unfair, Unfashionable. “Sufficiency is part of —very much interlinked with degrowth conversations today — it’s about abandoning economi...
What are *healthy clothes* & understanding that our clothing actually enters and impacts our bodies
January 10, 2023 15:04 - 51 minutes - 56.9 MBIn episode 281, Kestrel welcomes Sarah Danu, the founder of Danu Organic, to the show. Danu Organic is focused on making clothing that is healthy for our bodies, the earth and everybody involved in the growing and making process of our garments. When it comes to food, we are constantly bombarded with messaging around healthy choices, and we have been taught to weigh which ingredients or products are the HEALTHIER option. However, when it comes to our clothes, do you ever hear folks questio...
Nadia Bunyan of Growing A.R.C. on how cultivating community led to the collective cultivation of the flax plant for linen
October 11, 2022 15:00 - 49 minutes - 54.9 MBIn episode 280, Kestrel welcomes Nadia Bunyan, a fashion designer & the cofounder of Growing A.R.C., to the show. Growing A.R.C. is a nonprofit that creates spaces and opportunities for people to activate, reciprocate and cultivate their relationships with all beings. Through plants, material culture, and bioregional design, they are engaging in a conversation on sustainability through active participation. What started as an experiment – tossing some flax seeds into the ground in the back...
S06 Episode 280 | Nadia Bunyan of Growing A.R.C. on how cultivating community led to the collective cultivation of the flax plant for linen
October 11, 2022 15:00 - 49 minutes - 54.9 MBIn episode 280, Kestrel welcomes Nadia Bunyan, a fashion designer & the cofounder of Growing A.R.C., to the show. Growing A.R.C. is a nonprofit that creates spaces and opportunities for people to activate, reciprocate and cultivate their relationships with all beings. Through plants, material culture, and bioregional design, they are engaging in a conversation on sustainability through active participation. What started as an experiment – tossing some flax seeds into the ground in the back...
S06 Episode 279 | Jono Salfield of Afends on DIY hemp farming for textiles & why hemp rules (from both a farming & carbon-capture lens)
October 04, 2022 15:00 - 46 minutes - 52.1 MBIn episode 279, Kestrel welcomes Jono Salfield, the cofounder of Afends, to the show. A sustainability-focused brand based in Byron Bay, Australia, Afends recently started their own Hemp R&D facility – Sleepy Hollow Farm — delving into farming to grow their own hemp for future collections. “Sustainability is just an evolution and being more innovative and looking at alternatives and trying things, to basically improve the way that we impact. Because we’re always gonna impact. And if you sa...
S06 Episode 278 | Why we must approach waste holistically & how Material Library Of India is reimagining & documenting neglected materials while advocating for systems change
September 26, 2022 21:47 - 47 minutes - 52.4 MBIn episode 279, Kestrel welcomes Shubhi Sachan, a multidisciplinary designer and the the founder of Material Library of India, to the show. A research and design space, Material Library of India is the first material library in India, and is focused on remodeling the use of industrial & agricultural waste materials, by combining the knowledge and skills of traditional crafts with modern materials. "We are not talking about waste holistically. And to be able to get the best output in my exp...
S06 Episode 277 | Questioning how we *value* garments & respecting the limits of partnership across fashion with Jesus Herrera
August 08, 2022 20:55 - 53 minutes - 57.4 MBIn episode 277, Kestrel welcomes Jesus Herrera — a model, clothing designer, vintage curator, and poet — to the show. Also known by their moniker Donatella because of their Instagram handle @donatellaversanchez, Jesus is the cofounder of the vintage jesus online store and Les Jesus fashion brand. “I’ve also brought space to my partnerships. I’ve also brought an understanding that I should not interfere and I should not demand from a culture that has existed for hundreds and sometimes thous...
S06 Episode 276 | Fashion psychology, contextualizing our buying behaviors amidst today's *speed* & how shopping is not equal to happiness
August 01, 2022 23:11 - 54 minutes - 59 MBIn episode 276, Kestrel welcomes Dr. Dion Terrelonge, a chartered psychologist, to the show. A researcher and stylist, Dion’s work explores the connection between clothes and human expression. “We live so much of our lives in clothing and we experience the highest points and the lowest points of our lives often in clothing. So, I really do think the stories and the relationships are there, but what has happened, I believe, is with fast fashion and online shopping, is because there is so mu...
S06 Episode 275 | The Or Foundation's take on their recent agreement with SHEIN, how these grant funds are/will be used within the Kantamanto community & extended producer responsibility (EPR)
July 05, 2022 18:34 - 1 hour - 74.7 MBIn episode 275, Kestrel welcomes Liz Ricketts (the cofounder and Director of The Or Foundation), alongside Sammy Oteng (a fashion designer, researcher, and the Community Design Lab Manager at The Or Foundation), to the show. A nonprofit based in the USA and Ghana, The Or Foundation’s primary goal is to catalyze what they call a justice-led circular economy. “What’s so unfair about what fast fashion has done is that it’s created a situation where every single garment that’s created, whether...
S06 Episode 274 | What are biosynthetic dyes & could they replace the toxic petroleum-heavy ingredients in today's predominant indigo garment dye?
June 21, 2022 00:50 - 42 minutes - 47.1 MBIn episode 274, Kestrel welcomes Michelle Zhu, the CEO & cofounder of Huue, to the show. In an effort to replace toxic chemical dyes in apparel, Huue are developing biosynthetic dyes — their initial focus is to provide an alternative to synthetic indigo. “We are creating a biosynthetic solution that is a one-to-one drop-in replacement into the textile supply chain. We’re creating these bio-identicals that can minimize the footprint of production of these dyes and pigments, but without disr...
S06 Episode 273 | Kesiena Onosigho on slow art as a tool for liberation and why sustainability isn't passive – it's something you live
June 06, 2022 20:48 - 52 minutes - 56 MBIn episode 273, Kestrel welcomes Kesiena Onosigho, a textile and mixed-media artist, to the show. Through the study of materials and patterns, Kesiena intuitively explores textiles and a range of media to create atmospheric abstractions focused on intersectionality, as coined by Kimberle Crenshaw, engaging in themes of social & environmental justice. “My work really is about reclaiming and retelling these narratives around Black cultural contributions to textiles and crafts and sustainabilit...
S06 Episode 272 | Revealing lipstick's dirty little secrets & questioning the beauty industry's lack of regulation with Angela Weinberg of Kolorete
May 23, 2022 23:03 - 50 minutes - 54.2 MBIn episode 272, Kestrel welcomes Angela Weinberg, the cofounder of Kolorete, to the show. A luxury color cosmetics brand, KOLORETE is focused on creating hydrating lipsticks made with organic ingredients. “Lip balms and lip products are traditionally very underregulated. So, when we think of this organic, consumerism ecosystem and conversation, what do we usually think about? I think we usually think about food … it’s less common, less mainstream to think about how the lipstick that we app...