Conscious Chatter

S02 Episode 74 | MITSCOOTS OUTFITTERS + EVOLVING THE 1FOR1 MODEL

August 08, 2017 20:52 - 29 minutes - 41.1 MB

In episode 74, Kestrel welcomes Tim Scott, the cofounder and CEO of Mitscoots Outfitters to the show. An Austin based clothing company, Mitscoots Outfitters is on a mission to outfit & employ the homeless. With every piece of American made gear you purchase, Mitscoots will give an equal quality item to someone in need and employ the transitioning homeless to package things up. Gear with a mission: Get + Give + Employ. In this chat, Tim shares some of his story, how he learned more about...

S02 Episode 73 | SLOW FACTORY, FASHION + POLITICS

August 02, 2017 00:09 - 32 minutes - 44.2 MB

In episode 73, Kestrel welcomes Céline Semaan Vernon, the CEO of Slow Factory to the show. Slow Factory is a mission-driven independent fashion label & lab that creates beautiful accessories, clothes and jewelry while directly supporting environmental and humanitarian causes. All work is fair-trade and manufactured with eco-friendly ink and fabrics. "Fashion activism is the practice of using fashion as a means of social change. It merges popular styles of dress, from clothing and shoes, t...

S02 Episode 72 | BACK BEAT RAGS, AFFORDABILITY + SUSTAINABLE FASHION

July 25, 2017 20:51 - 29 minutes - 40.5 MB

In episode 72, Kestrel welcomes Isadora Alvarez, the creator of Back Beat Rags, to the show. Isadora created her company as a reaction to some of the negative experiences she had working for an off-price retailer in LA. She created her business - Back Beat Rags - in a way that was the total opposite of the previous company she worked for. Isadora specializes in making what she calls: "low impact goods". Every piece in the Back Beat Rags collection is under $70 dollars. Throughout this c...

S02 Episode 71 | TOAD&CO + KEEPING PEOPLE IN THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE

July 19, 2017 02:06 - 39 minutes - 54.7 MB

In episode 71, Kestrel welcomes Gordon Seabury, the CEO of Toad&Co to the show. An outdoor industry lifestyle brand, Toad&Co has a bold mission: “To lead with integrity and weave optimism into everything they do; To create meaningful change through socially and environmentally smart business; and To inspire people to live their fullest lives”. Toad&Co has a motto: “Dirty is the new clean. Wear more. Wash less.” Studies suggest that 58% of the energy and 45% of the water that goes into...

S02 Episode 70 | SWEDISH STOCKINGS + CHANGING THE HOSIERY INDUSTRY

July 10, 2017 18:00 - 30 minutes - 41.5 MB

In episode 70, Kestrel welcomes Linn Frisinger, cofounder of Swedish Stockings to the show. Swedish Stockings produces beautiful pantyhose from 90-98% recycled nylon yarn. Each year, two billion pairs of tights are produced, worn a few times, and then discarded. After being inspired by the documentary The Lightbulb Conspiracy, Linn and her cofounder Nadja Forsberg set out to find a better solution for the hosiery industry. In this chat, Kestrel asks Linn about the approach Swedish Stoc...

S02 Episode 69 | OP SHOP TO RUNWAY + REDEFINING REUSED STYLE

July 03, 2017 21:53 - 39 minutes - 54.3 MB

In episode 69 of Conscious Chatter, Kestrel welcomes Alex van Os, eco stylist and founder of Op Shop To Runway to the show. Alex is an Australian Red Cross Op Shop Ambassador and a fashion & TV stylist on a mission: to help people realize that having killer style doesn't mean you have to kill the earth in the process. For her, second hand doesn't mean second best! Stat from the introduction, found via Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: Every single minute Americans toss out 47,564 ...

#BTS with Good Support + Conscious Chatter

June 28, 2017 23:00 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MB

What change can happen in our lives when we look at the bigger picture, especially when we look through the lens of sustainability (i.e. social, environmental & economic impacts)? When we dive into the deeper meaning[s] of life, we can, or should see how connected we all are. #BTS(behind the scenes) w/ Good Support + Conscious Chatter explores how our choices and actions impact our greater communities. We also discuss ways to start making changes to align ourselves more fully with our beli...

#BTS with Good Support + Conscious Chatter

June 28, 2017 22:54 - 52 minutes - 71.6 MB

What change can happen in our lives when we look at the bigger picture, especially when we look through the lens of sustainability (i.e. social, environmental & economic impacts)? When we dive into the deeper meaning[s] of life, we can, or should see how connected we all are. #BTS(behind the scenes) w/ Good Support + Conscious Chatter explores how our choices and actions impact our greater communities. We also discuss ways to start making changes to align ourselves more fully with our belie...

S02 Episode 68 | CLARE PRESS + THE WARDROBE CRISIS

June 27, 2017 03:36 - 40 minutes - 55.6 MB

In episode 68, Kestrel welcomes Clare Press, the author of Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went From Sunday Best to Fast Fashion, to the show. Clare is Marie Claire Australia’s fashion editor-at-large, and Daily Life’s Sustainable Style columnist. Clare is a big-time advocate for responsible fashion and sits on the Australian advisory board of Fashion Revolution. Clare shares her story, and how she feels like what we wear says a lot about what we want to say to the world. For her, we have truly lo...

S02 Episode 67 | MOLLY BERRY, LUNA ZORRO + THE ARTISAN AGENDA

June 21, 2017 01:22 - 51 minutes - 71 MB

In episode 67 of Conscious Chatter, Kestrel welcomes the founder of Luna Zorro, Molly Berry, to the show. As you may have heard, the below quote from Molly has come up in past episodes, when discussing the balance between working with artisans and sharing that story: It seems to me that the word 'empower' has become a marketing buzz word for many companies to pull the heart strings of the consumer, sometimes to the point of exploitation, manipulating images or stories and convincing people...

S02 Episode 66 | NOT JUST A LABEL

June 14, 2017 04:24 - 33 minutes - 46.8 MB

In episode 66 of Conscious Chatter, Kestrel welcomes Stefan Siegel, the founder of Not Just A Label to the show. The world’s leading designer platform for showcasing and nurturing today’s pioneers in contemporary fashion, Not Just A Label has been described by Vogue Paris as: “One of the ten most essential websites of today: it inspires, to be ahead of the trends". Stefan shares his insight on how data and fashion should be collaborating more often, and the potential that exists in that sp...

S02 Episode 65 | REMAKE + CONNECTIVE HUMAN STORIES

June 07, 2017 20:16 - 41 minutes - 56.9 MB

In episode 65 of Conscious Chatter, Kestrel welcome Ayesha Barenblat to the show. The founder of Remake, Ayesha is hugely passionate about the power of storytelling and human connection. Remake is a platform that builds human connections between all of us as people who shop - and the makers whose hands create the fashion we wear.

S02 Episode 64 | MIA VESPER, FOCUS + CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE

May 31, 2017 05:05 - 29 minutes - 41.2 MB

In episode 64 of Conscious Chatter, Kestrel welcomes self-taught designer Mia Vesper to the show. While Mia may be a new name to the fashion scene, she’s turning heads left and right. From Vogue to W Magazine to Man Repeller, the big guys are taking note. A 25-year old designer, Mia brings two key elements into her eye-catching designs: reinvention and recycling. In this chat, Kestrel asks Mia about her approach to design, and how she sources the vintage tapestries that are so integral to ...

S02 Episode 63 | THE NEW DENIM PROJECT + UPCYCLING WASTE INTO TEXTILES

May 24, 2017 00:52 - 35 minutes - 48.2 MB

In episode 63, Kestrel welcomes Arianne Engelberg, the Creative Director of The New Denim Project to the show. An innovative product line out of Iris Textiles in Guatemala, The New Denim Project makes textiles and products from upcycled pre-consumer denim waste. Arianne shares stories of the evolution of her family's factory over the years - her grandparents originally started it back in the 1950s. Also, Arianne explains more in detail the process behind the upcycled textiles they have dev...

S02 Episode 62 | THREAD, TIMBERLAND + RECYCLING WASTE SYSTEMS

May 17, 2017 05:28 - 31 minutes - 43 MB

In episode 62, Kestrel welcomes guests Ian Rosenberger, the founder and CEO of Thread, and Zachary Angelini, the Environmental Stewardship Manager at Timberland. Ian and Zack share some of the stories behind the Thread x Timberland collaboration, which is made of Thread’s Ground to Good™ fabric, harvested from plastic bottles littering the streets and landfills of Haiti. Kestrel also asks Zack to share his mindset on Timberland's approach to sustainability, especially considering the compa...

S02 Episode 61 | GALERIA.LA, PERSONAL STYLE + CURATION

May 10, 2017 00:07 - 34 minutes - 46.9 MB

In episode 61, Kestrel welcomes Dechel McKillian, founder of Galerie.LA and former stylist for the Black Eyed Peas and Lil Wayne to the show. They talk all things personal style and curation, and explore how sustainability fits into these approaches. With a background in psychobiology, Dechel shares her thoughts on how technology and fast fashion are influencing a general loss of personal style, and that the homogenization of culture is potentially influencing us to lose our own identities...

S02 Episode 60 | THE SUSTAINABLE APPAREL COALITION + QUESTIONING FASHION'S IMPACT

May 03, 2017 03:37 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MB

In this week's episode, Kestrel welcomes two guests to the show: Jason Kibbey, the CEO of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Alden Wicker, writer and founder of EcoCult. The idea for this show exploded for Kestrel after she read an article Alden wrote for Racked: “We Have No Idea How Bad Fashion Actually Is For The Environment”. It struck a chord with her -- and many other people who have been using the same unverified fact over and over again in our conversations: the global fashion indu...

S02 Episode 59 | PATAGONIA, FAIR TRADE + THE FASHION REVOLUTION

April 23, 2017 23:38 - 33 minutes - 45.8 MB

In episode 59, Kestrel had the opportunity to visit the Patagonia Headquarters in Ventura, CA to record an in-person interview with 2 key players in the Patagonia game. Helena Barbour is the Senior Director of Global Sportswear at Patagonia, and Thuy Nguyen is the Manager of Social Responsibility and Special Programs. The two have played a large role in building out Patagonia's Fair Trade initiative - in conjunction with Fair Trade USA - in recent years. In light of Fashion Revolution Day...

S02 Episode 58 | EILEEN FISHER, FISHER FOUND + CLOSING THE LOOP

April 19, 2017 07:10 - 37 minutes - 52.2 MB

In episode 58, Kestrel welcomes on Cynthia Powers, the Facilitating Manager of Eileen Fisher’s clothing take back program, Fisher Found, as well as Teslin Doud, who was part of Eileen Fisher’s Social Innovators Project, helping develop some of the company’s circular design components. Kestrel asks Cynthia and Teslin about Fisher Found’s origins, intention and goals. In addition, Cynthia and Teslin share more insight on the meaning behind the program’s three Rs: Reworn, Renewed, and Remade....

S02 Episode 57 | GLOBEIN, ARTISANS + THE SUBSCRIPTION BOX MODEL

April 12, 2017 04:17 - 36 minutes - 50.3 MB

In episode 57, Kestrel welcomes Liza Moiseeva to the show. Liza is the co-founder of GlobeIn, a social business dedicated to supporting remote artisans from around the world. Their primary product is a monthly Artisan Box subscription, where every product fights poverty through job creation and fair wages. Kestrel and Liza discuss the importance of storytelling when it comes to artisan and fair trade products, and Liza shares her insight on how she thinks the "subscription box" could be ch...

S02 Episode 56 | STYLE LEND + THE ONLINE FASHION RENTAL MARKET

April 05, 2017 01:29 - 28 minutes - 39.1 MB

In episode 56, Kestrel welcomes on Lona Alia, founder and CEO of Style Lend, an online marketplace that hosts hundreds of designer styles that users can rent for a fraction of the cost and return after a week's time. Called the "AirBnB for clothes" by TechCrunch, Style Lend is working on shaking up the online rental fashion scene by giving women access to other women's impressive closets. In this chat, Kestrel asks Lona how she addresses the difficulties of having enough inventory for rent...

S02 Episode 55 | SLOW FOOD + FASHION, CROSS POLLINATION + THE QUESTION OF SCALE

March 28, 2017 21:37 - 57 minutes - 78.9 MB

In episode 55, Kestrel welcomes Summer Rayne Oakes to the show. Known as “the first eco model”, Summer's experiences and knowledge go far beyond her notable look. With an education focused on ecology and entomology (the study of insects), she has worked in 2 distinct realms of the sustainability conversation: food and fashion. Kestrel asks Summer for insight on what the fashion world could potentially learn from the food world, and vice versa. They discuss regenerative agriculture, the pol...

S02 Episode 54 | GOOD ON YOU + APPS FOR CONSUMER ACTION

March 21, 2017 16:30 - 29 minutes - 40.5 MB

In episode 54, Kestrel connects with Sandra Capponi, the Co-Founder & Head of Development for Good On You, an app that helps you find fashion that has a positive impact on people, the planet and animals. Nowadays, there’s literally an app for everything. In this chat, Sandra shares insight on how she believes that apps can make an impact, and how giving people access to information can empower them to make better decisions. Kestrel asks Sandra about the sharing of information and how app...

S02 Episode 53 | NATURAL DYES + BOTANICAL COLORS

March 14, 2017 21:28 - 36 minutes - 50 MB

In episode 53, our first episode of Season 2, Kestrel connect with natural dye guru Kathy Hattori. As the founder of Botanical Colors, Kathy works to bring natural dyeing processes to larger scale production facilities, and also collaborates with designers on small batch dye projects. In this chat, Kathy breaks down the big differences between conventional and natural dyes, and the scaleability of the latter. Also, Kestrel and Kathy talk about "brilliance of dyes," and how this can be inte...

S01 Episode 52 | WHITNEY BAUCK, FASHIONISTA + DIGITAL ACTIVISM

March 08, 2017 05:32 - 40 minutes - 55.9 MB

In this week's episode, Kestrel has the chance to welcome on one of her notable "Instagram-turned-real-life" connections: Whitney Bauck, an assistant editor at Fashionista. On her personal blog, Unwrinkling, Whitney explores the intersection of fashion, faith and ethics. In this chat, Whitney shares insight on what led her into the ethical fashion conversation. It's interesting to hear how she has embraced her role at Fashionista not only to write about style, but also to bring ethics, su...

Episodes

Twitter Mentions