 In episode 253, Kestrel welcomes Hilary Jochmans, the founder of consulting firm Politically In Fashion, to the show. Politically In Fashion & Hilary’s name have been popping up a lot in the fashion space, after she helped pen an official letter to President Biden, calling for him to appoint a fashion czar. “You think about all the different areas that touch fashion and fashion, in respect, it touches as well. You've got immigration, you've got trade, you've got tax issues, you've got water resource issues, you have sustainability issues, you have labor issues, you have a myriad of issues that are currently handled in Washington in a dozen different agencies. So, the idea of the fashion czar was to pull someone who could look at all these different spaces (sort of at the 30,000 foot level) and say — 'okay, here's where we need to have everyone come together'.” -Hilary Have you heard any of the chatter advocating for a fashion czar? And you may be asking - what in the world is a czar anyways? Throughout history, the U.S. government has appointed czars for various reasons — they have focused on the auto industry, drugs, energy, and beyond. A czar is basically someone senior in the administration who has a very defined role and mission and most importantly - someone who has the ear of the President.   Hilary helped pen a letter to President Biden earlier this year, requesting that his administration appoint a FASHION czar to help regulate fashion like other big sectors — and to help elevate the issues and needs of the fashion & retail industry directly to the President. This is just a glimpse of what we explore on the show. It’s all about the politics of fashion — from requesting a fashion czar to breaking down what The Green Guides mean, to unveiling more ways we can all get involved, this conversation is centered around deconstructing how policy intersects with fashion and sustainability. Quotes & links from the conversation: “President Biden, Appoint A Fashion Czar!” in Fast Company, the original article by Elizabeth Segran that sparked the idea to send a letter to President Biden “I think the days of just ignoring government and pretending that there’s not going to be regulation — I think those days are over.” -Hilary If you don’t know who your members of Congress are — go to congress.gov and type in your address, and they will pop up. In their last update (2012), The Green Guides DID NOT touch on sustainability and they DID NOT touch on organic and natural. “I think it’s important — even if we don’t define the word sustainability — that we put some sort of guardrails on the term, cause if you’re just throwing the term around — this is sustainable, that’s sustainable, and there’s nothing to back it up, it’s gonna lose all meaning.” -Hilary “Speaking of beauty and cosmetics, The Cosmetics Act has not been updated since 1934.” -Hilary “FTC’s Updated ‘Green Guides’ Could Clamp Down on Greenwashing” in WWD “The Politics Of Fashion” in Marie Claire “Allbirds, ThredUp, More Ask Biden to Appoint ‘Fashion Czar’” in WWD ““We Have The Power Of The Purse”: Why It’s Our Duty To Keep Up The Good Things Happening In Fashion” in Vogue Federal Advocacy Guide by Politically In Fashion Green Guides 101 by Politically In Fashion Politically In Fashion website > Follow Politically In Fashion on Instagram > 

Conscious Chatter with Kestrel Jenkins

S05 Episode 253 | Advocating for the U.S. to appoint a fashion czar, what are The Green Guides and more on the intersections of politics & fashion

 In episode 252, Kestrel welcomes Sara Gourlay, the Creative Director at Frankie Collective, to the show. A brand dedicated to innovating women’s streetwear, Frankie Collective is also setting a standard for sustainability in the fashion industry. “I guess we’re really just trying to disrupt the industry — there can be another way to do business, and that’s to consider the impact of garments on people and the planet. That’s the way it should be — from using conscious materials to ethical manufacturing processes to investing in community empowerment, our mission is just to be a part of that change toward better business in the fashion industry.” -Sara UPCYCLING. What comes to mind when you hear that word? I think there are some stereotypes still lingering, that may not totally live up to the exceptional upcycling work that’s happening in fashion. As this week’s guest points out - upcycling is just simply the process of taking something old and turning it into something new. Of which, of course, is NOT something new, and has been happening for ages in different capacities.  But on a business scale, I’m always curious how brands can make upcycling *work*. When we think about a fashion supply chain, so much of today’s systems have been based around optimization, efficiency, speed, and cost reduction. Reworking products that already exist does not necessarily *help* a company achieve those goals, the ones most fashion brands are striving for. From sourcing to cutting to sewing to even product listing - the struggle is real when you’re reconstructing garments, BUT some brands are making it all work and they are making it look beyond cool in the process. This week’s guest shares more on the challenges and creative ways they are navigating this space, and how by altering an existing garment, they strive to add value to extend products’ lifecycles. Quotes & links from the conversation: “Part of the sourcing is seeing what’s abundant out there and kind of designing around that.” -Sara “Cutting a single rework garment, it can take us up to an hour and a half for one piece, so I think that’s something people don’t really know about — just how much work goes into the bundling and cutting stage, before it’s even sewn.” -Sara Frankie Collective website > Follow Sara on Instagram > Follow Frankie Collective on Instagram > *correction — Sara mentioned that Frankie Collective was launched in 2017, but they initially launched in 2014 

S05 Episode 252 | Frankie Collective on reimagining supply chains for *upcycling* & embracing sustainability and streetwear through reworked design

 In episode 251, Kestrel welcomes Francisco Diaz of CiscoSews to the show. An upcycling designer, Francisco created CiscoSews, a slow fashion sewing studio, to experiment with garment making. “There is just so much waste right now that we’re all seeing that we need to slow it down and reuse, and focus less on having the perfect brand new piece — that’s never going to happen.” -Francisco   On the show, we’re always searching for context and looking for definitions to help support the ideas we talk about. At the same time, the more I learn - and let’s be real - the more I UNLEARN from the binary-put-everything-inside-a-box culture around us, the more I realize that in many circumstances, we must welcome a myriad of definitions. One question we ask on this week’s show is — What does nonbinary fashion mean to you? I think we often fail to welcome that myriad I mentioned, when we think about nonbinary fashion. Nonbinary does not always mean androgynous. Nonbinary fashion can look feminine, masculine, neither or both. This week’s guest is all about living outside labels, and truly embracing what feels good to them, on the daily. They also happen to be a super creative slow fashion sewing genius. Throughout our chat, they share more on how ditching the fashion binary has opened up more avenues for creativity to flow, in their upcycling design process. Quotes & links from the conversation: “Just being open to different possibilities is really good for my creative process.” -Francisco “I think putting too many boundaries on myself — boundaries are definitely important and there’s a lot of them in sewing — but having as much of an open mind as you can with these different pieces will definitely help you out in the creative process.” -Francisco Friday Pattern Company “I think right now — what nonbinary fashion means to me is just dressing the way that I want to dress without worrying about how the fashion industry would label it or how the person that maybe created it would label it, and just focus more about how it feels on my body or how it aligns with how I want to express myself at the time. So, sort of living outside of any of the labels and just focusing on what feels great to me.” -Francisco “I think it frees my design process — I think it almost just opens more avenues for creativity to flow and it sort of stops the blocks of trying to fit into societal expectations of what people would wear.” -Francisco CiscoSews Website > Follow Francisco on Instagram > This week's episode is sponsored by Ana Luisa, the first direct-to-consumer jewelry brand to become carbon-neutral. If you’re interested in checking out Ana Luisa, you can use code CHATTER to get 10% off. 

S05 Episode 251 | CiscoSews on the freedom in nonbinary design & experimentations with upcycling

 In episode 250, Kestrel welcomes Natalie Shehata, a stylist focused on sustainability, to the show. Natalie currently works as the Retail Trainer for The Social Outfit, a Sydney-based fashion label who provides employment and training to people from refugee and new migrant communities. “We have these brands, and we have people kind of saying — ok, I need to tick this box and I need to do this and I need to make sure that I have women of color in our photo shoots and our editorial campaigns, and I need to make sure x, y and z. And that to me is why diversity is tokenistic, because it’s not happening from the roots, it’s not happening from the foundation, it’s not happening from a system that was built by BIPOC and for BIPOC.” -Natalie In 2018, Natalie presented a speech at the Disposable Planet seminar for Eco Fashion Week Australia titled: “How the sustainable fashion space should focus on: representation, inclusivity and visibility.”  While this was written almost 3 years ago, it continues to resonate strongly today, and has proven to make a powerful influence on the fashion community in Australia, specifically. One aspect Natalie highlights in this speech is why diversity can be very tokenistic. The following part from that speech acknowledges some of the ideas we explore throughout this episode: “The communities most affected by our sustainable industry decisions are Black and Brown communities, yet they are not afforded the right to take part in the decision making process. It is the White privileged, resourced and elite groups who dictate the climate of fashion – now and for the future. When we’re referring to the current climate of sustainable fashion and bringing the topic of visibility to media, we’re faced with the over saturation at the moment of words like diversity - now is the time to acknowledge how powerful language is in communicating messages. I think we need to consider the fact that the term diversity in its very nature can be quite tokenistic.” Why *diversity* is tokenistic and retail training people from refugee & new migrant communities at The Social Outfit Quotes & links from the conversation: Tommie Magazine “How The Sustainable Fashion Space Should Focus on Representation, Visibility and Inclusivity” The Social Outfit, social enterprise Natalie works with Natalie’s Website (will be live soon) > Follow The Social Outfit on Instagram > Follow Natalie on Instagram > This week's episode is sponsored by Ana Luisa, the first direct-to-consumer jewelry brand to become carbon-neutral. If you’re interested in checking out Ana Luisa, you can use code CHATTER to get 10% off.

S05 Episode 250 | Natalie Shehata on why *diversity* is tokenistic and advocating for holistic inclusion

 In episode 249, Kestrel welcomes Isiah Magsino, a writer based in New York City, to the show. With bylines in Vogue, GQ, W, Nylon, Architectural Digest, and more, Isiah is focused on writing about the beautiful things in life. “While it’s mainstream now, it’s important to recognize where it comes from, and the adversity that was faced from doing so back in the day. You know, we’re at a point where it’s a little more accepted, which is amazing, but before we go into marketing everything as genderless, I think it’s important to know the struggle that came from crossdressing or drag or even participating in genderless fashion to begin with.” -Isiah One of fashion’s newest words to embrace - when it comes to marketing jargon - is GENDERLESS.  As this week’s guest points out, the term genderless is currently en vogue - and it’s starting to sound like sustainability did a few months ago. Press releases that were framed around “sustainability this or sustainability that” are now shifting to language centered around genderless or gender fluid styles.  At first glance, fashion’s embrace of genderless clothing seems fantastic (as well as being something that should have happened ages and ages ago). But approaching genderless as a trend, not acknowledging the history of gender noncomforming dress and especially, not giving credit where credit is due — to queer and trans people who have been stepping out of the binary for hundreds of year, is where it gets super problematic.  This week’s guest recently wrote a piece for W Magazine that explores all of the above, through interviews with mostly trans women, in an effort to share more on the nuanced importance of truly dressing however the hell you want. We explore more on why we (and the industry) must pay their respects to the LGBTQ+ community, and some of the nuance connected to fashion’s most recent obsession with *genderless*. Quotes & links from the conversation: “For the LGBTQ+ Community, Fashion Has Always Been ‘Genderless’”, Isiah’s article for W Magazine that is explored in depth throughout the conversation Beyond The Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon, book & educator Kestrel mentions The Art Of Drag by Jake Hall, book Isiah recommends Isiah’s website > Follow Isiah on Instagram > This week's episode is sponsored by Ana Luisa, the first direct-to-consumer jewelry brand to become carbon-neutral. If you’re interested in checking out Ana Luisa, you can use code CHATTER to get 10% off.

S05 Episode 249 | Isiah Magsino on fashion's current obsession with *genderless* and paying respect to queer & trans communities who have been stepping out of the binary forever

 In episode 248, Kestrel welcomes Ocean Rose, a Yoruba artist, to the show. Focused on botanical dye, community, photography, & poetry, Ocean weaves beauty, thoughtfulness and the art of slowing down into their work. “Sustainability’s more of a story of how — it’s probably the history of people and the things that we acquire over time. It’s all part of passing them on: cultural, familial, and ancestral idiosyncrasies. So yes and no — sustainability, it does have a meaning, but I think when we start to break down what it actually means, we can notice that it’s woven into more of our lives than we might realize.” -Ocean *Beauty* ends up being a recurring theme woven throughout this conversation with Ocean — and through this conversation, she reminds us of something very important. We live and interact within a capitalistic society, and the world tells us that we should monetize all of the things that we love. Which, case in point — this podcast is 100% a reflection of that. It is a project that over time, I have worked mindfully to develop into a business, in order to help fund this work that I love so deeply. In her whimsical, ethereal prose, Ocean notes that we should keep some things for ourselves — especially at certain moments throughout our lives, because creative avenues can help ground us, connect us to the land, to our inner child, and to ourselves.  Botanical dyeing started as that *thing* for Ocean, and it has evolved gradually and intentionally into something that now also provides monetary value.  We explore the deep meaning behind botanical dyeing, the need to reframe our respect for resources by seeing the beauty in what is often considered “waste”, and questions around scalability - something that always bubbles to the top in the sustainability and fashion space.   Quotes & links from the conversation: Ocean’s website > Ocean’s Ko-fi > Follow Ocean on Instagram > Follow Ocean on TikTok > This week's episode is sponsored by Ana Luisa, the first direct-to-consumer jewelry brand to become carbon-neutral. If you’re interested in checking out Ana Luisa, you can use code CHATTER to get 10% off.

S05 Episode 248 | Ocean Rose on botanical dyeing, sustainability as a collection of idiosyncrasies & the art of slowing down

 In episode 247, Kestrel welcomes Christian Allaire, the Fashion and Style Writer at Vogue, to the show. Christian recently released his first book, titled The Power Of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used To Reclaim Cultures. “I think of something like ribbon work in my culture — like every color of the ribbon means something, or maybe it represents someone in your life or like you said, intention is first and foremost. How it looks is important, but why it’s there is even more important. And so, I’m drawn to anyone who also approaches design that way.” -Christian As a fashion-obsessed teen, Christian grew up on the Nipissing First Nation reserve in Ontario, Canada, scouring magazines or movies for style inspiration. Years later, he realized that so much of his personal aesthetic and attraction to fashion and dressing was influenced by his own community - being Indigenous Ojibwe. From the colors to the garment making process to the deep meaning that can be embedded in clothing, his love of fashion was largely shaped in his early years, and continues to inform his writing today. One of the chapters of Christian’s new book — The Power Of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used To Reclaim Cultures — is focused on “Sewing Tradition”, and he explores some of the history and meaning behind ribbon work, a tradition connected to his own family’s roots. Throughout the conversation, we touch a great deal on his experience having his own ribbon shirt made as an adult, and the layers of meaning literally built into that design. But in Christian’s new book, he also explores beyond his own heritage, highlighting and connecting with an array of communities who are all using fashion and beauty to reclaim their culture. Quotes & links from the conversation: “I really just kind of understood more so why cultural clothing or Indigenous design is so important to keep up — it's up to us to continue these traditions, because no one else will. And so, yes I got a beautiful shirt out of it, but I think it was about way more than that for me.” -Christian Jamie Okuma, Indigenous designer Christian mentions Mobilize, Indigenous designer Christian mentions Tania Larsson, Indigenous designer Christian mentions Warren Steven Scott, Indigenous designer Christian mentions Keri Ataumbi, Indigenous designer Christian mentions Korina Emmerich, Indigenous designer Christian mentions “5 Shoe Lovers on Where They Shop for Heels, and Why Wearing Them Is Empowering”, article by Christian for Vogue that is mentioned Christian’s book Power Of Style How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used To Reclaim Cultures > Follow Christian on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by For Days — they call themselves the “first closed loop clothing brand” and are dedicated to building a better, waste-free future. If you’re interested in checking out For Days, you can use code CHATTER15 to get 15% off. Learn more and shop at For Days.com

S05 Episode 247 | Christian Allaire of Vogue on the deep meaning behind Indigenous ribbon work & fashion as a means to reclaim culture

 In episode 246, Kestrel welcomes Nia Thomas, the founder and designer of her eponymous label, to the show. An ethically made, independent autobiographical fashion brand, Nia Thomas was created for all beings who respect Mother Earth and all of her inhabitants. “Fashion was never just about the garment or the clothes — I felt like it really is an ethos. Like fashion is about the restaurants you like to eat, the movies you like to watch, the museums you go to with your friends on the weekend, where you like to travel to on holiday. And creating this world of evolution, because as we get older, we change; we’re evolutional beings, and how our wardrobe is affected by that.” -Nia If you’ve taken any fashion businesses courses, or if you’re tapped into the marketing space, I would imagine that you’ve heard the idea that we need to focus on one thing and do it well. Or maybe you’ve heard about the importance of honing in on a hyper specific quote unquote demographic, to ensure you’re actually entering the market in the *right* way? This week’s guest is totally resisting all of the above business ideals in the most beautiful way. From her eclectic and you could say unexpected product offering, to making styles for many bodies, Nia Thomas describes her label as an “autobiographical brand”. On the show, she shares more on how she allows her own evolution to consistently influence her brand — giving space for Nia Thomas to continue to transition into new stages, that are reflective of her own growth as a human. Quotes & links from the conversation: “I feel the word sustainability itself means everything and nothing at the same time — because it’s really hard to verify things.” -Nia Nia Thomas interview on Melanin & Sustainable Style “Am I a fashion designer or am I a multitasking problem solver because that’s the bulk of what it takes when you’re doing all the parts.” -Nia The Responsible Company by Yvon Choinard, book Kestrel mentions Nia Thomas YouTube > Follow Nia on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by For Days — they call themselves the “first closed loop clothing brand” and are dedicated to building a better, waste-free future. If you’re interested in checking out For Days, you can use code CHATTER15 to get 15% off. Learn more and shop at For Days.com

S05 Episode 246 | Nia Thomas on building an autobiographical brand & breaking up with plug and play approaches to doing fashion

 In episode 245, Kestrel welcomes Eshita Kabra-Davies, the CEO and founder of By Rotation, to the show. A UK-based social fashion rental app and platform, By Rotation is dedicated to transforming the way we consume fashion. “I think no one’s really attempted to make fashion rental about the sharing economy, to make it about women sharing with each other. It’s always been seen more as a “oh, I want to wear designer clothing” or “oh, I want to wear something new” or “oh, I have a charity gala or a ball to go to”. It’s always been for those sort of reasons — it’s never really addressed the fact that we all have enough fashion in our existing wardrobes.” -Eshita Have you heard the recent discussion about how the rental market could have a worse impact on the planet than just throwing your clothes in the trash? It’s been circulating around across the mainstream media after a new study was released in the journal - Environmental Research Letters. First of all — research within the fashion space is so important and necessary and needed. We are lacking in accumulated data as an industry, so it is always exciting to learn about new studies and the way they go about putting their findings together. At the same time, when it comes to research, there are going to be biases involved, every detail cannot be accounted for, and there will be some assumptions made. It’s complex, yet important to continue to question and explore the nuance with the arrival of new data and new framings of analytics. When it comes to reports like this, it’s very important to hear from individuals on different sides of the results and to listen to multiple perspectives. On this week’s show, we talk with Eshita — the founder and CEO of By Rotation — on how they are working to make the sharing economy personal. For By Rotation, fashion rental is not another sales avenue to sell hundreds of dresses (to the rental company instead of the consumer) — it’s instead an opportunity to allow us to use / rent what we already have in our own closets. Quotes & links from the conversation: “People are feeling pressure to always update their look, you know, always have something new happening in their lives — whether it’s going to the newest restaurant or wearing the latest handbag or whatever — there’s this pressure to always show new things. And I thought it would be so interesting if we could create a sharing economy around fashion, because fashion, turns out, is one of the most polluting industries in the world. It overtakes maritime and aviation industries combined — which is shocking because you would think that traveling and taking airplanes is the biggest contributor, but actually, it’s what we wear every day.” -Eshita “Innovative recycling or extended use? Comparing the global warming potential of different ownership and end-of-life scenarios for textiles” -study by Environmental Research Letters Follow Eshita on Instagram > Follow By Rotation on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by For Days — they call themselves the “first closed loop clothing brand” and are dedicated to building a better, waste-free future. If you’re interested in checking out For Days, you can use code CHATTER15 to get 15% off. Learn more and shop at For Days.com

S05 Episode 245 | Eshita Kabra-Davies of By Rotation on fashion rental, making the sharing economy personal & challenging the pressure of *newness*

 In episode 244, Kestrel welcomes Alyssa Beltempo, a Canadian slow fashion expert and stylist, to the show. Through her YouTube channel with over 144K subscribers to her Instagram and website, Alyssa is dedicated to reminding us that there is a power in advocating for creativity over consumption. "I wanted to fill the gap of showing that you can consume less and it can actually be fun and it doesn’t have to be a sacrifice — which, like society has made it out that way — like we have to be in this constant search of more, when in fact, the opposite can actually be a very fruitful and rewarding endeavor." -Alyssa The idea for this conversation was actually sparked when Alyssa reached out to Kestrel, after listening to episode 241 with Akilah Stewart of FATRA. In that chat, there was a lot of discussion about creativity, and Alyssa said she loved how Akilah highlighted that everyone can be creative, and that resonated a lot with her own approach to styling. So, thanks to Akilah for inspiring the seeds for this episode! We explore more on the power that creativity holds, when we are thinking about how to get beyond the rhetoric of consuming less, shopping your own closet when you can, how the narrative is finally shifting away from putting *all* of the responsibility on the shopper to address fashion’s messes, and more. Quotes & links from the conversation: “Using less and being creative with what you have — this is not a new concept. Maybe I’m presenting it in a different way, but being more sustainable in your mindset is rooted in the way of life for poor and marginalized communities. My immigrant grandparents were reusing and being creative because that was what was available to them.” -Alyssa “It’s almost like we need to be a bit more materialistic in a sense — like we need to love what we have — when you love what you have, you tend to want less.” -Alyssa Episode 240 with Maxine Bédat Episode 47 with Timo Rissanen Power Of My People, brand that makes linen shirt Alyssa mentions Live virtual “Shop Your Closet” event Subscribe to Alyssa’s YouTube Channel > Follow Alyssa on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by For Days — they call themselves the “first closed loop clothing brand” and are dedicated to building a better, waste-free future. If you’re interested in checking out For Days, you can use code CHATTER15 to get 15% off. Learn more and shop at For Days.com

S05 Episode 244 | Alyssa Beltempo on creativity over consumption & shifting the narrative away from placing *all* responsibility on the consumer

 In episode 243, Kestrel welcomes Julia Perez, the creator of Jae and Leona, to the show. Through her company — Jae and Leona — Julia offers small batch, plant + botanical skin care products, as well as in-person facial treatments. She is also an intuitive esthetician, energy healer, and model. "Self care should be an everyday thing, and it almost should be an every moment thing — like every thing that you’re doing is with intention to support yourself, to preserve yourself, so that you can then continue to go on to live your life’s purpose, whatever that may be." -Julia Have you felt like you’re hearing a lot more about *self care* over the last year or so? I mean, let’s be real - the last year+ has been intense on so many levels - from COVID-19 to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd to job insecurity to economic difficulties … it’s been a lot. And with all of that, there has been a heightened need to find ways to care for ourselves, in order to keep going.  But one of the things I notice is how much the *growth* of self care has been directly aligned with capitalism - you know, it’s companies marketing products to us, as these things we have to have to take a break, or something we need to help us rest or do something for ourselves.  When, there are so many ways we can slow down without buying anything new. This week’s guest reminds us that self care doesn’t mean retail therapy — and that self care can be little things that we do for ourselves on a daily basis. She shares more on her work as an intuitive esthetician, how she released her own skincare line during the pandemic, some of the ways her own heritage has been built into her products, and what skincare as liberation means to her. Quotes & links from the conversation: Julia’s favorite ingredients? “There are 2 ingredients — one is tamanu, which is a nut that comes from the South Pacific that has incredible healing properties, and the other one is tulsi which is sweet basil. But both of those ingredients actually have links in history to my own heritage — my Dad is from Guam, so from the South Pacific, a lot of Natives actually used those two ingredients or those plants to do their own healing. In my research, I wanted to create a link to my own heritage and healing and really investigate and be connected to that.” “I hope that many businesses can really step away from the scarcity model — of like ‘you need to buy this right now or it’s no longer going to be available for you’. You know, not only is that mind frame and that model toxic, but it also doesn’t support others that may not be able to make that investment at that moment, and is kind of exclusionary in a lot of senses.” -Julia Jae and Leona's Awakening Hydrosol Jae and Leona's Bare Face Cleansing Oil Follow Julia on Instagram > for all things sustainable fashion for larger bodies Follow Jae and Leona on Instagram > for all things skincare + self care 

S05 Episode 243 | Julia Perez of Jae and Leona on separating self care from capitalism, launching a skincare line during the pandemic & advocating for skincare as liberation

 In episode 242, Kestrel welcomes Nishanth Chopra, the founder of Oshadi Collective, to the show, alongside Mairin Wilson, the head of regenerative practices at Christy Dawn. A regenerative farm and textile production community based in Erode, India, Oshadi Collective has been working in partnership with Christy Dawn to develop and release farm-to-closet garments. "It's about connection, connecting to everything you do and having an alternative way of looking at things. Whether it be a relationship with another being or another person or a relationship with the plants or a relationship with any aspect — anything that you interact with in the supply chain. So, when we talk about agriculture, it’s about the soil, it’s about ecosystems, it’s about the biodiversity, it’s about the animals. You know, it’s not just about *not* adding chemicals — it's about recreating something which we have destroyed for years and years and years." -Nishanth The word regenerative has been popping up in mainstream fashion conversations more regularly over the last year or so – it’s been written about in Vogue, Marie Claire, Women’s Wear Daily, and more. But a lot of the methods and concepts used in regenerative agriculture are not new at all – they're rooted in circular practices cultivated by Indigenous people over thousands of years. And they are tied to ancient practices for the cultivation of fiber and beyond. Unfortunately, as we see over and over again, the often whitewashed sustainability movement has a reputation of taking ideas or practices from Black and Brown Indigenous communities, without giving credit or acknowledgement, and then finding new ways to repackage and commercialize them. As I observe the word regenerative begin to infiltrate the fashion space, it’s key to ask more questions about what this concept actually means to these brands, and what the behind-the-scenes in the supply chain really looks like for them.  On this week’s show, we explore some of these ideas with Nishanth of Oshadi Collective and Mairin of Christy Dawn. The two have been working closely over the last two years in a distinct partnership — they have been working to build a new fashion system, one that is hyper-localized and regenerative, and that has now produced farm-to-closet garments. Quotes & links from the conversation: “It’s really amazing when you create these regenerative systems and these systems — as Nishanth said, of trust and mutually beneficial relationships — I feel like, although it is a lot of hard work and everyone’s doing their part, it feels easy because you’re doing your part but then you’re also benefiting from it.” -Mairin “With regenerative, you start to have a different outlook and you think them as you, just another version of you. You treat them how you’d treat yourself — anything you interact with like soils, insects, animals, the people you work with — it’s a respectful relationship with everything you interact with. That’s what regenerative is for me.” -Nishanth “I just really want to make sure I play my part — you know, I can’t change the world or you know, I can’t change big systems but I can play my part to create something small, and if that kind of leaves an impact, and it can be these ripples it starts. And I can take it to a certain distance — someone after me will take it to a slightly bigger distance hopefully, and it keeps going on. I won’t be able to accomplish this in one lifetime — not anyone — because it’s been happening for such a long time, but eventually the goal is completely change the system and create a system that is fair, respectful.” -Nishanth Peeling Back The Layers Of The Green Revolution, episode on Art Of Citizenry podcast that has been very helpful to Kestrel when contextualizing some of the history connected to agriculture / fashion in India Green Dreamer episode featuring Nishanth — episode 307 — that Kestrel mentions Follow Oshadi Collective on Instagram > Follow Christy Dawn on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by Gem - an app and web platform that brings all online vintage and secondhand clothing and accessories into one search.  Learn more & download the app at Gem.app!

S05 Episode 242 | Questioning the meaning behind *regenerative fashion* and building new fashion systems with Christy Dawn & Oshadi Collective

 In episode 241, Kestrel welcomes Akilah Stewart, the founder and creative director of FATRA, to the show. A creative waste management company, FATRA makes luxury bags from recycled plastics and fabric. On this week’s show, Akilah shares stories about some of the ways her grandmothers have influenced her and her work today. She also reminds us of the importance of thinking about creativity as a tool for building solutions — and not just an aesthetics-oriented idea. Kestrel and Akilah talk about the way in which we must be reimagining waste, and truly looking at it as a resource. As Akilah highlights, when so-called “waste” is generated by other animals, they are always finding creative ways to use it in different ways — it’s not something to be simply “thrown away”. Another big topic that comes up in this conversation is financial sustainability, and some of the ways that the nuances around it have been missing from the sustainability conversation. “I just want to keep it going in that manner — you know, working with immigrant women, working with women who want to develop their skill sets, working with lots of marginalized groups of people — so I think that ultimately, the growth doesn’t have to mean exploitation anywhere — it just means literally doing more good for more people.” -Akilah Episode 4 of The Root, mentioned in the conversation — Akilah was featured in part 3 of this episode “We can’t be puritans to the point where we’re not seeing action.” -Akilah “This is where I feel the creativity is lacking — because generally, when you’re making a product, your creativity is only bound and limited to what’s viable to commerce, to how you can sell that creativity, so therefore, you cannot be fully creative if it doesn’t sell, if it’s something that doesn’t make money.” -Akilah “Lived experiences should be way more valued than they have been.” -Akilah Akilah featured on EMPOWHER NY Akilah featured on Metal Magazine Akilah quoted in Architectural Digest’s Clever Akilah's Upcycling Workshop on Slow Factory Akilah’s CashApp: $FATRA Follow Fatra on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by OEKO-TEX® - a worldwide association of 18 independent research and test institutes that sets standards for safer textile and leather production and products. The OEKO-TEX® portfolio of independent certifications and product labels help all of us make responsible decisions to choose products that are safer, more environmentally friendly, and manufactured in a socially responsible way.  Learn more about their labels at www.oeko-tex.com.

S05 Episode 241 | Reimagining waste as a resource, creativity's battle against commerce & the importance of welcoming financial sustainability into the larger conversation

 In episode 240, Kestrel welcomes Maxine Bédat, the founder and executive director of New Standard Institute, to the show. A think-and-do-tank, New Standard Institute is dedicated to turning industries into a force for good. Maxine is also the author of Unraveled: The Life and Death Of A Garment. "The society in which we live in is very much a result of the rules of our society — in that, it is people who change the rules, who create them and can change them, I should say. And so, I think that was definitely my biggest takeaway, is like, nothing about this system that we live in right now is inevitable. You know, where women garment workers are exploited and we’re just trashing rivers and throwing up climate change-causing emissions into the air and creating this product that isn’t making us happy — that’s not an inevitability, it’s just the systems of rules that we create and have to change.” -Maxine On this week’s show, Maxine shares more on her past journey, from law to fashion, and what has culminated in the writing of her new book — Unraveled: The Life and Death Of A Garment. Maxine and Kestrel quickly discover their mutual love of “context”, which plays into the overall conversation. They explore more on the origins of business — something Maxine discusses in her new book — and how corporations were initially founded on democratic ideals with the intention of being for the peoples’ benefit, where citizens were also considered as shareholders in the model. This may be surprising, considering how businesses have now become aligned with profit, profit, and profit, at the expense of everything else. Maxine helps tie some of these layers of context into how we should be looking at the current state of the fashion industry, and how we must get beyond these buzzwords (how circularity won’t save us), to move toward doing business based on equity, that exists within planetary bounds. “We have learned that there has been an enormous investment in getting us - citizens - to see ourselves as docile buying machines, which social media has only exacerbated, rather than powerful stakeholders in our democracy.” -quote Kestrel mentions from Maxine’s book “This adoption of circularity as this kind of panacea that’s gonna get us to this magical place where we can keep growing to infinity, in a land of limited resources — it’s those frameworks that are just denying really the central problem that you just identified. And I think, to me, when I first was reading about the origins of business, which as you said — it was not to maximize profit, the whole corporate forum was created as a vehicle to pool resources for public goods like bridges and hospitals. And that’s why the government of the people would give corporate paperwork and created the legal infrastructure around it. And then, as you said, it was Milton Friedman and the conversations from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s that just took this in a completely different direction, and that’s … where we now really need to have the serious conversation. We desperately and do not have any time to waste in moving beyond these like “win, win”, “triple bottom line”, “circularity” — this fluffed … how do we actually go from a society that is based now on maximizing profits for shareholders to a society that is much more equitable and that exists within planetary bounds. And nobody within business has a good answer to that right now, but that’s where the conversation has to be.” -Maxine “I will not just be a consumer, passively consuming while things fall apart.” -quote Kestrel mentions from Maxine’s book Follow Maxine on Instagram > Follow New Standard Institute on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by OEKO-TEX® - a worldwide association of 18 independent research and test institutes that sets standards for safer textile and leather production and products. The OEKO-TEX® portfolio of independent certifications and product labels help all of us make responsible decisions to choose products that are safer, more environmentally friendly, and manufactured in a socially responsible way.  Learn more about their labels at www.oeko-tex.com.

S05 Episode 240 | Maxine Bédat on why circularity won't save us, how the origin of business was not to maximize profit & what that context tells us about the current fashion system

 In episode 239, Kestrel welcomes Lauren Bartley, the head of sustainability and CSR for GANNI, to the show. A Danish contemporary ready-to-wear fashion brand, Ganni is known for building a cult following in the fashion space. “Nowadays, sustainable or sustainability — it means different things to different people. To you, it might mean plastics and to me, it might mean human rights or circularity or carbon. You know — it’s so broad. I just think we need to move away from this broad brush approach to the subject and I guess, be more specific with which issues actually we’re trying to tackle.” -Lauren On this week’s show, Lauren shares a bit of background on her distinct way into the fashion industry, and how she found her way to working with Ganni. We talk about the brand’s resistance to labeling themselves as “sustainable”, how their 44 responsibility gameplay is driving them, and some of the ways they are working to creatively reduce their overproduction and waste, by adjusting their business model. Soil Association - their mission is to help everyone understand and explore the vital relationship between the health of soil, plants, animals and people. Lauren worked with them in the past. “Brands Are Claiming That They Are Not Sustainable. Here’s Why That’s A Good Thing”, Refinery29 article Kestrel mentions “For us, we’d like to focus the conversation on trying to become a more responsible company and making responsible choices. In saying that — when we say we don’t identify as a sustainable brand or sustainable company, it’s not excuse-making essentially. And I think that’s where maybe some of the confusion is coming from lately — just to say, “we’re not sustainable” is not an excuse not to act. It's more so that it’s so complicated and it’s so convoluted and there’s so many things to it, that we just prefer to focus on saying responsible and becoming more responsible.” -Lauren “Out of what we’ve seen so far, we have a higher amount of reorders from all channels — wholesale, resale and e-commerce — instead of an initial large volume purchase, so it already means that we’re buying much closer to demand than previously, and then reducing that risk of wastage. However, with reorders and what we now need to measure actually is if the impact on multiple shipments actually balances out the potential of the waste that’s been saved.” -Lauren speaking about Ganni’s findings thus far, addressing Goal 14: MEASURE IF BY CHANGING COLLECTION DROP STRUCTURE IT HAS AN IMPACT ON OVERPRODUCTION BY 2021 Open Apparel Registry, an open map of global apparel facilities Fair Wear Foundation, Ganni is working with a consultant to further explore what a living wage means throughout their supply chain Fashion On Climate Report by McKinsey x Global Fashion Agenda circular.fashion Ganni’s 2020 Responsibility Report Ganni Repeat, Ganni’s rental platform Ganni’s Responsibility page Follow Ganni Lab on Instagram > Follow Ganni on Instagram > This week's episode is brought to you by OEKO-TEX® - a worldwide association of 18 independent research and test institutes that sets standards for safer textile and leather production and products. The OEKO-TEX® portfolio of independent certifications and product labels help all of us make responsible decisions to choose products that are safer, more environmentally friendly, and manufactured in a socially responsible way.  Learn more about their labels at www.oeko-tex.com.

S05 Episode 239 | Ganni on the importance of action over labels & their 44 responsibility gameplan goals

An 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. It's a venue that allows us to continue to learn more about the garment industry and how we can all be a bigger part of positive change in the industry.

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Conscious Chatter with Kestrel Jenkins

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