Conscious Style Podcast

Financial sustainability is essential for creating a more just, and sustainable, fashion ecosystem with thriving businesses that care about people and the planet. But how do you go about actually making money in this space, especially when you care about not overproducing? Money-making is a topic that is all-too-often taboo in the slow fashion space, but our panelists Dani Des Roches, Mahdiyyah Muhammad, Jacqueline Schumann, and Ai...

How can fashion take action right now for a net positive future?

From climate and biodiversity to worker livelihoods and fair wages to overconsumption and textile waste, the gaps between where we need to be and where we are right now feel… vast. 

But in this episode, we're discussing ways that fashion act right now — like tomorrow — on 5 key pillars that encompass both people and planet. These are areas where the research, and tools ...

We have reached the 100th episode of the podcast! For the past 100 episodes, at the end of each episode we have asked our guests the same question: What would a better future for fashion look like, to you? 

This question is important, because it sums up exactly why the podcast exists in the first place — to unpack exactly what it will take to cultivate a sustainable and equitable future for fashion.

To celebrate this 100 episode mile...

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

***

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Online P...

Is it green... or just greenwashing?

This week, we’re sharing a recap of a few Green or Greenwashing topics we covered this season! Green or Greenwashing is a segment on the podcast where we evaluate if a certain sustainability measure is more green or whether it veers into more of the greenwashing territory. These Green or Greenwashing segments were previously published at the end of some prior episodes.

The first segment we are res...

Policy is an important lever in creating a better, more sustainable, and equitable fashion system. But if we only focus on policy that explicitly talks about the fashion industry and sustainability, we may be missing some opportunities. 

In today's episode, I'm chatting with fashion policy expert Kenya Wiley.

Kenya is sharing behind the scenes on the processes behind legislation and regulation — and even explaining the difference bet...

After learning about climate emotions, and seeing climate doomism proliferated in the media, Stella knew she wanted to have Isaias on the show to unpack this and understand how it's connected to the fashion industry.

In this episode, Isaias Hernandez (who you might also know as @queerbrownvegan on social media) unpacks  the complexity of climate emotions and the harms of climate doomism narratives, and discusses why  “evidence-based...

Carbon neutral. Net zero. Carbon positive. You may have been seeing more and more claims like these lately from companies, including fashion brands. But in today's Green or Greenwashing episode, we’re diving deeper, beyond the surface of these claims, to see if they really can be trusted. Many of these carbon neutrality claims are asserted based on the company purchasing carbon offsets. 

This episode was inspired by the UK watchdog,...

How can we reimagine the traditional role of fashion designers in a world filled with fashion waste? And how can we rethink our primary role as consumers in a way that allows us to become contributors to collective well-being instead? 

It’s no secret that we live in a world with far too much clothing. If we are to work towards a more sustainable fashion industry, we need to unpack the ways that fashion brands and designers can pivot...

What if fashion brands put garment workers first? What if a fashion brand set the prices they pay to their suppliers based on ensuring workers were making a living wage, rather than negotiating the prices as low as possible to maximize profits? 

This is part of implementing more responsible purchasing practices — purchasing practices meaning not how the consumer buys something, but how the brand purchases their orders from their sup...

What if designers could go all the way back to the source of the fibers their garments are made from? Many of fashion’s favorite fibers — and our favorite garments — begin on farms. From cotton to wool, hemp, and linen. But, often, designers are so far removed from the places where these fibers are produced. Bringing designers back to the source would result in greater transparency and traceability in fashion that would allow desig...

What is it like to work as a designer for a fast fashion brand? And what is it like to build your own sustainability minded small fashion brand, from circular design practices to figuring out your pricing?

That's what we're getting a glimpse into in this episode with Dani Des Roches, designer and founder of the upcycled brand Picnicwear, recognizable by its groovy 60s/70s aesthetic, bold and playful use of color, and most notably it...

What is the process like to create a regenerative conscious fashion label? What does it mean to create long-term partnerships in a localized supply chain that are beneficial for people? Or to make clothes that are beneficial for the earth?

In this episode, Stella interviews the founder of slow fashion brand LilaBare, Ria Ana Sejpal, about building a Kenyan fashion brand, rethinking traditional supply chains, and the value of buildin...

Fashion's returns are a massive waste and emissions issue. In fact, 23 million returned garments were sent to a landfill or incinerated last year in the UK, and returns caused 750,000 tons of CO2 emissions just in the UK fashion industry alone, according to The Institute of Positive Fashion's report: Solving Fashion's Products Returns.

Generous free returns policies from brands and retailers have also helped fuel the trend of buying...

It's time for an urgent shift in fashion. And not just towards a path of doing less bad, but of bringing positive change. Not just less harmful fashion. Not even just more sustainable fashion. But building a regenerative fashion future. 

Recently I read the book Regenerative Fashion: A Nature Based Approach to Fibres, Livelihoods, and Leadership*, by Safia Minney. And this book could not have come at a better time for me. I was feel...

Overconsumption is a major problem in the fashion industry. And secondhand is often advocated for as a solution. But is it possible to overconsume secondhand fashion as well?

This is a loaded question that comes with nuance and obviously, lots of opinions... which makes it perfect for a segment for our Green or Greenwashing series — we love to cover complex and controversial topics in this series! 

And we want to hear YOUR thoughts o...

Fashion industry players — like big brands and their billionaire owners — have to be held accountable for their impact on our environment and on the people involved with making their clothes.

Independent journalists can play a crucial role in this accountability, since they can provide a critical outsider's look on what's happening in the industry, such as ascertaining if a fashion brand's sustainability claims are legitimate or not...

When we talk about sustainable and ethical fashion, we often think about the future — at least I do: we ask every guest that comes onto this show what a better future for fashion looks like to them! 

But I also see immense value in looking to the past. To see where we came from so we understand how we got here and what solutions could actually be effective in bringing about change.

So I was intrigued to read the book Worn, A People's...

Want to work in sustainable fashion but not sure how to begin or how to transition from what you do now? Or maybe you work in sustainable fashion now, but you're ready for a bit of a change. In this episode, I'm sharing my sustainable fashion career and entrepreneurial journey and the lessons I learned along the way. 

FIND JOBS IN SUSTAINABLE FASHION:

Conscious Fashion Collective Job Board

HIRE FREELANCERS OR PROMOTE YOUR SERVICES:

Ch...