Episode 20: Helen Banks

Joining the studio for this episode is Helen Banks, owner and CEO of the sustainable dancewear brand, Imperfect Pointes! 

Helen founded Imperfect Pointes in 2020 out of frustration at the lack of dancewear brands focusing on sustainability. After working in fast fashion and seeing the darker side of the fashion industry, she was upset by the amount of waste going to landfills and the poor working conditions in some factories where dancewear is made. To support her journey in launching a more sustainable method of producing and selling dancewear, she studied sustainable business leadership at the University of Cambridge and is now on a mission to bring about what she calls “a dancewear revolution.”

While not a dancer herself, Helen became interested in the dancewear space in part by watching her daughter develop a love for ballet. Imperfect Pointes’ main objectives are to create a community where everyone who loves ballet can feel included through representation, diversity, and body positivity, and to make sure that the company isn’t adding to landfills and is helping to keep plastic waste out of oceans. The company is committed to repairing, reusing and recycling while aiming for zero waste. All of Imperfect Pointes’ products are made from recycled materials, such as nylon.

Helen also wants to encourage the broader ballet community to make changes by educating other dancewear brands on switching to more sustainable production practices. In this episode, she shares tips about what everyone, from individual dancers to studios to brands and companies, can do to practice sustainability. Check it out!

• Follow Imperfect Pointes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imperfectpointes
• and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@imperfectpointes?lang=en
• Check out Imperfect Pointes’ dancewear and blog: https://imperfectpointes.com/
• Find Imperfect Pointes products on Tutulist: https://www.tutulist.com/s?keywords=imperfect%20pointes
• Read The Guardian article, US and UK citizens are world’s biggest sources of plastic waste - study: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/30/us-and-uk-citizens-are-worlds-biggest-sources-of-plastic-waste-study

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Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield  | theadultballets