Conscious Chatter

In Episode 345, Kestrel welcomes Nicole Bassett, a leader in circular economy innovation and Oregon State Senate candidate, to the show. In the past, Nicole served as the Social Responsibility Manager at Patagonia, Director of Sustainability at prAna (where she led the launch of Fair Trade certified apparel in the US), and in 2015, she co-founded The Renewal Workshop, a factory that gave unsold pr...

In Episode 344, Kestrel welcomes Beth Esponette, the Cofounder and CPO at Unspun, to the show. A fashion-tech company, Unspun has built the world's first 3D weaving technology for apparel. Their OneWeave™ system enables woven products to be made locally in California, on demand, and with almost zero waste. "Sewing machines are incredible things and can make products in a really great way. But what...

In Episode 343, Kestrel welcomes Adam Taubenfligel, the cofounder, creative director and responsibility lead at Triarchy, to the show. With the goal of restoring integrity to the word sustainable , Adam drives innovation in denim, advancing mindful materials and responsible production at Triarchy . "How many millions of pieces of clothing are we stuck with because the factory had a minimum, the st...

In Episode 342, Kestrel welcomes Olivia Cueva, a radical dreamer, designer, technologist, and researcher, to the show. Olivia's work bridges creative technology, fashion, biomaterials, and storytelling to explore transformation, regeneration, and collective care. Her practice moves fluidly between community-centered education, speculative design, and research into sustainable and bio-based materia...

In Episode 341, Kestrel welcomes Dr. Joanne Brasch, the Assistant Director at the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), to the show. A network of local governments, non-government organizations, businesses, and individuals supporting policies and projects where producers share in the responsibility for managing problem products at their end of life, CPSC is California's thought leader and...

In Episode 340, Kestrel welcomes Constanza Gomez, the cofounder and CEO of Sortile, to the show. Sortile is a company focused on empowering the textile recycling industry with technology that enables the identification, sorting and traceability of textiles. "I was a much more hopeful person when I started this company and I've slowly become more of a skeptic. But that means I've leaned more heavil...

In Episode 339, Kestrel welcomes Beth Jensen, the Chief Impact Officer at Textile Exchange, to the show. Leading the organization's efforts to achieve beneficial climate and nature impacts, Beth oversees key functions at Textile Exchange including impact data and Life Cycle Assessment studies; impact tools and reporting mechanisms; reports and research; fundraising; and public affairs/policy. "A b...

In Episode 338, Kestrel welcomes Miranda Green, an investigative journalist focused on politics and climate change, to the show. As the author of Atmos Magazine's weekly newsletter, The Understory , Miranda takes a weekly look behind the climate headlines to question how decisions are made, why they matter, and what they reveal about this moment. "I think data to me is, they're facts. It's hard fa...

In Episode 337, Kestrel welcomes Gail Gallie, the founder of THE NAT, to the show. A new convening force for Nature, THE NAT is primarily focused on galvanizing the private capital needed to close the nature finance gap; they just held their inaugural NAT Gala "Night For Nature" in September 2025. From working in advertising to co-leading the creation of the UN Global Goals Campaign, Gail has an e...

In Episode 336, Kestrel welcomes author and visionary changemaker, Carry Somers, to the show. Co-founder of Fashion Revolution , the world's largest fashion activism movement, and the author of a new book – The Nature Of Fashion: A Botanical Story Of Our Material Lives , Carry has worked across the fashion space in various capacities, advocating for a shift towards transparency, fairness, and sust...

In Episode 335, Kestrel welcomes Lisa Kibutu, the founder of Regenerative Fashion Collaborative Exchange (REFACE) and Regenerative Textile Development Institute (RTDI), to the show. A tech-led social enterprise, REFACE was created to holistically address the negative impact of the global fashion industry on climate change, biodiversity, and the environment in Africa. With RTDI , she is building a...

In Episode 334, Kestrel welcomes Emily Mikhaiel, the cofounder and creative director of Nazeerah, to the show. A clothing brand inspired by the legacy of her grandmother, Nazeerah supports organic and regenerative farming practices to honor Egyptian cotton, and produces locally in Egypt to maintain direct relationships with their suppliers and reduce their carbon footprint. "There really wasn't wa...

In Episode 333, Kestrel welcomes Cate Havstad-Casad, a designer, entrepreneur, and first-generation regenerative rancher, to the show. Cate's work as a designer and land steward has evolved a great deal since she founded Havstad Hat Company in 2014. Today she manages Casad Family Farms with her husband, while building Range Revolution , a luxury leather goods brand focused on using 100% American,...

Episode 332 features Kestrel (just me!) in the second-ever solo episode of the show. With a focus on Kestrel's reemergence after having her second child, she shares some of the things that have been on her mind during this postpartum era, the power of sorting, what "release" has meant to her over this last year, what she's shedding and what's she's embracing. It's very personal, raw and vulnerable...

In Episode 331, Kestrel welcomes Ben Mead, the Managing Director of Hohenstein Institute America, to the show. In Ben's role, he serves as the company's liaison with government agencies, industry collaborations and trade associations, and he also oversees OEKO-TEX® responsibilities for the U.S. "You can't make any real good decision around chemistry or you know how a product is made, if you don't...

This episode is a little different than what you're used to, as it's a special swap with Commons and their Second Nature podcast. It's an amazing listen and I'm stoked to share it with y'all! "I think this is inspiring people to move away from being passive consumers to instead becoming stewards of their belongings and have that sense of responsibility and it goes beyond this individual action…For...

In Episode 329, Kestrel welcomes Jennine Jacob, a personal stylist and Instagram phenom, to the show. You may know Jennine from viral videos that explore the many layers of nuance connected to the power of finding your own style. "Anytime I see people quote unquote dressing for their body type, those outfits that look good, they can all be explained through style principles. The rule of thirds, co...

In Episode 328, Kestrel welcomes Dana Zhaxylykova, an environmental scientist & microplastics researcher, to the show. Originally from Kazakhstan, Dana is currently based in Germany — through her Instagram platform, she shares practical and actionable tips about microplastics through a scientific lens. "As a scientist, I want to assure you that every little action in avoiding plastic, it can have...

In Episode 327, Kestrel welcomes Sanchali Pal, founder and CEO of Commons, an app that rewards you for living and spending sustainably. On Commons' app, you can get rewarded for shopping sustainable brands and for taking climate actions like thrifting, taking public transportation or eating plant-based. "When people think about the actions they can take that are sustainable, the most obvious ones...

In Episode 326, Kestrel welcomes Anna Bario, the cofounder of Bario Neal, to the show. Bario Neal creates stunning jewelry while being committed to respecting human rights and environmental sustainability. Anna cofounded the brand alongside Page Neal, in 2008, with an interest in bringing sustainability into the discourse surrounding creativity, fine jewelry and craft. An exceptional designer and...

In Episode 325, Kestrel welcomes Emily Fenves, the founder of lander line - a platform she created in September 2021 - after feeling burnt out with her own consumption habits. As a regular shopper, Emily found herself spending an exhaustive amount of time browsing, buying, returning, and purging. She embarked on a journey to learn more about the "why" behind her overconsumption, and decided to hel...

Episode 324, Kestrel welcomes Camille Forde, a mother and entrepreneur working at the intersection of business, sustainability, and community-centered solutions, to the show. With over a decade of experience, Camille has led corporate responsibility efforts at top professional services firms, earned an MBA from UC Berkeley with a focus on sustainable business, and spearheaded seller and brand part...

Episode 323 features Kestrel (just me!) in the first-ever solo episode of the show. With a primary focus on vulnerability, Kestrel shares some of the rollercoasters she has faced personally over the last year (from health to finances), why she and Nat are parting ways when it comes to regularly hosting the show, the true costs of producing a podcast, as well as a question on whether performative v...

Episode 322 features Nelson ZêPequéno , a Ghanaian-American Artist and the founder of Black Men With Gardens and Sustain Creative, alongside Cayetano Talavera , a fiber artist, zero waste fashion designer, and the creative force behind HECHO BY CAYE. Through 'Black Men With Gardens', a digital and print publication, Nelson spotlights the connection Black and Brown communities cultivate with nature...

Episode 321 features Teju Adisa-Farrar , the founder and co-creator of the Black Fiber & Textile Network and the creator/host of the Black Material Geographies podcast, alongside Layla K. Feghali , the founder of River Rose Remembrance, a Plantcestral & Ancestral Re-Membrance practitioner, cultural worker, author & story re-collector (archivist). Teju is currently the Director of Outreach & Progra...