Conscious Chatter

In episode 195, Kestrel welcomes Umberto De Marco, the founder of sustainable footwear brand, YATAY, to the show. In addition to his work building sneaker brand YATAY , Umberto is the president of eco-leather giant and family business Coronet . "What I've been doing since I started working in the family company — I had a mission: trying to change a material that has always been just a simple, chea...

In episode 194, Kestrel welcomes Shahidha Bari, author of Dressed: A Philosophy Of Clothes , to the show. A Professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at the London College of Fashion and a fellow of the Forum for European Philosophy at London School of Economics, Shahidha is dedicated to contributing a discourse around fashion to the philosophy field. "I feel like there has to be some sort of in...

In episode 193, Kestrel welcomes James Bartle, the Founding CEO of Outland Denim, to the show. Outland crafts premium denim jeans designed to bring the worlds of their seamstresses and their customers closer together. They made history as the first-ever denim brand to win the Thomson Reuters Stop Slavery Award in 2020. "It's like they absorb history — they're kind of like a song where they take yo...

In episode 192, Kestrel welcomes Brian Bushell, the cofounder of By Humankind, to the show. A personal care brand, By Humankind's products are designed to reduce single-use plastic waste from your daily routine. "We really wanted to be able to make an impact — we wanted to allow our customers to truly reduce their own single-use plastic waste function just by going through their morning routine."...

In episode 191, Kestrel welcomes Kimberley Smith, the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Everlane, to the show. Known for their messaging around radical transparency, Everlane prides themselves on building timeless products that are designed to last. "We can be better — I mean we're not perfect in any way. It doesn't happen overnight, and I think that's something that — our customer, just be patient, b...

In episode 190, Kestrel welcomes Erin Flynn, the CEO of Cladwell, to the show. A personal styling app, Cladwell allows users to add in their clothes (without taking photos) and it will generate daily outfits personalized for their weather. "I would go to my closet and say the same thing which is, I have too many clothes and nothing to wear, which was ridiculous because I had over 450 items hanging...

In episode 189, Kestrel welcomes Clarenda "Farmer Cee" Stanley, a fifth generation farmer, to the show. In addition to being the CEO of Green Heffa Farms , a medicinal plant and hemp farm in Liberty, North Carolina, Cee is also a senior principal gifts officer at The Nature Conservancy's World Office. "We hustle, and the reason for that is being a black-owned farm, a black woman-owned farm — I mea...

In episode 188, Kestrel welcomes Adriana Galijasevic, the Denim and Sustainability Expert at G-Star RAW, back to the show, alongside Sofie Schop, G-Star RAW's Sustainability Director. Less than 2 years since the last time G-Star RAW came on the show, this conversation provides an opportunity to check in on the brand and how far they've come with their sustainability goals. "It's a journey of conti...

In episode 187, Kestrel welcomes Dana Thomas, the author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes , to the show. A regular contributor to The New York Times Style section, Dana has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar, among others. She was recently named the editor-at-lar...

In episode 186, Kestrel welcomes creative consultant, writer, author and photographer Olivia Lopez to the show. Known for her aesthetics-driven Instagram presence and design-travel-and-fashion blog Lust For Life , Olivia is also the founder of Bon Weekender , an art and objects shop featuring vintage sourced from around the world. She also recently published her book "Lust for Los Angeles: A Cultu...

In episode 185, Kestrel welcomes Amanda Parkes, the Chief Innovations Officer at Pangaia, to the show. A materials science company, Pangaia is on a mission to save our environment. "We are moving into the bioeconomy, which is this very notion that biomass is at the base of both agriculture, materials and energy. So, we can think about the circle and the interchange between all of those systems — i...

In episode 184, Kestrel welcomes Kelly Phenicie + Ellen Saville, the cofounders of The Endery, to the show. A brand born in Lima, Peru, The Endery plays with color using quality fibers to create lifelong knits that would otherwise have become waste. "And just the whole manufacturing system has always been built around making what you need or want, rather than using what already exists. So, it is a...

In episode 183, Kestrel welcomes Megan Villa, the cofounder and creative content director of Svn Space, to the show. A female-focused multimedia platform, Svn Space is dedicated to educating the mainstream on the lifestyle benefits of Hemp, and how the plant can feed you, house you, clothe you, heal you and beautify you. "We were kind of dumbfounded when we realized how incredible hemp is — you kn...

In episode 182, Kestrel welcomes Brian Linton, the founder of United By Blue, to the show. A sustainable apparel brand, United By Blue removes one pound of trash from U.S. oceans and waterways for every product sold. "This year, we'll have sold over a million products for the first time, and we'll pick up, therefore, over a million pounds of trash next year." -Brian Linton, Founder of United By Bl...

In episode 181, Kestrel welcomes New York-based author, journalist, and expert on consumer culture, fast fashion, sustainability and labor rights, Elizabeth Cline, back to the show. You may already know of Elizabeth from her widely read book, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion ; and she recently released a follow-up book called The Conscious Closet: A Revolutionary Guide to Loo...

In episode 180, Kestrel welcomes Kat + Ryan Huston. the cofounders of Huston Textile Company, to the show. With a focus on making high quality, small-batch cloth, Huston Textile Company  uses vintage American-made machines in their manufacturing process. "The main concept for me, at least as a kid, that I took away was — you can't expect to have a manufacturing job in the U.S. if you're constantly...

In episode 179, Kestrel welcomes Maya Spaul Johnson, the Vice President of Apparel and Home Goods at Fair Trade USA, to the show. Certifying and promoting fair trade products, Fair Trade USA enables sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, fishermen, consumers, industry, and the earth. "I joined Fair Trade...

In episode 178, Kestrel welcomes Tina Hedges, the founder of LOLI Beauty, to the show. Short for "Living Organic Loving Ingredients," LOLI is the first ZERO Waste beauty brand that is completely waterless and uses food grade reusable containers and compostable plastic to package their products. "I had a crisis of consciousness. I said to myself, wow — for 15 years, in the big corporate beauty worl...

In episode 177, Kestrel welcomes Elizabeth Paton, a reporter for The New York Times Styles section, to the show. Covering the fashion and luxury sectors in Europe, Lizzie's writing focuses on business, tech and sustainability, along with Fashion Week coverage from London, Milan and Paris. "For me, it's about being fair in my reporting, but it's also about not being afraid of blowback from a brand...

In episode 176, Kestrel welcomes Brianna Kilcullen, a sustainability and supply chain expert + the founder of ANACT, to the show. A brand new sustainable towel company, ANACT is all about taking simple acts to make an impact. "I chose hemp because it has these natural performance features that don't need any manipulation with putting a chemical or a treatment or a finish on it. And so it made sens...

In episode 175, Kestrel welcomes Sloane, the founder and makers behind Eliza Sloane Jewelry, to the show. Handcrafting jewelry for over 7 years, and collecting crystals and sea glass for over 20, Sloane is a master maker, and creates all of her cast pieces for Eliza Sloane Jewelry from recycled metals. "I just think that not boxing ourselves in or pigeon-holing ourselves too much — that's just wha...

In episode 174, Kestrel welcomes Rachel Faller, the founder of Tonlé, as well as Sreyoun, the General Manager of Tonlé's production operations in Cambodia, to the show. A zero waste, ethical fashion brand, Tonlé is on a big mission, to reduce waste generated by larger factories and change the way business is done in the fashion industry. "Lots of people define zero waste in different ways, and for...

In episode 173, Kestrel welcomes Ethan Song, the cofounder of Frank and Oak, to the show. Inspired by ethical and sustainable thinking and with an eye to the future, Frank And Oak has set out to create clothing that is made for good living. "So I think that for us, the idea is actually to create a deeper relationship with our customers, and make sure that we really understand them before we create...

In episode 172, Kestrel welcomes Jen Long, the CEO and Creative Director of Noble Carriage, to the show. A thoughtfully curated store, Noble Carriage offers a collection of organic & sustainably made baby goods. "I think as a new mom, you're told that you need to buy all of these things — that you need all of these things to make raising your child easier or just to survive, and I don't believe th...

In episode 171, Kestrel welcomes Anabel Maldonado, the founder of The Psychology of Fashion™, to the show. A platform that explores why we wear what we wear, and the relationships between emotions, personality and aesthetic, The Psychology of Fashion™ also examines current issues in the fashion industry through the lens of psychology. "You know, if we get away from this sort of like trends just be...