Conscious Style Podcast

How can we let go of hustle culture as a small business owner? How do we set boundaries when we absolutely love what we do and we believe it's making an impact? Is it possible to leave social media as a small business owner? How do we manage our time (and NOT work all of the time!) when everything feels so urgent? We're talking about it all in this episode, which is part 2 of my conversation with...

In this episode, I'm chatting with Saskia de Feijter who is the founder of Ja Wol and the host of the podcast, A Smaller Life .  We'll be starting off the conversation chatting about conscious crafting and then shifting into conscious entrepreneurship, and the challenges and considerations of growing a small, mindful values-based business. And this is actually just part one of our conversation. Pa...

Late last year, the realities of fashion’s waste crisis in the Atacama Desert made headlines. You might have seen some of them:  "The fast fashion graveyard in Chile's Atacama Desert", or "Chile's Atacama Desert: Where Fast Fashion Goes to Die" or maybe "Chile's Desert: dumping ground for fast fashion's leftovers". In this episode, we're hearing from Angela of Desierto Vestido and Laura from SumOf...

Anna Bienias — the Living Wage Coordinator at Clean Clothes Campaign — shares why living wages are an essential element of a more just slow fashion future. In this episode, guest host Stella Hertantyo asks Anne about: Why paying garment workers low, non-livable wages is what underpins fast fashion; What a living wage is, how they are determined, and how this differs from a minimum wage; Whose resp...

What does co-creation look like in fashion? And how could brands genuinely collaborating with artisans help shift the imbalanced power dynamics in the fashion industry?  That's what we're exploring in this episode with Niha Elety , a sustainable fashion advocate, designer, and the founder of Tega Collective . Hit play to join us as we go behind the scenes of Tega Collective, and find out why and h...

Fashion historian and educator Sara Idacavage is exploring the origins of mass-produced clothing and the forces that gave way to the fast fashion industry as it stands today. Hit play and join us in this important conversation as we explore how history influenced the present-day fashion industry and how we can take notes from decades past to help address current  issues in fashion.   ***** This ep...

In this bonus episode, Conscious Style Podcast guest host Stella Hertantyo is breaking down 7 alternative sustainable fashion business models that could help create a better future for fashion.   READ THE ARTICLE: https://www.consciouslifeandstyle.com/sustainable-fashion-business-models/   GUIDES MENTIONED: Fashion Social Enterprises Made-to-Order Fashion Brands Mending & Repair Businesses   CONNE...

Have you ever thought about starting your own slow fashion brand? But you were concerned that the market is too saturated or you don't have enough funding or design expertise or a formal degree to make it happen?  Maybe you just don't even know where to start? Or perhaps you're just curious about what it takes to start a slow fashion brand.  Well, then this episode with Selina Ho — the founder and...

Hear from fashion psychologist Dr. Dion Terrelonge about style psychology and the forces driving us to (over)consume. In this episode, Dion talks about: Clothing and identity, especially as it relates to young people Some of the driving forces behind conspicuous (i.e. very visible) consumption The psychology behind the acceleration of fashion consumption Why some of us might have cognitive dissona...

Stella Hertantyo is back as a guest host for this episode to interview Monica Boța Moisin of Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative to explore how we can challenge cultural misappropriation and work towards cultural sustainability.  Monica and Stella will explore the deeper causes of cultural misappropriation in fashion and discuss how cultural intellectual property can help sustain ance...

In this episode, Kestrel Jenkins — host of the Conscious Chatter podcast — is sharing her thoughts on slow media. Kestrel also shares: If slow media could ever be compatible with social media How algorithms impact us as content creators and content consumers How news cycles have been speeding up — and what the impact has been Why podcasting is such a powerful form of media How we can start to slow...

In this episode, we'll be exploring a new approach to production with Sally Lim, the co-owner of 2°EAST . Sally is sharing: An insider perspective into what goes into making a watch — and what that tells us about the rest of the fashion industry, too What it's like to co-own a brand with the manufacturer How this partnership enables far more transparency The challenges of marketing in an ethical w...

Uncover lost textile histories with Karen Baker — a researcher and ethnographic fiber artist — in this episode. You'll also hear Karen talk about: Her research into African American weavers' contributions to textile and fibers before the Great Migration The impact of these lost histories in understanding textiles and fashion How we can collectively work to uncover and integrate lost and/or overloo...

In this episode, Sam Weir — a professional slow fashion stylist and the founder of one-on-one sustainable styling service Lotte is sharing: Why wearing what it's in our closets is so important to the sustainable fashion movement, How we can find joy in our wardrobes and not make it feel like a sacrifice to shop less, Her advice for restyling what's in our closets, What to do when nothing in our wa...

The impacts of fast fashion have been well documented — awareness of the industry's destruction of the environment and exploitation of people around the world has never been higher. Yet, we are continuing to see a rise in fast fashion consumption. In fact, when you look at ultra-fast fashion brands like Shein, fast fashion has only gotten cheaper, faster, and bigger. We're in the midst of a climat...

Could social enterprises offer a blueprint for how fashion can start to center people above shareholder profits? Well, this is the question that will be explored in today's episode hosted by Stella Hertantyo with guest Simone Cipriani of the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Simone covers so many important topics, including: Why human rights and labor rights need to be at the center of our fashion syste...

The current fashion system puts profits above people and the planet. But what if we could flip this on its head and get fashion to actually put human and ecological health first?  Well, that's exactly what a wellbeing economy for fashion could do — otherwise known as a "Wellbeing Wardrobe".  Commissioned by the European Environmental Bureau, Wellbeing Wardrobe is an in-depth report that identified...

When we think about slow fashion, there's a lot of tactical advice out there and this is all important and vital to talk about. But a long-term sustainable approach to conscious fashion goes beyond the actions we see at the surface and involves creating a new mindset around what we buy and own. In today's conversation, I am going to be chatting with slow fashion content creator Jessica Harumi abou...

Cheap clothes come at a cost to the environment, to the people working across the fashion supply chain, and maybe even to fast fashion consumers too.  In this episode, we are going to explore all of the hidden — the true — costs of fast fashion. This is the first episode of season 4, which will be focused on dramatically slowing down fashion and envisioning what a post-growth or degrowth future fo...

What will it really take to create a more sustainable and equitable future for fashion? Join me, your host Elizabeth, as I interview changemakers in the fashion industry to explore this very question. Every Tuesday on the Conscious Style Podcast, you'll hear from guests from labor activists and organizers to slow fashion entrepreneurs and designers to ethical fashion authors and creators to fashio...

In this episode, we're going to get a glimpse into the world of supplier factories in fashion. You'll hear from Arjen Laan, the CEO of Pactics, a sustainability-minded manufacturing company focused on building longer-term partnerships with conscious brands instead of short-term sales. Arjen is sharing his perspectives, from a supplier side of things, on audits, certifications, and even compliance...

Investing in high-quality clothing is something we talk a lot about in the slow fashion space. But how can we actually tell if a garment is high quality or not?  In this episode, we are going to be learning all about quality garments from one of the most in-demand fashion design instructors in the industry, Zoe Hong. Zoe has over half a million subscribers on YouTube. But in case you're unfamiliar...

Imagine if, the next time that you were shopping, you could find fashion labels on every garment or pair of shoes or handbag that were as in-depth as the nutrition facts that we see on our food packages. What if when we looked at a product's tag, it didn't just say where it was made and which fibers it was composed of, but shared if the makers of that garment or pair of sandals or handbag were mak...

Selina Ho of the slow fashion consultancy Recloseted is addressing some of the biggest questions and most talked about topics in the conscious fashion space today, like: How can small fashion brands with limited resources integrate sustainability into their business? How can existing fashion brands become more sustainable? How can we tell (as individuals) if a brand is authentically interested in...

Hear from Trisha Bantigue, the CEO and co-founder of Queenly — which is the leading online marketplace and search engine for pre-loved formalwear — about building an authentically inclusive fashion business. In this episode, Trisha is also sharing: Why fashion companies are stuck at this surface level view of diversity, rather than really addressing inclusivity at a root level The negative percept...