009 Justin Gordon of Amramp: Freedom, Dignity and Independence through Mobility
Sages of Industry
Justin Gordon is the CEO of Amramp Accessibility, a family-owned company founded by his father, Julian Gordon, in 1998. Amramp provides wheelchair ramps, stair lifts, vertical platform lifts, and other accessibility solutions, and public company materials say Justin joined the business in 2013, started as an installer, and later became the company’s second CEO. Episode Summary In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Justin Gordon about building a business around accessibility, independence, and practical human impact. The conversation starts with Justin’s role at Amramp and quickly...
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008 The Ripple Effect: Tapping Into Personal Power + Flow Activation
Sages of Industry
In this short solo episode of The Ripple Effect, Lynne Brodie shifts from explanation into experience. The focus of the episode is personal power — not as a motivational phrase, but as something listeners can begin to access directly. Lynne opens by framing the episode as a continuation of the larger conversation around flow, performance, and internal capacity. She asks a deeper set of questions: Do you know your path? Do you know how to access your own power? Do you know how to stand fully in it and use it intentionally? From there, the episode moves into a brief guided...
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007 Jackie Russell, of Teak Media, Discusses B-Corp Values-Based Business PR
Sages of Industry
Jackie Russell is the founder and president of Teak Media + Communication, a firm she started in 1997 to help nonprofit organizations and socially responsible companies gain wider recognition, grow revenue, and advance their missions. Russell previously worked as a newspaper reporter, including at the Eagle-Tribune and Connecticut Post. Episode Summary In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Jackie Russell about public relations as a force multiplier for organizations trying to do meaningful work in the world. The conversation begins with Jackie’s professional path from journalism...
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006 The Ripple Effect: Flow as a Force Multiplier
Sages of Industry
The podcast’s opening episode introduced The Ripple Effect as Lynne Brodie’s recurring solo series focused on imagination, innovation, and impact. Episode Summary In this short solo episode, Lynne Brodie introduces the first Ripple Effect segment and centers the conversation on flow — not as a vague ideal, but as a practical state that can expand performance, clarity, and creative output. A major theme of the episode is that many people have heard of flow, but think of it as accidental, elusive, or reserved for unusual moments. Lynne reframes it as something leaders,...
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005 Globe Aware: How 'Voluntourism" Provides Ethical, Responsible Impact
Sages of Industry
Kimberly Haley-Coleman the founder and executive director of Globe Aware, a US- and Canada-based nonprofit that organizes short-term international volunteer programs. Globe Aware works in more than 25 countries, serves individuals as well as family, school, church, and corporate groups, and is built around cultural awareness, sustainability, and working side-by-side with communities “as equals.” Episode Summary In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Kimberly Haley-Coleman about building a business and nonprofit model around meaningful short-term international service. The conversation...
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004 Fibre52 How Clean Cotton Saves Water and Energy
Sages of Industry
Graham Stewart is described as a long-time textile industry leader and the EVP/founder behind Fibre52, a process designed to improve how cotton-rich fabrics are prepared and dyed. Fibre52 as a drop-in solution for existing mill equipment that aims to reduce water, electricity, and steam/gas use while replacing harsher chemistry with bio-based inputs. Episode Summary In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Graham Stewart about what it takes to change an industry that has been doing things essentially the same way for decades. The conversation centers on textile manufacturing, cotton...
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003 Zen Leadership Institute Founder and Past NASA Executive Explores How Energy is Everything
Sages of Industry
Dr. Ginny Whitelaw as a former NASA senior leader, founder of the Institute for Zen Leadership, and co-developer of the FEBI framework, which focuses on four mind-body energy patterns in leadership. Episode Summary In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Dr. Ginny Whitelaw about leadership, human potential, and the deeper internal capacities that shape how people lead, create, and influence the world around them. The conversation begins with Ginny’s professional journey, including her time at NASA and the turning points that led her into leadership development work. From there, the...
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002 Sawyer Think: How a Small Company Disrupts Markets and Changes the World
Sages of Industry
Kurt Avery is the founder, owner, and president of Sawyer Products. His work focuess on outdoor protection, water filtration, first aid, and a long-standing commitment to expanding access to clean water around the world. He is also the author of Sawyer Think: How a Small Company Disrupts Markets and Changes the World. Episode Summary In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Kurt Avery about building a company that competes successfully in the marketplace while also solving real human problems at scale. The conversation centers on Sawyer Products, the path from a small product business...
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001 Introducing Sages of Industry: Sparking Business for World Good in You
Sages of Industry
In this opening episode, Lynne Brodie introduces Sages of Industry and explains the purpose behind the podcast. She positions the show as a platform for conversations with leaders who build companies, products, and services that do three things at once: serve clients, engage employees, and solve real-world problems. Lynne also shares the professional perspective that led her to create the show. Drawing on decades in corporate America, she reflects on what she has observed inside large organizations: strong ideas often exist, but meaningful follow-through, innovation, and broader impact do...
info_outlineGraham Stewart is described as a long-time textile industry leader and the EVP/founder behind Fibre52, a process designed to improve how cotton-rich fabrics are prepared and dyed. Fibre52 as a drop-in solution for existing mill equipment that aims to reduce water, electricity, and steam/gas use while replacing harsher chemistry with bio-based inputs.
Episode Summary
In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Graham Stewart about what it takes to change an industry that has been doing things essentially the same way for decades. The conversation centers on textile manufacturing, cotton processing, and the commercial challenge of making sustainability practical rather than theoretical. Graham explains how his background in dyeing and textile production led him to question why cotton preparation and dyeing still rely so heavily on heat, water, and aggressive chemistry. From there, he walks through the thinking behind Fibre52 and why he believed there had to be a better way. That framing aligns with public descriptions of Fibre52 as a process intended to reduce the environmental burden of cotton dyeing while remaining workable inside existing manufacturing systems.
A major theme in the episode is that sustainability only scales when it also makes business sense. Rather than presenting environmental improvement as a side issue, Graham discusses it as an operational and commercial issue: less energy, less water, less process intensity, and a better end result for mills and brands. Fibre52 similarly emphasizes that the process is meant to work without additional machinery and has been presented as reducing processing time, energy usage, and water use, while making cotton perform differently than conventionally processed fabric.
The conversation also broadens into industry change itself. Lynne and Graham discuss the skepticism that new ideas face in traditional sectors, the realities of working with global mills and supply chains, and the importance of proving that a better process is not only cleaner, but repeatable, affordable, and commercially adoptable. The result is a grounded discussion about innovation inside manufacturing: how meaningful change happens, why outdated systems endure, and what it takes to move a large industry toward better practices without losing sight of profitability.
Key Takeaways
- Graham Stewart’s perspective is shaped by decades in textile production, dyeing, marketing, and leadership across international markets.
- The episode focuses on cotton preparation and dyeing as a major area where sustainability and profitability intersect.
- A core message is that traditional industries do not change just because a new idea is cleaner; they change when it is operationally credible and commercially workable.
- Fibre52 is publicly described as a drop-in process that works with existing machinery rather than requiring mills to make major capital investments.
- Public materials describe the process as reducing resource intensity, including savings in water, electricity, steam/gas, and processing time.
- The conversation treats sustainability not as branding language, but as a manufacturing, supply-chain, and business-performance issue.
- Another recurring theme is patience: changing an entrenched global industry requires proof, repetition, and persistence.
Discussed Topics
- Graham Stewart’s background in textiles and dyeing
- Why conventional cotton processing needed to be challenged
- The origin and purpose of Fibre52
- Harsh chemistry, heat, water, and process intensity in manufacturing
- Making sustainability commercially viable
- Why profitability and environmental improvement do not have to conflict
- Working with mills, factories, and existing machinery
- Adoption barriers in traditional industries
- Skepticism, proof, and repeatability in manufacturing innovation
- Fashion, supply chains, and global textile production
- Better materials and the future of cotton processing
- What it takes to scale a practical industry innovation
YouTube-Style Timeline
00:00:00 Welcome and introduction to Graham Stewart
00:00:38 Graham’s role in textiles and the mission behind Fibre52
00:01:28 The problem with conventional cotton preparation and dyeing
00:02:20 Graham’s background in dyeing and textile production
00:04:05 What he saw in industry recipes that had not meaningfully changed
00:05:18 Why he decided to develop a better cotton-processing method
00:06:42 Sustainability and profitability as part of the same business problem
00:08:04 Building a process that can work inside existing mill infrastructure
00:09:32 Adoption challenges in a traditional manufacturing industry
00:10:48 The environmental cost of current textile-processing methods
00:12:16 Why brands, mills, and the broader market are starting to care more
00:13:52 Product quality, cotton performance, and why process design matters
00:15:10 Educating the market and working across the supply chain
00:16:36 The practical realities of implementation and scaling
00:18:02 Where the industry can go from here
00:19:24 Broader reflections on innovation, persistence, and commercial change
00:20:36 Final thoughts on better manufacturing and better materials
00:21:32 Where to learn more and episode close
Website: https://www.fibre52.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fibre.52/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/fibre52
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083402797701
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fibre52/
Your LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamrstewart/