*Breaking It Down* with Rachel Arthur, lead author of The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, an actionable guide co-published by UNEP and UN Climate Change
Release Date: 09/26/2023
Emily Mikhaiel of Nazeerah on honoring her ancestors and Egyptian cotton through regenerative, organic farming practices and a localized supply chain
Conscious Chatter
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, 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 waste while my father was growing up. Everything was either composted or if it was metal, it was recycled or reused or repurposed. If a garment was no longer wearable, they'd cut it up into strips and weave...
info_outline
Cate Havstad-Casad of Range Revolution on building a leather supply chain that centers traceability and regenerative practices for the land, people & community
Conscious Chatter
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 , a luxury leather goods brand focused on using 100% American, regeneratively sourced hides. “I love the idea of having things forever. I love the idea of a great leather boot being resoled again and again. My work in hats, I'm like the anti-growth capitalist. I'm like, you...
info_outline
An Update From Kestrel: why she's embracing sorting, shedding and creating space & why we should welcome the in-betweens in life, sustainability and fashion
Conscious Chatter
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 — one of the ways Kestrel always loves to connect with you all. “Maybe this whole episode is sounding disconnected from what you generally hear in the sustainability and fashion...
info_outline
Ben Mead of OEKO-TEX® on the what brands should be doing to mitigate toxic chemicals across fashion's supply chains amidst shifting tariffs & global policy change
Conscious Chatter
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 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 know who’s making it and what’s going into it.” -Ben MAY THEME — HOW TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM OUR CLOTHES MOVE AROUND THE WORLD It is a tumultuous time when it comes to policy, and policy...
info_outline
Commons & the Second Nature Podcast on: what actually happens to your clothing donations?
Conscious Chatter
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 us, democratizing repair isn't just a luxury or a trend, it's something essential to creating this future where sustainability and equity guide the way forward.” -Sumaq Alvarado del...
info_outline
Personal stylist Jennine Jacob on welcoming the multiplicity of personal style while interrogating the language we use around fashion and why that matters
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 329, Kestrel welcomes Jennine Jacob, a personal stylist and Instagram phenom, to the show. You may know 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, contrast, proportion, texture, color theory. So why do we have to attach a value to a person's body shape when that's not even necessary? I really want to call into question why we use certain language...
info_outline
Environmental scientist and microplastics researcher Dana Zhaxylykova on the links between fast fashion, toxicity and microplastics
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 328, Kestrel welcomes Dana Zhaxylykova, an environmental scientist & microplastics researcher, to the show. Originally from Kazakhstan, 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 an impact. And as scientists and as a scientific community, we expect people, not only the governments and corporations (they have a huge responsibility, of course), but we as people, we also can...
info_outline
Sanchali Pal of Commons Commons on why they developed their own sustainable brand ratings, one way to combat fast fashion this month, & the importance of connecting data with storytelling to shift behavior
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 327, Kestrel welcomes Sanchali Pal, founder and CEO of Commons, an app that rewards you for living and spending sustainably. On 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 are things like flying less or recycling or eating more plant-based. People don't always think about their clothing habits, but I think that's really changing with the conversation around fast fashion. I...
info_outline
Anna Bario of Bario Neal on why jewelry is integral to pushing fashion to be more sustainable, why small businesses have power to instigate change & how "investment" in jewelry can reflect economic trends
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 326, Kestrel welcomes Anna Bario, the cofounder of Bario Neal, to the show. 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 also a specialist in responsible gold and gemstone sourcing, Anna’s work in sustainable initiatives and social impacts defines the framework for Bario Neal’s ethical jewelry roadmap. “I think [for]...
info_outline
How do you define *investment piece*, what makes you feel comfortable spending more on certain items & why is this integral to the sustainable fashion conversation?
Conscious Chatter
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, 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 help others do the same. “I think a lot of people assume that investment pieces mean luxury. For me, specifically, I always think about – can I pass this down to my daughter? Investment pieces can be...
info_outlineIn episode 307, Kestrel welcomes Rachel Arthur, a strategist, journalist, and the Advocacy Lead for Sustainable Fashion at the United Nations Environment Programme, to the show. Rachel is the lead author of The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, which was published earlier this year by the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN Climate Change Fashion Charter.
“Communicators themselves, on a couple of levels, have had the ability to participate and to contribute I think is what I’m looking for here, and that is the first of all. But they themselves, by being communicators, have a skill set that is missing in the sustainability space, which is around this notion of making something desirable, creative — making people fall in love with things. That is fundamentally what fashion does, and we need to redirect it toward sustainability.” -Rachel
Are you a communicator in the fashion space? Whether it’s through your work or everyday life, communicating about sustainability and fashion can be challenging and complex.
This week’s guest is the lead author of a new framework for fashion communicators – it’s called the Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, and it’s a deep dive into why we must all play a role in shifting the narrative.
The Playbook provides actionable steps communicators can take including: establishing a foundation with verifiable information, acknowledging that fashion is integral in building culture, and highlighting the role storytellers must play in advocating for change.
We address head-on one of fashion’s biggest issues today – misinformation. As the report highlights, A 2020 study by the European Commission found 53.3% of environmental claims communicated in the EU at large were vague, misleading or unfounded. And a fashion specific report by Changing Markets from 2021 finds that 60% of sustainability claims by European fashion giants are “unsubstantiated” and “misleading”.
The Playbook recommends that one way communicators can break the cycle of misinformation is by leading with science. While this is absolutely necessary, I regularly hear frustrations over the lack of accessible scientific data and research available in the fashion space. We explore this tension as well.
Telling stories is powerful and can influence change.
Quotes & links from the conversation:
-
“So, I don’t think that there is a silver bullet here — there isn’t the single answer in the playbook, but the intention is to open up this discussion and put it on the table and importantly say that marketers, communicators, anybody in that sort of job function, which basically means that they spend time communicating with consumers in some capacity, has a role that they can play here to help towards change.” -Rachel (16:58)
-
FashMash, global community Rachel helped cofound