“Supply chains are made of people, not just products or paperwork.” – Sara Otto

Supply chains touch almost everything we buy — clothes, home goods, gifts, art — yet most of us never really see how they work, or who they rely on.

In this episode of Flying the Coop, we’re joined by Sara Otto, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Nest, a nonprofit working globally to make artisan supply chains more equitable, transparent, and sustainable, especially for home-based and small-workshop makers who are often invisible to traditional oversight.

Sara shares how Nest operates at the intersection of ethics, compliance, logistics, and real-world commerce, translating “we want to do business better” into systems that actually protect workers’ rights and dignity. Drawing on years of experience living and working alongside artisan communities, she offers a look at what real-deal ethical sourcing looks like.

Together, we explore:

How "social compliance" rests on relationships

How Nest bridges the gap between global brands and small-scale artisans

How transparency begins with simply knowing who is in a supply chain

What equity looks like beyond paternalism or "white savior" models

This conversation is a grounded, compassionate look at how complex global systems can be redesigned to respect humanity at every level.

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