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Characters episodes

  • Insta-Hiker Culture + Responsible Recreation | Emily Pelland, HikingWithHeels

    184: We're chatting with Emily Pelland of @hikingwithheels all things outdoor recreation. Emily shares her story of building up an online presence as a hiker-influencer, and the challenges that ultimately encouraged her to step away from the space. We discuss the behind-the-scenes of creating her beautiful images, community in the online space, and the positives/negatives of publicizing trails (the very controversial: should you tag locations?). Emily shares tips on responsible hiking for beginners and we reflect on stories of some of our favorite online spaces.


    Resources:

    • Leave No Trace
    • AllTrails.com
    • Is Geotagging on Instagram Ruining Natural Wonders? Some Say Yes (New York Times)

    • Thanks to our sponsors!

      • ecampus.oregonstate.edu/ecochic
      • organifi.com with code "ECOCHIC" for 15% off

      • Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

        Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

        40 min
      • What Do Bottled Water Companies Sell?

        183: Taking a juicy, investigative look into one of the most controversial sustainability topics: bottled water. We are diving deep into the controversies surrounding big brands like Nestle (and the 51 brands they own) and Fiji - what the players in this multibillion-dollar industry legally have claim to, how they interact with governments, and how communities are speaking out.


        Next book club pick: Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation by Candy J. Cooper, Marc Aronson. We're reading with N'Dea of @bmekween!



        For your own research:

        • Ep 123: Water, Public Health, Advocacy, + A Julia Roberts Film | Erin Brockovich
        • Nestle's Water Controversy, Explained (Mashed)
        • Facing Droughts, California Challenges Nestlé Over Water Use (NY Times)
        • The fight to stop Nestlé from taking America's water to sell in plastic bottles
        • The Dark Secret of FIJI Water (New University)
        • The Truth About Fiji Water (Mashed)


        • Thanks to our sponsors!

          • HelloFresh.com/ECOCHIC16
          • HiyaHealth.com/ECOCHIC
          • Organifi.com with code ECOCHIC


          • Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.


            Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

            31 min
          • Decolonizing Environmentalism (Rewind) | Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru

            182: We are rewinding to one of my favorite guests ever! We’re joined by Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, a brilliant environmental justice scholar passionate about empowering BIPOC communities! Wawa is a recent alumnus of the University of Connecticut, and a Rhodes scholar attending Oxford continuing her intersectional environmental studies.


            She has had two recently published pieces shake the Internet: her piece in Vice titled “It’s Time for Environmental Studies to Own Up to Erasing Black People,” and in Glamour, “Want to be an Environmentalist? Start with Antiracism.”

            Our conversation today covers a lot of ground, primarily stemming from this ideal of white environmentalism: we discuss racism + social justice in the conservation movement, and also in how BIPOC communities experience outdoor recreation; the whitewashing of environmental studies and histories; unpaid internships + tokenism, especially when it comes to making big nature-focused organizations into more diversity. Wawa speaks honestly about generational trauma and violence against Black folx, and criminalization still present today; this leads us to the topic of accessibility to the outdoors for non-white students.


            Thanks to our sponsors!

            • Storyworth.co/ECOCHIC
            • Wren.co/ECOCHIC
            • HelloFresh.com/ECOCHIC16

            • Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

              Audio Player

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              51 min
            • The Evolution of The It Bag: Stuff for Status

              181: What makes an "it bag"? I'm breaking down my thesis on "stuff for status," high-price overconsumption, through the lens of designer handbags. We go through the stories behind iconic designer handbags - Hermes Kelly and Birkin, the Gucci Jackie, and the Lady Dior - and spiral into the influence of pop culture on designer handbag purchases - how did Carrie Bradshaw effectively create a market for the Fendi Baguette? We brainstorm around perceived value and the impact of social media on re-issued bags, like the Dior Saddle Bag, and the democratization of luxury through inexpensive production inputs, like Prada's nylon collections.


              Soundbites:

              • Jane Birkin on CBS Sunday Morning, 2018
              • Leah Black and Lisa Hochenstein on Real Housewives of Miami Season 3 (Bravo)
              • Dana Thomas at Google Talks, 2007

              • More for you:

                • Episode 140: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre | Book Club with Megan McSherry
                • Vogue.com's It Bag Hall of Fame: A History of the Most Coveted Accessories
                • Bloomberg: Dior Brought Back the Saddle Bag With a Global Instagram Blitz
                • Racked: I Started Rewatching ‘Sex and the City’ and Now I Have to Have a Fendi Baguette
                • Vogue: From Princess Diana to today: The history of the iconic Lady Dior bag
                • Vanity Fair: Inside the Hermès Workshop That Makes Its Iconic Bags

                • Thanks to our sponsors!

                  • Nutrafol.com, promo code "ECOCHIC"
                  • TakeCareOf.com, promo code "ECOCHIC50"
                  • ecampus.OregonState.edu/EcoChic

                  • Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

                    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

                    43 min
                  • Sustainable, Clean Beauty for All | Brook Harvey-Taylor, Pacifica Beauty

                    180: Brook Harvey-Taylor is the Founder + President of Pacifica Beauty, a 100% vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand dedicated to accessibility, sustainability, and above all else, compassion of people, animals, and the planet. Brook and I discuss the industry landscape in the mid-1990s, when Pacifica was launched, and how the brand has continued to evolve. Brook shares insights on packaging, reflections on consumer power, and thoughts on the power of radical collaboration.


                    Thanks to our sponsors:

                    Wren.co/ECOCHIC

                    HiyaHealth.com/ECOCHIC

                    DRINKLMNT.com/ECOCHIC


                    Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

                    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

                    48 min
                  • Consumed by Aja Barber | Book Club with Morgan Cook, MostlyEcoMorgan

                    179: We read Aja Barber's debut book, Consumed, this month, + Morgan (@mostlyecomorgan) and I could wait to discuss it! Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism pushed us to reassess our frameworks on sustainability and fashion. We discuss major themes such as the international 'secondhand' market (read: >80% of donated clothes in the Global South are sent overseas), major financial disparities of multinational brands, + the pressure on consumers to both buy more and buy better.



                    More for you:

                    135: The Real Problems with Fast Fashion: How Racism, Classism, + Saviorism Perpetuate an Exploitive System | Aja Barber



                    Thanks to our sponsors today!

                    OSEAmalibu.com with code "ECOCHIC"

                    DailyHarvest.com/ECOCHIC



                    Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

                    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

                    39 min
                  • The Drought: Water Policy, Fires, + Solutions for the American West | Gabrielle Canon

                    178: We're speaking with California-based reporter Gabrielle Canon about all things mega-drought: how droughts impact wildfires (and the prep we can do for those), how early water policy was crafted in the West, and superstar city solutions to mitigate and adapt to the water-climate crisis.


                    Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

                    Audio Player


                    Thanks to our sponsors!

                    • Wren.co/ECOCHIC
                    • HelloFresh.com/ECOCHIC16
                    • www.ecampus.oregonstate.edu/ecochic
                    • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

                      46 min
                    • Eco-Conscious Hollywood: Vegan Lifestyles, Astrology, + Her Farm | Torrey DeVitto

                      177: Actress Torrey DeVitto joins us to talk all things sustainability - we chat about how she maintains her vegan makeup and fashion values on film sets, and I get all the details on the 8 acre farm she is renovating to become an animal rescue! We also discuss Torrey's spiritual wellness practices, astrology, and her favorite DIY beauty routines at home.


                      Thanks to today's sponsors!

                      • HiyaHealth.com/EcoChic
                      • Storyworth.com/EcoChic
                      • Nutrafol code "ecochic"
                      • DipseaStories.com/EcoChic

                      • Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

                        Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

                        50 min
                      • How To Be Human In A Warming World | Dr. Kimberly Nicholas

                        176: We welcome on our Earth Day episode Dr. Kim Nicholas, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science at Lund and author of UNDER THE SKY WE MAKE: How to be Human in a Warming World. We discuss the emotional side of the climate crisis – coping with feelings of fear, and nurturing your passions in becoming the best climate citizen you can be. Kim walks us through the the stages of Climate Acceptance, and we explore the value of community and trust building in the face of increasing environmental uncertainty.

                        Prof. Kimberly Nicholas is a sustainability scientist at Lund University in Sweden. She has published over 55 articles on climate and sustainability in leading peer-reviewed journals; writes for publications such as Elle, The Guardian, Scientific American, and New Scientist; and is the author of UNDER THE SKY WE MAKE: How to be Human in a Warming World, and the monthly climate newsletter We Can Fix It. She gives lectures and moderates at about 75 international meetings and organizations each year across public policy, civil society, arts and culture, the wine industry, foundations, and academia. Her work has been featured by outlets including the BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, Public Radio International, Vox, and USA Today. Born and raised on her family’s vineyard in Sonoma, California, she studied the effect of climate change on the California wine industry for her PhD in the Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University. 


                        Thank you to our sponsors today!

                        • TakeCareOf.com with code “ecochic50”
                        • DRINKLMNT.com/ECOCHIC
                        • shop.analuisa.com/ecochic with code “ecochic”

                        • Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

                          Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

                          46 min
                        • Bees, Butterflies, + Native Gardens | Dr. Gail Langellotto

                          175: The episode all about pollinators! We’re joined by Dr. Gail Langellotto, professor of Horticulture, Entomology, and Master Gardener Program at Oregon State University. We learn about healthy gardens, the value of native plants, and what we really mean when we say “save the bees!”. This conversation is friendly and value-packed for the novice (read: me, nervous to grow herbs on my patio) and the expert gardener alike.



                          More for you:

                          Ep 112 with Rosalee de la Forte: Kitchen Herbs, Natural Medicine + How To Eat More Plants



                          Thanks to our sponsors!

                          • Wren.co/ECOCHIC
                          • HelloFresh.com/ECOCHIC16
                          • oseamalibu.com with code ‘ECOCHIC’


                          • Find me on: Instagram @ecochicpodcast + @lauraediez, on Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok.

                            The post 175: Bees, Butterflies, + Native Gardens | Dr. Gail Langellotto appeared first on ECO CHIC.

                            Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

                            37 min

                          About Characters

                          From the publisher's feed

                          Diving deeper on the characters we love to consume! Laura Diez hosts guest conversations and shares stories exploring the portrayals of real people on reality tv, fictionalized women that stay in our…