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Julia Jackson joins us to discuss the interdisciplinary solutions that could save us *today* from the climate crisis! Julia Jackson is the founder of Grounded.org, and is committed to bringing together the brightest minds and leading solutionists to foster greater collaboration, drive mass awareness and scale game-changing solutions to urgently address the climate crisis. As a second generation proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, Julia shares the value of land stewardship and strategic philanthropic giving. Through Grounded, Julia has dedicated herself to positively impacting our planet’s trajectory and has worked to forge strategic partnerships between leading climate-focused organizations such as One Earth, Sea Legacy, Amazon Frontlines, and many others.

Julia and I discuss her background and the founding of Grounded; the value of interdisciplinary collaboration; regenerative agriculture, ecocide, and the importance of indigenous knowledge; carbon sinks; today’s fires on the West Coast of the us… Julia is so open, vulnerable, and shares such a holistic understanding of the climate crisis and climate solutions.

Let’s hang out! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. We’re on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

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I am deeply honored today to be joined by the one, the only, Erin Brockovich. Erin Brockovich is consumer advocate, environmental activist, and legal clerk who, despite her lack of education in the law, was instrumental in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company of California in 1993. Perhaps you’ve heard of this case before… because the case inspired the 2000 film, Erin Brockovich, in which Erin is portrayed by Julia Roberts. It’s a fabulous film and true story – the Hinkley settlement, at $333 million, is the largest class action lawsuit in US history. Erin and I today are speaking about her new book, Superman’s Not Coming: Our National Water Crisis and What We The People Can Do About It.

We speak about the film’s influence on her career, the worldwide response about communities concerned about their own drinking water, and what we should be watching out for today (spoiler: chemicals like PFOS and PFOA, the largest emerging contaminants in our water!). We additionally discuss the EPA and Erin’s public health mapping platform helping bridge the gaps between public health and legislation.

Let’s hang out! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. We’re on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

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“We don’t need a few perfect vegans, we need millions of people actively reducing their consumption of animal products.” We’re breaking down why the perfectionist stigma around veganism isn’t helpful: I discuss greenhouse gas emissions savings from encouraging plant-rich diets, plus touch on health implications of cutting back on animal products. We also discuss privilege around certain kinds of veganism, considering the financial barriers, access barriers, and we even define food apartheid. We also discuss how everyone makes mistakes on their ‘vegan journey’ – I even share a personal slip-up story! Shaming occasional omnivores, or putting perfect vegans on some sort of weird moral pedestal only pushes people farther away from the movement… if we’re serious about decarbonization and supporting *everyone* in our environmental movement, veganism must be inclusive and accessible.

Let’s hang out! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

More episodes you may enjoy:

* 107: Fashion, Food, and the EcoRenaissance; How We’re Evolving into a More Conscious, Sustainable Society | Marci Zaroff* 101: Plant-Based Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Supply Chains, Whole Food Wellness | Brooke Harris, Goodmylk* 97: Plant-Based Businesses, Animal Advocacy, Ethical Investing | Daniella Monet* 74: Eating Locally, Regenerative Agriculture, Empowerment Through Food | Wen-jay Ying, Local Roots NYC* 55: Eco-Conscious Beef: How Animal Agriculture Can Be Done Sustainably | Diablo Trust

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We’re speaking with three listeners about their experiences and perspectives intersecting religion and climate conversations. Lizzi speaks on approaching conversations with denialists, and why caring for the planet is definitely linked to Christian values; Anne speaks about leading with values like empathy and compassion in your decisions (and even ties it all to fast fashion!); and Olivia speaks about institutional support from the Catholic church for climate action. Each speaker touches on similar topics but shares very different, thoughtful insights on how they more closely align their values in faith-based environmentalism.

Let’s connect! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

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Elizabeth Tran is the first pageant contestant to compete in evening gown with a dress she made completely out of garbage. Is that not the definition of ‘eco chic’? We’re talking sustainability couture: trash fashion, using her pageant platform to promote sustainability, and how we’d like to see the fashion industry evolve. Plus, we talk about her nonprofit work and constantly growing within a passion project. Elizabeth started her non-profit, Teens Go Green, when she was just 12 years old (13 years ago!) encouraging minimal waste practices. Elizabeth also participates in Model4Miracles, the largest charity modeling event in Florida, and with her mother has raised over $130,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Elizabeth has participated in some wild opportunities, like showcasing trash fashion at New York Fashion Week 2.0 and Disney’s Friends for Change, where she worked with icons like Zendaya and Jane Goodall (which she gives us the whole scoop on!).

Find Elizabeth on Instagram here @misselizabethtran

Let’s connect! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

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We’re continuing our conversation from Tuesday with Wawa! Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru ia a brilliant environmental justice scholar passionate about empowering BIPOC communities. This portion of our conversation centers around the idea of Self-Love as Environmental Education. Wawa shares her experience as a Black woman, growing to know and love her natural hair, and we discuss how natural hair education has evolved in recent years through means like YouTube. We talk about inclusivity in cosmetics, through means like shade ranges and simply ‘cleaner’ products. We discuss environmental racism and community-level environmental hazards that the sustainability movement is advocating justice for. We end on a very positive note: we’re all beautiful. Take care of yourself, take care of your temple, take care of the planet.

Let’s connect! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru is a recent alumnus of the University of Connecticut, and a Rhodes scholar set to attend Oxford in the Fall to continue 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.”

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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 set to attend Oxford in the Fall to continue 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. We close out the conversation discussing colorism and the role that self love and beauty standards play in the outdoor experience, particularly for black women… that deeper dive will come in a separate episode this upcoming Friday!

Let’s connect! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

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Excited to share this value-packed conversation with Stu Landesberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Grove Collaborative. Grove Collaborative is an online retailer of natural cleaning and personal care products (actually, the only plastic-neutral online retailer in the world!) and has recently vowed to go 100% plastic-free by 2025 – a promise that encompasses all the third party brands they carry as well, such as Method, Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation and more. Stu and I discuss his entrepreneurship journey, especially in the context of making sustainable products mainstream when they were not as plainly prevalent. We circle to the idea that businesses can do good – it’s not just about doing “less bad,” but actually contributing in a meaningful way to the conservation of natural resources and promoting more thoughtful, nontoxic homes. We also discuss why plastic is so bountiful in the consumer product space, plus some of the issues with recycling. We lastly support the community around mission-driven brands; Stu details how brands are really lifting each other up in progressing as a whole towards a cleaner, more eco-conscious consumer economy.

Let’s connect! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

Launched in 2016 as a Certified B Corp, Grove Collaborative creates innovative natural products and offers a curated selection of healthy home essentials like cleaning supplies and personal care products. With a flexible, monthly delivery model and a personal Grove Guide assigned to each customer, Grove’s platform makes it easy for people to switch to healthier, more sustainable routines. Every item Grove offers, both from their flagship Grove Collaborative brand and from exceptional third party brands, has been thoroughly vetted against strict standards for sustainability, efficacy and supply chain practices. On a mission to move Beyond Plastic, Grove is the first and only plastic neutral retailer in the world and is committed to becoming 100% plastic-free by 2025. For more information, please visit www.grove.co/plastic.

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The secondhand clothing economy is growing, and we’re speaking today about a new solution for those more frequent demands: children’s clothing trading market model. Jen Zuklie, founder of The Swoondle Society, brings us through her entrepreneurship journey, the issues with the children’s clothing industry, and the value of using your network. We speak also about fashion waste, and how major retailers could support consumer loyalty through similar trade-in models.

Use ECOCHIC50 for 50% off your first month’s membership at swoondlesociety.com

Keep in touch! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

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Natural personal care products are sometimes hard to pick out at the store – how can you tell you’re not a victim of greenwashing, and are those chemical buzzwords really that bad? We’re talking today primarily about sulfates and parabens, two ingredients gaining more consumer awareness in personal care aisles, among shampoos, soaps, and even toothpastes. We define some of those scary chemical words, discuss the health risks, and help you figure out if your personal care products contain these toxic chemicals.

Additional episode resources:

* 93: What is Greenwashing? How to Spot Misleading Environmental Claims* 96: Regulating The Cosmetics Industry; Influencing Better Beauty Policy | Lindsay Dahl, Beautycounter* 87: Why We Should Eat Lower in the Food Chain: Bioaccumulation + Biomagnification

Keep in touch! Instagram is @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, + I am now on Twitter, @lauraediez. Follow us on social media! @ecochicpodcast / @lauraediez, on Facebook, ECO CHIC Podcast. Email me at [email protected]. You can sign up for our newsletter + support our shop at totallyecochic.com (code ECOCHIC gets you 10% off!).

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