Conscious Chatter

In episode 225, Kestrel welcomes Chantel Keiko Ricks, the Distribution Manager & Sustainability Lead at Urban Native Era, to the show. Based in Los Angeles, Urban Native Era specializes in clothing design and content to increase the visibility of Indigenous Peoples.

"We pride ourselves in providing tools, resources, highlighting thought leaders, sharing about changemakers and being a source for Indigenous perspective on society's current events — and that is us providing our community with what's needed to reclaim one's culture, reclaim identity and reclaim Indigenous story through accurate representation." -Chantel Keiko Ricks, Sustainability Lead at Urban Native Era

On this week's show, Chantel shares more on how until COVID-19 arrived, she had been studying film in grad school at San Diego State. But, the pandemic paired with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement led her to explore how she could help in some way in a social activism setting — this led her to reconnecting with Joey Montoya, founder of Urban Native Era, a friend of hers from college.

Kestrel and Chantel talk a bit about thrifting / vintage, and how that's such a massive part of the way they both shop, because they love discovering unique pieces that nobody else has.

Additionally, Chantel shares more on some of the small steps she is helping Urban Native Era take to reduce their environmental impact, from removing all plastics from their packaging to integrating organic cotton and other lower impact fabrics into their future collections.

• Project 333, minimalist fashion challenge that Chantel did to help explore her relationship with her clothes — listen to our Conscious Chatter episode with founder of Project 333 here

• "The company actually came through first and foremost journaling these events [Indigenous-led movements], and the clothing part of the company was not in the original inception — which I find probably the most powerful part about the brand is that it's about storytelling and awareness more than anything else." -Chantel speaking about Joey, the founder's story

• Urban Native Era sustainability page >

• Follow Chantel on Instagram >

• Follow Urban Native Era on Instagram >

In episode 224, Kestrel welcomes Gina Stovall, the founder and designer behind Two Days Off, to the show. An independently, woman-owned and operated lifestyle brand, Two Days Off makes garments designed for longevity that are ethically cut and sewn in small batches in Los Angeles, California.

"In sciences, and especially the environmental sciences, we think of everything as a system. Everything is interconnected and there are ramifications for every decision made, every act that's taken, every resource used, and even social systems play into that — which is part of the reason why I loved the environmental sciences so much, because you see how this theory or this phenomena impacts people on a day-to-day, and then you can figure out — is this a balanced system or is this co-beneficial and things like that. And so, in my business, I look at it exactly the same way." -Gina Stovall, Founder of Two Days Off

On this week's show, Gina shares more on what led her to switch up her career from working as a scientist / geologist to becoming a fashion entrepreneur. She also takes us through some of the ways she applies her environmental science lens to the inner workings of her fashion brand — Two Days Off.

Gina also outlines more on how ease fits into Two Days Off's approach to fashion, in more ways than one.

• "For me personally, which then obviously is imparted onto the brand — anything in my life needs to bring me a sense of ease and slow me down a little bit and not add extra stress or pressures." -Gina

• "I don't think it's up to individuals to make the big, big changes — I think this is probably my policy wonk background — really we need to be demanding from our politicians and from businesses and those who have more power who can make broader, more wide sweeping changes. And one of the things that I committed to last year is that I am going to call or write my representatives every week, following up on things, voicing my opinion." -Gina

• Follow Gina on Instagram >

• Follow Two Days Off on Instagram >

In episode 223, Kestrel welcomes Maggie Hewitt, the founder and designer behind Maggie Marilyn, to the show. Made in New Zealand, Maggie Marilyn is working toward a more transparent, circular, regenerative and inclusive fashion industry.

"Really the biggest achievement of all to-date was making this sort of bold decision to pivot our business model to operate entirely direct-to-consumer, and I think really now — our values and our business model actually align." -Maggie Hewitt, Founder + Designer of Maggie Marilyn

On this week's show, Maggie shares more on what led her to build a fashion brand that places sustainability at its core. She also explains more of how over the last five years, they realized as a brand, that in order to move forward with their focus of transparency, circularity, regeneration and inclusivity, they had to transform their business model to align with those values — which, for Maggie Marilyn, meant shifting away from wholesale and functioning entirely as a direct-to-consumer brand.

Maggie and Kestrel also dive into ideas around transparency, responsibility and accountability as a sustainable brand, and how Maggie Marilyn is pushing to truly hold themselves accountable when it comes to their statements.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• "Stylists Are Giving Sustainable Fashion New — and Aspirational — Appeal" in WWD

• "I think really the biggest achievement of all to-date was making this sort of bold decision to pivot our business model to operate entirely direct-to-consumer, and I think really now — our values and our business model actually align."

• Coercive labour practices in Xinjiang, how Maggie Marilyn responded in their communication + actions

• All revolutions have always started at a grassroots level, and so I think that consumers really need to know that they hold so much power in transitioning our industry into one that is sustainable for the future. You know, it's a tagline that we use a lot that we really believe everyone has the power to change the world, so yeah — ask more questions." -Maggie

• Maggie Marilyn's Diversity and Inclusion Policy

• Maggie Marilyn's Sustainability Strategy

• Follow Maggie Marilyn on Instagram >

Thanks to this week's sponsor TEN/TEN — an exclusive collection of ten one-of-a-kind engagement rings, designed by ten of the most distinctive designers working today. Using only diamonds responsibly sourced from Botswana, ten design masters have each produced a uniquely beautiful commitment ring. Learn more at BlueNile.com >

In episode 222, Kestrel welcomes Selina Sanders, a slow fashion artisan who makes clothing that is always one-of-a-kind and upcycled, to the show. After over a decade of working as a designer in fashion, Selina started her eponymous label to help reduce the industry's carbon footprint and build an environmentally responsible brand.

"Fashion is in the business of creating culture — we are culture creators — that is an immense power that we have is the influence of creating communities in culture. And, the fact that we have an opportunity to shape what the next culture becomes is a tremendous privilege, yet unfortunately I constantly see that we are taking that privilege for granted — we are not using it to the best of its ability. And that is why now that I'm slowly building this brand, I want to make an impact toward the change this industry deserves." -Selina Sanders, Founder of Selina Sanders

On this week's show, Selina explains how losing her job (with the arrival of COVID-19), actually provided her with a unique opportunity to build her own brand. She also breaks down some of the realities of what conventional designers are responsible for today — especially the way that selling has become a key part of their job role.

Kestrel and Selina discuss the idea of scale, and what that looks like for Selina with her young, and rapidly growing brand. Additionally, Selina shares a bit of her Philippine heritage and how that influences her design aesthetic.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• "Designers now are not just people who design and sit and sketch in a room — designers are very much involved in the actual sales negotiation and transaction that happens, and from then on, once you sell that garment, you basically are in charge of making sure that nothing gets screwed up along the way. Whether it's trying to fly out to China or the Philippines or even Mexico or Guatemala, and you basically push those factory owners to meet a bottom line price so that you can make your margin." -Selina

• Selina's Instagram post that highlights a bit more of her heritage >

• réunion, a story from founder Sarah helped inspire Selina to share more about her heritage

• Recent post by Aja Barber focused on "scale" that Kestrel mentions

• Follow Selina on Instagram >

Thanks to this week's sponsor TEN/TEN — an exclusive collection of ten one-of-a-kind engagement rings, designed by ten of the most distinctive designers working today. Using only diamonds responsibly sourced from Botswana, ten design masters have each produced a uniquely beautiful commitment ring. Learn more at BlueNile.com >

In episode 221, Kestrel welcomes Roopa Pemmaraju, the founder of her namesake label, to the show. A slow luxury fashion brand, with an emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, Roopa Pemmaraju's collections celebrate Indian crafting techniques that have been handed down for hundreds of years.

"We don't buy fabrics in bulk or we don't create the products in bulk. If we have an order today, that's when my atelier back in India would create that product, so that's why we ask our customers or our retailers to give us that much of a time, so that we can create this product with integrity and the right way and the right fabrication that we require to create that sustainable brand." -Roopa Pemmaraju, Founder of Roopa Pemmaraju

On this week's show, Roopa shares more on her past story and what led her to build her own brand. She and Kestrel also dive into more of what slow fashion means to Roopa's brand, and how she defines it in her work.

Additionally, Kestrel asks Roopa if and how she sees the Farmers Protest in India intersecting with the work she is doing, with much of her sourcing (including cotton) and manufacturing taking place throughout the country.

• Roopa never uses plastic in the beading or embroidery work on her products, so often they have to specially make glass beads or other notions that are plastic-free

• Manpreet Kaur Kalra, educator who has shared detailed information on India's new agricultural bills and India's Farmers Protest

• Follow Roopa Pemmaraju on Instagram >

In episode 220, Kestrel welcomes Chanelle Harris, the founder of NELLO, to the show. A curated thrift brand, NELLO is non-binary to any form of fashion and promotes positive self-love with sustainable clothing through artistic expression.

"These aren't just clothes — it's what you make it, and that's part of your style. And although you're not going to get the latest trends that are happening (these items aren't a part of that category), you can still make it your own. It's how you define yourself in any way — whether it's the clothes you wear, what you say, what you want to do in life — it's how you define it and how you share that with other people." -Chanelle Harris, Founder of NELLO

On this week's show, Chanelle shares more on what led her to have such a love for vintage and how secondhand shopping with her grandma got her inspired by past generations' style. She also shares more about how she went from completing a master's in clinical psychology in London to building her own vintage shop.

Kestrel and Chanelle also explore more on the idea of style (self) over fashion (conformity), and how this truly drives the work that she is doing with NELLO, as well as their mutual love for studying street style in London.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• Value Village, a secondhand store that Chanelle and her grandmother thrifted at a lot when she was younger

• "I think the bigger problem is just consumption itself, even production within the fashion industry — like how many items do we really need of this one product?" -Chanelle

• Follow NELLO on Instagram >

• Follow Chanelle on Instagram >

Thanks to this week's sponsor TEN/TEN — an exclusive collection of ten one-of-a-kind engagement rings, designed by ten of the most distinctive designers working today. Using only diamonds responsibly sourced from Botswana, ten design masters have each produced a uniquely beautiful commitment ring. Learn more at BlueNile.com >

In episode 219, Kestrel welcomes Dr. Kimberly McGlonn, the CEO and creative director of Grant Blvd, to the show. By sourcing reclaimed fabrics, manufacturing exclusively in Philadelphia, and supporting incarcerated & returning citizens, Grant Blvd believes it's time to recalibrate our systems and our style.

"Love takes commitment — right? Those of us who have loved something fully, richly, wholly — it is an act of daily commitment. And so, actually the word love is not a light word at all. Hate is easy, anger is easy, frustration is easy, quit is easy, love is hard. And that's what we need more of in design, and fashion design specifically — we need more commitment to decisions made from a place of the longterm, rooted in a vision of love." -Dr. Kimberly McGlonn, Founder + CEO of Grant Blvd

On this week's show, Kimberly shares more on her journey, and how she went from being a teacher to then, building a fashion brand, based on the primary intention of finding a way to create jobs.

Throughout this conversation, some of the ideas that Kestrel and Kimberly touch on are — how the term "expert" can be problematic, the importance of allowing space for us to be playful within the sustainability movement, the need to protect our optimism and the layers of nuance connected to experiencing and embracing "pleasure".

Also, Kimberly shares more on Grant Blvd's business model, how they've gotten creative during the many pandemics we're currently facing, and what led them to actually open a new storefront this past year, in 2020.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• "For me, disruption is about recognizing systems because you study them, and then committing in the perennial marathon effort to see where there's room and a need for radical reimagining." -Dr. Kimberly McGlonn

• "People are building beautiful things now and ugly things are being destroyed — and this goes to the idea of the phoenix — either we're going to rise up into something that's more beautiful or we're going to surrender and submit to things that are broken, and I just ain't with that, it ain't me." -Dr. Kimberly McGlonn

• "I'll tell you what I tell my daughter: to hell with climate catastrophe denial, to hell with performative solidarity. To hell with homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia, with racism and sexism, as they are all siblings from the same toxic father." -excerpt from Kimberly's Letter From The Creative Director in Grant Blvd's recent lookbook

• Pleasure Activism by Adrianne Maree Brown

• Follow Grant Blvd on Instagram >

• Follow Dr. Kimberly McGlonn on Instagram >

• Grant Blvd is offering Conscious Chatter listeners 15% OFF through January 26th, 2021. Use code CONSCIOUSCHATTER at checkout - you can explore more at GrantBlvd.com >

Thanks to this week's sponsor TEN/TEN — an exclusive collection of ten one-of-a-kind engagement rings, designed by ten of the most distinctive designers working today. Using only diamonds responsibly sourced from Botswana, ten design masters have each produced a uniquely beautiful commitment ring. Learn more at BlueNile.com >

In episode 218, Kestrel welcomes the multifaceted 20-year-old phenom, Maya Penn, to the show. The award-winning founder and CEO of eco-fashion brand Maya's Ideas, Maya is a 3 time TED Speaker, artist, global activist, animator, filmmaker, social entrepreneur, coder and Simon & Schuster author.

"Especially now, with things really coming to a tipping point of sorts, with so many different environmental and social issues — I think people still need to continue to have hope, because the main point of destructive or oppressive systems is for people to become weary and to become hopeless." -Maya Penn, Founder + CEO of Maya's Ideas

On this week's show, Maya shares more on how she got started in the sustainability and fashion world from a very young age — she was only 8 when she launched her eco-friendly fashion brand Maya's Ideas.

Maya and Kestrel also explore the importance of hope within activism, what the mainstream is missing when it comes to listening to youth activists, and how sustainability doesn't have to be this restricted approach to doing life — it can truly be fun and about freely celebrating curiosity and creativity.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• "It's crucial no matter what to focus on these issues because especially with the fact that nobody wins on a dead planet — it's in everyone's best interest to try to make real, tangible change." -Maya

• "There's a kind of play and curiosity and fun that's involved with living sustainably that a lot of people don't realize — people feel like it's kind of strict and regimented and 'if you do this like this, then you're a terrible person'." -Maya

• Follow Maya on Instagram >

Thanks to this week's sponsor TEN/TEN — an exclusive collection of ten one-of-a-kind engagement rings, designed by ten of the most distinctive designers working today. Using only diamonds responsibly sourced from Botswana, ten design masters have each produced a uniquely beautiful commitment ring. Learn more at BlueNile.com >

In episode 217, Kestrel welcomes Katie Pruett, the founder and editor-in-chief of Ethical Style Journal, back to the show to reconnect. A multimedia platform exploring fashion with a modern and mindful perspective, Ethical Style Journal is expanding the conversation surrounding ethics and sustainability in fashion.

"That's the issue with sustainable fashion a lot of the times is that people want to do good, but they want to do good on the surface — they don't really want to do good at the core, and that has become something that is too familiar in this space and it needs to be challenged at every corner." -Katie Pruett, Founder + Editor-In-Chief of Ethical Style Journal

On this week's show, Katie shares an update on what she has been working on since we last chatted, and how her approach to sustainability and fashion has evolved since then.

We also discuss a couple of the articles currently available on ESJ, and get into some of the nuances connected to cultural sustainability — the origin of natural dyes, the co-opting of ideas from BIPOC communities, the entitlement present in the sustainable fashion movement, the importance of getting beyond diversity and inclusion, beyond accountability and so much more.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• "How Do We Preserve Culture Without Commodifying It?" by Seren Sensei for ESJ

• "The issue for me when it comes to specifically Black American culture is the constant erasure of us and our contributions to pretty much everything." -Katie

• "Cultural Sustainability and Natural Dyes in Fashion" by Nathalie Peña for ESJ

• "Angela Davis said in a recent conversation she had with Yara Shahidi that there's a difference between having information and having knowledge … you can Google something and have information about avocado pits but you're not suddenly the expert or the most knowledgeable on the subject — and I think people need to start to reflect on that and the differences there and really pay homage and give credit to and space to the actual experts and the actual folks who hold the knowledge and the understanding of these practices." -Katie

• Katie's personal thoughts / response to the #MUTED campaign on Instagram

• Katie's Letter From The Editor on ESJ

• Follow Ethical Style Journal on Instagram >

Thanks to this week's sponsor TEN/TEN — an exclusive collection of ten one-of-a-kind engagement rings, designed by ten of the most distinctive designers working today. Using only diamonds responsibly sourced from Botswana, ten design masters have each produced a uniquely beautiful commitment ring - launching exclusively on January 18th, 2021. Learn more at BlueNile.com >

In episode 216, Kestrel welcomes Robbie Stuart, the founder of KIDS WORLDWIDE, to the show. A collaborative brand, KIDS WORLDWIDE is focused on supporting, empowering and nurturing youth through socially and environmentally-conscious fashion.

Robbie is also joined by Swami Durga Das, the founder of nonprofit River Fund, who KIDS WORLDWIDE partners with for several layers of their work, as well as Zara, Nishaul, Chrissy and Washal — young artists whose work is featured on KIDS' designs.

"It really becomes about peoples' responsibility inside themselves to give back to each other — if that's in volunteering or in serving or however we do it — it's really in giving back to each other. And I think then, in the long run, it makes the planet better and each of us better." -Swami Durga Das, Founder of River Fund

On this week's show, Robbie shares more on what led her to want to build KIDS WORLDWIDE and how she partners with Swami and River Fund, to build something that's far more than just a fashion brand.

Four kids — Zara, Nishaul, Chrissy and Washal — whose artwork is featured on KIDS' garments share more with us about what inspired some of their artwork, what they enjoy about the art programs at River Fund, and how they think we can all make an impact to build a better future.

"For me, I would usually draw and show it to my friends, but now — the whole entire world can see how creative kids are and how we care about the earth and we want a change for our future." -Zara

"I made the artwork based on climate change, so I was thinking how if we didn't have the earth, how would we survive? I was saying — we love the earth, why would we destroy it? Don't hurt it." -Nishaul

"If someone needs help, we should help them out because we don't want to be mean and we should be helpful for each other. People are being mean to the earth — they're throwing trash out and they're not saving food for other people and they're being mean." -Chrissy

"I love using cameras — that's one of my favorite things to do … so what we could do is not throw garbage out on the streets and not waste water." -Washal

"The workshops really are at the foundation of this brand — I want to create something that is a safe place and a nonjudgemental and creative place for kids to feel supported, and also to have access to opportunities that they wouldn't normally have access to." -Robbie

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• KIDS WORLDWIDE

• KIDS WORLDWIDE Workshops

• River Fund "taking poverty personally"

• Follow Kids Worldwide on Instagram >

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