Conscious Chatter

In episode 57, Kestrel welcomes Liza Moiseeva to the show. Liza is the co-founder of GlobeIn, a social business dedicated to supporting remote artisans from around the world. Their primary product is a monthly Artisan Box subscription, where every product fights poverty through job creation and fair wages.

Kestrel and Liza discuss the importance of storytelling when it comes to artisan and fair trade products, and Liza shares her insight on how she thinks the "subscription box" could be changing the future of online retail. For Liza, the concept of discovery is really intriguing to her and how it can influence shoppers down the line. Kestrel addresses the question of whether subscription models are inspiring a constant flow of "more stuff" and Liza shares her thoughts on how there may be ways to find a conscious balance within the box model.

People + Brands Liza Addressed During The Show: + Muhammad Yunus + Matr Boomie + Kiva + Amour Vert

In episode 56, Kestrel welcomes on Lona Alia, founder and CEO of Style Lend, an online marketplace that hosts hundreds of designer styles that users can rent for a fraction of the cost and return after a week's time. Called the "AirBnB for clothes" by TechCrunch, Style Lend is working on shaking up the online rental fashion scene by giving women access to other women's impressive closets.

In this chat, Kestrel asks Lona how she addresses the difficulties of having enough inventory for renters, given that peer-to-peer models often pose a struggle in creating enough supply for the demand. In addition, she questions whether rental sites will embrace more sustainable brands down the line, being that the majority of them are built on offering "luxury, name brands" at a reduced rate for renters. Kestrel and Lona discuss the concept of buying clothing for longevity, not only for its quality, but also for its resell value.

In episode 55, Kestrel welcomes Summer Rayne Oakes to the show. Known as "the first eco model", Summer's experiences and knowledge go far beyond her notable look. With an education focused on ecology and entomology (the study of insects), she has worked in 2 distinct realms of the sustainability conversation: food and fashion.

Kestrel asks Summer for insight on what the fashion world could potentially learn from the food world, and vice versa. They discuss regenerative agriculture, the politics of slow food and fashion, and how technology may help and/or hinder the future of fashion.

Another theme that resonates throughout this chat is the idea of scaling, how it's been ingrained into our culture, and why scalability has become synonymous with success.

For more on Summer's current projects, you can check out her book SUGARDETOX.ME, and her website Homestead Brooklyn, which helps us become more connected to nature while living in a city.

In episode 54, Kestrel connects with Sandra Capponi, the Co-Founder & Head of Development for Good On You, an app that helps you find fashion that has a positive impact on people, the planet and animals.

Nowadays, there's literally an app for everything. In this chat, Sandra shares insight on how she believes that apps can make an impact, and how giving people access to information can empower them to make better decisions.

Kestrel asks Sandra about the sharing of information and how apps can potentially work together to aggregate their information, and collaborate on pushing for change. Also, they explore further the idea of "inconvenience" that arose in episode 52 with Whitney Bauck of Fashionista, and how it affects our purchasing habits.

Click here to check out more on the Good On You app, and what they're up to!

In episode 53, our first episode of Season 2, Kestrel connect with natural dye guru Kathy Hattori. As the founder of Botanical Colors, Kathy works to bring natural dyeing processes to larger scale production facilities, and also collaborates with designers on small batch dye projects.

In this chat, Kathy breaks down the big differences between conventional and natural dyes, and the scaleability of the latter. Also, Kestrel and Kathy talk about "brilliance of dyes," and how this can be interpreted differently, depending on your relationship with color and its meaning.

Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) are the chemicals that Kathy mentioned have extremely harmful effects. Research has shown that - when washed - NPEs are released from clothing and in turn, discharged into our waterways, where they turn into the even more toxic and hormone-disrupting chemical nonylphenol (NP).

More on Greenpeace's Detox program here >

In this week's episode, Kestrel has the chance to welcome on one of her notable "Instagram-turned-real-life" connections: Whitney Bauck, an assistant editor at Fashionista. On her personal blog, Unwrinkling, Whitney explores the intersection of fashion, faith and ethics.

In this chat, Whitney shares insight on what led her into the ethical fashion conversation. It's interesting to hear how she has embraced her role at Fashionista not only to write about style, but also to bring ethics, supply chains and transparency into the conversation, when relevant. Kestrel & Whitney discuss the idea of digital whistleblowers and whether digital activism can actually make an impact.

Below, are some of the super cool brands Whitney mentioned she's currently loving: + Uniform + Tara + Vaquera

This week's episode was sponsored by Pathways For Promise, a new recruitment initiative at AUW (Asian University for Women) which identifies talented women among current garment factory workers and provides them with the academic, financial, and professional support to earn their Bachelor's degrees and become leaders in their chosen fields. You can learn more about the Asian University for Women here >

Episode 50 | THINK DIRTY + THE SEARCH FOR CLEAN BEAUTY

Episode 49 | FABSCRAP + REUSING TEXTILE WASTE

Episode 48 | PANAH + MADE IN AFRICA