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Explore the intersection of fashion, sustainability, activism, and spirituality in this inspiring conversation with visionary artist Runa Ray.

🧵 Episode Overview

In this extraordinary episode, Liza Florida sits down with internationally renowned fashion environmentalist Runa Ray to explore her journey from an imaginative introverted child in Bangalore to becoming a transformative voice in global environmental and peace activism. Runa shares how fashion can go far beyond aesthetics — becoming a catalyst for sustainability, women’s empowerment, ocean conservation, and nuclear disarmament.

This isn’t just a story about textiles. It’s about curiosity, compassion, and creative courage reshaping our collective future.

 

🔑 Key Topics Covered

• The Seeds of Imagination:
  
  Runa’s early love of books, classic literature, and adventure stories — and how her introverted childhood shaped her creative path.
   
• A Mother’s Influence:
  
  The pivotal role Runa’s mother played in encouraging her to pursue fashion instead of medicine — and how that decision led to awards, honors, and a scholarship to Paris.
   
• Environmental Innovation through Fashion:
  
  How Runa’s research into seaweed-based dyeing techniques and her discovery of invasive algae led to groundbreaking biomaterials that conserve water and protect marine life.
   
• Social Justice for Seaweed Divers:
  
  A sobering look into the lives of indigenous women divers in India, their fight against ocean privatization, and how Runa’s work sheds light on environmental and gender justice.
   
• Textiles and Geopolitics:
  
  Runa explains how the garments we wear — and the water-intensive fashion industry — are deeply tied to global conflict over shared water resources, particularly in nuclear-armed nations.
   
• The Global Peace Flag Project:
  
  A breathtaking initiative turning discarded cotton prototypes into canvases for peace commitments from around the world — exhibited at the United Nations, and soon the Vatican.
   
• Threads of Peace at the White House:
  
  An invitation to engage Runa’s event that took place on May 24 in Washington, D.C., featuring fashion for peace, global speakers, and her activism in action.

 

🧠 Powerful Quotes from Runa Ray

“It always starts with curiosity and ends with compassion.”

“Why do we need to kill people to find peace? That makes no sense.”

“The very shirt you’re wearing could spark a war — if you understand how much water and shared resources are behind it.”

“As women, our strength lies in weaving love and intention into everything we create.”

 

🌎 Global Impact

Peace Flag Exhibits:

• United Nations (General Assembly – Fall 2025)
• The Vatican (Tentative – July 2025, for the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday)
• D.C. Ellipse Grounds – May 24, 2025

Materials Innovation:

• Seaweed and invasive algae turned into leather, paper, and biodegradable plastics
  
   
• Solutions bridging Indigenous knowledge and environmental justice
   

📍 Past Events🧵 Threads of Peace – May 24, 2025

📍 The Ellipse, Washington D.C.

⏰ 1:00 PM

🎤 Peace speakers, fashion show, and Runa’s activism in full display

📍 Upcoming Event

🕊️ Global Peace Flag Exhibition – Sept 2025

📍 United Nations Visitors Center, NYC

👣 Walk-in access to witness the flags and read real people’s commitments to peace

🤝 Connect with Runa Ray

🌐 Website: www.runaray.com

📧 Email: [email protected]

📷 Instagram: @runarayofficial

🙏 Special Thanks

To Runa Ray for her unwavering heart and bold vision.

To the global communities and women who continue to weave peace through art, voice, and creative resistance.

To our listeners — may your curiosity lead to compassion, and your voice add to the chorus for global change.

🔗 About the Series

Women as Agents of Change is a special podcast series hosted by Liza Florida, presented in collaboration with the International Peace Bureau and 8 Billion Project. Each episode celebrates the wisdom, vision, and courage of women working to build a more peaceful and just world.