Slow Fashion & Ethical Entrepreneurship with Blue Meets Blue Founder Shahd El-Asali
In this episode of *Investing to Win*, host **Garret Wong** sits down with Shahd El-Asali to dive into:
- Slow fashion as a tool for ethical entrepreneurship and social healing
- Employing refugees through trauma-informed, purpose-driven business
- Redefining success beyond profit and scale
…and the powerful lessons entrepreneurs, investors, and operators can use to level up their business, leadership, and thinking.
🎥 **Prefer watching the conversation? The full video is available on YouTube:**
https://youtu.be/PKTUfWgVt0A&list=UULFRs3SSmwVFbR2QEjIDqU0Ug
This creates a richer experience with facial expressions, visuals, and deeper engagement.
Whether you're a business owner, investor, operator, or someone exploring new pathways to financial freedom, this episode delivers practical, no-fluff insights you can take action on immediately.
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## 🔥 Episode Summary
In this episode of Investing to Win, Garret Wong speaks with sociologist and founder Shahd El-Asali about building a business rooted in healing, dignity, and purpose. Shahd shares her personal journey growing up between North America and Syria, and how the civil war shaped her work around identity, trauma, and collective healing.
The conversation explores the philosophy behind Blue Meets Blue, a slow-fashion brand that employs refugee women, preserves endangered Syrian textiles, and treats fashion as both craft and community. Shahd explains how art-based work creates therapeutic space for refugees while challenging the fast-fashion model that prioritizes speed and profit over people.
Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of ethical entrepreneurship, the realities of mission-driven business, and what it truly means to “win” when success is measured by impact rather than spreadsheets.
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## 🎯 Key Takeaways
• Redefine success beyond revenue and scale
• Use business as a platform for healing and dignity
• Build ethical brands without burnout
• Understand the difference between slow fashion and fast fashion
• Create community-based, trauma-informed workplaces
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## 🧠 Topics Covered
• Slow fashion movement
• Ethical entrepreneurship
• Refugee employment and resettlement
• Art and trauma healing
• Sustainable fashion practices
• Purpose-driven business models
• Social justice in entrepreneurship
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## 🔍 SEO Keywords
slow fashion, ethical entrepreneurship, refugee employment, impact business, sustainable fashion, social justice entrepreneurship, trauma informed business, humanitarian fashion, conscious consumerism, purpose driven brands, Blue Meets Blue, Shahd El Asali, investing to win
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## ⏱️ Timestamps
00:00:00 – Introduction and guest background
00:02:20 – Growing up connected to Syria
00:06:00 – Survivor’s guilt and trauma awareness
00:07:30 – Founding Blue Meets Blue
00:10:20 – Slow fashion vs fast fashion
00:13:00 – Defining slow fashion
00:16:00 – Sourcing textiles from Damascus
00:19:40 – Art as a healing practice
00:21:00 – Impact stories from refugee women
00:24:30 – Social media and mission-driven brands
00:25:20 – Entrepreneurship, motherhood, and balance
00:27:00 – Partnerships and ethical growth
00:28:10 – Legacy, purpose, and defining success
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## 👤 About Shahd El-Asali
Shahd El-Asali is a sociologist and founder of Blue Meets Blue, a slow-fashion brand rooted in social justice and ethical production. With a background in international psychology and trauma-informed work, Shahd focuses on collective healing through art, fashion, and refugee employment, bridging humanitarian impact with sustainable business.
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## 🔗 Episode Links & Resources
• 🎥 **Watch the YouTube version:** https://youtu.be/PKTUfWgVt0A&list=UULFRs3SSmwVFbR2QEjIDqU0Ug
• Guest Website: https://bluemeetsblue.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahd-a-0747b647/
• Additional Resources:
- Blue Meets Blue
- Slow fashion movement
- Ethical and sustainable textile production
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## 📘 Recommended by Garret
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