Sustainably In Love

In this episode, we will be talking about Made to Order footwear - particularly kids footwear - with the co-founder and mastermind behind Pyk Copenhagen Ulrik Schultz.

It’s no detail the fact that Ulrik is doing this for kids. There is certain magic behind a made-to-order brand for kids because we always tell the generation to come is the one that can change the world. And maybe - just maybe - when kids are living and being educated under good and sustainable practices, hope for change gets renewed.

We’ve also debunked Pyk’s purchase experience that surprise on its simplicity; the functionality as a core pillar and how the brand is incorporating surrounding sustainable practices such as recycled materials all the way up to carbon-neutral products on their website without over-marketing the vision of the company.

And… what does Pyk actually mean? The answer is right there for you to listen.

To know more about the made-to-order customizable footwear brand Pyk Copenhagen visit https://pykcph.com/

If you want to reach out directly to Ulrik you can find him on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulrik/

We are celebrating our first year at Sustainably In Love, and we wanted to share with you how has the ride been so far. 

What have Guilherme and Sebastian learned in the last year from having so many great and interesting speakers? 

And what can you expect from future episodes? 

At the end of the day, we are doing this out of passion and we will continue growing sustainably in love. 

Special thanks to all our guest speakers, and to our thousands of listeners that have listened to our episodes in the last year. 

Safe to say that when we think about sustainable brands the corporates like Primark, Zara or C&A are not at the top of our list. Moreover, we tend to instinctively put all in the exact same bag just based on their mass volumes and turnover.

How different are they? And where do they intercept? In this episode, we had the most amazing opportunity to talk with Primark and C&A former International Design Director Samantha Jones that gives us an inside view throughout the history of these massive corporations.

Is sustainability a topic in the Board of these organizations? Is there backstage meaningful work being performed or just PR stunts? And I had to ask the tuff question: how can a company like Primark embrace sustainability when selling a 1€ t-shirt? Samantha did not hide from it and gave her view on this.

You can find Samantha Jones and her work on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-jones-92b98121/

What are the behind scenes in planting trees? And how do we balance carbon compensation with carbon reduction? It is about understanding that our biodiversity system is in urgent need of our help, while our population continues to grow at a fast rate. Without biodiversity, Earth won't be able to keep up with our consumption demands. When you support the right partners, you know that your mission is a movement that wants to build sustainability for this world, which means living in balance with our mother earth. Tune in to this last episode of our first season, where Kasper Kupperman from The Green Brach takes us through a tree planting journey through reforestation projects in Brazil.

You can find The Green Branch and Kasper Kupperman below:

https://thegreenbranch.nl/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasper-kupperman-636758174/

What does it mean to create honest apparel?

Ramon Barbero Founder of Brava Fabrics has challenged from the start the educational aspect around what the sustainable, ethical, and social aspect in creating apparel really means. As a guest professor in business and law, he sincerely cares about rethinking fashion and is incredibly concern about slavery. He truly wants to help people lead with mindfulness about the criteria by how they make sustainable choices including caring for how they look after each piece of clothing they own.

You can find Brava Fabrics and Ramon on the below links:

https://bravafabrics.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonbarbero/

In a moment where sustainability took the reigns of fashion content and storytelling, there’s a real greenwash danger associated - among multiple other factors - with the taking over of the biggest corporations applying the same sustainable messaging as the independent labels that had this approach as a distinctive factor. And even considering that parts of the chain become more sustainable, a lot - or even all - falls on the business models practiced.

To tackle the threat, smaller sustainable brands are always looking ahead and some are taking things to the next level: circularity. The early definition by Anna Brismar back in 2014 states that circular fashion applies the concept of a circular economy to sustainable development and concerns the entire life cycle of a product, from design and sourcing to production, transportation, storage, marketing, and sale, as well as the user phase and the product’s end of life.

How can we make this a reality when so many layers need to be applied and respected? It’s not easy, but some brands like Human Are Vain are doing this. The amazing path towards circular footwear led by Chris Margett is truly inspiring. And quite challenging to match a strict policy with the design goals of the brand (we all know how hard it is to make sustainable shoes look cool). Safe to say we all will be hearing a lot from Chris and HaV.

There’s much more to hear, let’s say from this conversation I got at least a brand new topic I hope to uncover soon.

You can find and connect with Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-margetts-39751b53/

More about the brand Humans are Vain: https://humansarevain.com/

Collecting data about the sustainability efforts of your company is crucial in this new decade, from KPI’s dashboards to your sustainability targets and indicators the world will evolve in a place where we embrace noble AI to help us become data-driven sustainable lovers. What do you think are the main challenges for businesses when processing and collecting data about their sustainability impact on the environment? This is one of the great questions we had the opportunity to ask Maria Svantemark, Co-Founder & CEO of SustainLab who are pushing the boundaries within sustainability data technology and accelerating change for businesses worldwide. SustainLab was nominated in 2020 Best Newcomer and Startup of the Year in Nordic Startup Awards, and Maria was nominated and recognized on the global list of Top 100 Green Data-Driven Professionals who have made a significant impact on sustainability in their industry by Fairforce.

You can find Maria and SustainLab below:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariasvantemark/

http://sustainlab.co/

The kid's segment is probably the slice of the industry that has been embracing sustainable production & sourcing in its DNA for a longer period. The usage of organic materials brings complexity and it is often seen as a design limitation because of e.g. a more restricted color palette. So how can a brand express the design in all its freedom while respecting a fully sustainable approach to the collection? That’s what we found out with Valeria Popov, the creative mastermind behind the Berlin-based kids brands Monkind that has taken sustainable design to the next level. As the major proof Monkind became “Approved Vegan” by PeTa – a first for its field - and at the same time won the Best Fashion Kids in the PETA Vegan Fashion Awards in 2020.

To know more about monkind you can check their website www.monkind.com/

Fabian Feutlinske is the founder of COBIOM and the Biomimicry Academy. He is a value-driven systems thinker and ecosystem designer who works and lives to make the world a better place, for both people and the planet. For this, he combines his skills and backgrounds in transformation consulting, cultural change, neuro, and cell biology, Biomimicry, Design Thinking, education, entrepreneurship, nature conservation, spiritual awareness, and empathy.

You can find Fabian on the below link:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drfabianfeutlinske/

https://biomimicryacademy.com/ebdc/#challenge

https://cobiom.com/

Connor is the founder of Connor Hill Co. | Circular Solutions. Their mission is to partner with brands and ensure that all waste is reborn.

He consults and coaches brands, helping them to build industry-leading circular strategies. In partnership, Connor Hill Co. are creating new consumer-focused circular products and services, and inspiring change. Is your brand ready to become a change-maker and make a difference to the planet?

Check this episode out and no matter what stage you are at, you can connect with Connor and book an initial exploratory chat at:

[email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-hill123/