Why We Care

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Melati Wijsen, a 22 year old change maker and movement builder. When she was 12 she started a campaign called Bye Bye Plastic Bags with her sister Isabel to tackle the plastic pollution problem in Bali, where they are from. She went on to become a global spokesperson for not only plastic pollution but also the role young people can play in tackling the climate crisis. She spoke on international stages including TED and the UN headquarters in New York and was listed on Forbes 30 under 30.

10 years later she is now spearheading a new initiative called Youthtopia, which is all about youth empowerment through short and meaningful peer to peer programs. I really enjoyed speaking with Melati about the early days of Bye Bye Plastic Bags and how she managed to channel her youthful energy into creating a global movement for change. Her joy and determination are contagious and I definitely felt inspired and ready to make change happen around me after our conversation!

Want to dive deeper?

• Youthtopia - https://www.youthtopia.world/
• Bye Bye Plastic Bags - https://byebyeplasticbags.org/
• Mountain Mamas - https://byebyeplasticbags.org/mountain-mamas/

Come say hi!

• Melati on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/melatiwijsen/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/
• Discover Earth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/discoverearth/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. A big thank you as well to Discover Earth for partnering with Why We Care and helping raise awareness of the importance of ocean conservation.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Dr. Amanda Parkes, the Chief Innovation Officer at PANGAIA and a materials engineering lecturer at Harvard. Amanda is really difficult to introduce in a few sentences as she has experience across such a wide range of sectors, from computer science, mechanical engineering, and biotech, all the way to fashion and material innovation. I met her when I was working on the Impact team at PANGAIA, and one of my favourite memories from that time was the science sessions she would run on Friday afternoons to introduce us to all the amazing science behind the material innovations we were working with. I have to admit that growing up I did have a bit of a love-hate relationship with science, and Amanda was one of the people who made me rediscover and love that space!

We spoke about how we can rethink our approach to waste and how by looking at places of abundance in nature we can find “new” materials to work with – through a process she refers to as high-tech naturalism. An example of this is FLWRDWN, an alternative to animal and synthetic down made using waste wildflowers. She also explained how microplastics are shed when we wash some synthetic materials, how these end up polluting our rivers, lakes and oceans - and what you can do to avoid this.

Want to dive deeper?

• Learn more about PANGAIA’s innovations on pangaia.com
• FLWRDWN https://eu.pangaia.com/pages/flowerdown
• Picture A Scientist documentary - https://www.pictureascientist.com/
• Fashion rental platforms: By Rotation, Hurr, Rotaro, Rent The Runway

Little links

• Amanda on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amandaparkes/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Nicola Brown, an impact producer and filmmaker specialising in natural history and conservation. Her most recent work, the digital campaign Our Frozen Planet, has been published over the past few months on the BBC Earth channels alongside the release of Frozen Planet ll. The series explores how climate change is impacting communities and species living in the frozen parts of our planet, with the vision to bring people together to drive positive change. She also led Our Blue Planet, another BBC Earth digital impact campaign that aimed to get people talking about the ocean.

Want to dive deeper?

• Our Frozen Planet - https://www.bbcearth.com/our-frozen-planet
• Our Blue Planet - https://www.bbcearth.com/our-blue-planet
• Project Biodiversity in Cape Verde - https://www.projectbiodiversity.org/
• Smart Ice initiative in Northern Canada - https://smartice.org/
• Outrage + Optimism podcast - https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/
• Oceans North nonprofit in Canada - https://www.oceansnorth.org/
• Isaias Hernandez (Queer Brown Vegan) - https://www.instagram.com/queerbrownvegan
• Repair Cafes - https://www.repaircafe.org/
• Force of Nature - https://www.forceofnature.xyz/
• New Zealand project - The Kotahitanga mō te Taiao alliance https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/asia-pacific/new-zealand/stories-in-new-zealand/new-zealand-alliance/
• Sea Our Future X Attitude magazine story - https://www.attitude.co.uk/uncategorised/bimini-and-dan-oneill-join-lgbtq-eco-activists-on-a-mission-to-heal-our-ocean-403363/
• The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/439981/the-outlaw-ocean-by-ian-urbina/9781529111392

Little links

• Nicola on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nicolafayebrown/
• #OurFrozenPlanet on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ourfrozenplanet/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

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In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Emma Håkansson, an activist, author, and founder of Collective Fashion Justice – an organisation campaigning for a fashion system that upholds total ethics, by prioritising the life and wellbeing of our fellow animals, people and the planet we share. I first heard about Emma through Slay, a documentary on the behind the scenes of the leather industry – you might remember hearing about it in the episode I did with Poppy Mason Watts from WaterBear Network, as the film is available for free on their streaming platform.

Emma has been advocating for a more ethical fashion system for years – so we spoke about how to navigate the “sustainable” fashion space, which can be so confusing and misleading. We discussed the environmental impact of animal leather and how leather is actually a profitable co-product, rather than a byproduct of the meat industry as we’re often led to believe. We also spoke about the carbon tunnel vision - this idea that by focusing on carbon emissions we tend to overlook other important issues such as biodiversity loss, overconsumption, pollution, inequality, and animal exploitation.

Want to dive deeper?

• Get Emma’s book here - https://lnk.to/HowVeganismCanSaveUs
• Sign up to Collective Fashion Justice’s newsletter - https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/newsletter
• Grazed and confused report - https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/reports/fcrn_gnc_report.pdf
• Collective Fashion Justice leather report series - https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/under-their-skin
• CFJ material guide - https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/material-guide

Little links

• Emma on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hakamme/
• Collective Fashion Justice on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/collectivefashionjustice/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Anne Brummer, a wildlife rescuer and CEO of the Save Me Trust. I first heard about her through Dr. Brian May, who you might know as the guitarist of the band Queen. Turns out he is also really interested in animal rights, so much so that in 2009 he joined forces with Anne to set up the Save Me Trust, a nonprofit organisation on a mission to give wild animals a voice.

Anne has been rescuing wildlife for over 30 years and currently runs not only the Save Me Trust but also Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue, an emergency wildlife hospital that works 24/7, 365 days a year. We spoke about the situation of wildlife in the UK and the main threats wild animals such as badgers, foxes, deer, birds and hedgehogs are facing - including habitat loss, lack of access to freshwater and hunting. She also shared a ton of practical advice on how you can help wildlife - from what to do if you find an injured animal, to what you can put in place to support your local wild animals, whether you have a garden or not. I live in a flat in Central London so don’t have a green space of my own that I can turn into a little wildlife haven which breaks my heart - but I will be putting some of her other tips into action, and also having conversations with people around me who do have gardens - including my Dad who I’ll definitely try to convince to make our garden back home more wildlife friendly!

Want to dive deeper?

• Donate to the Save Me Trust - https://savemetrust.co.uk/
• Take action with the Save Me Trust - https://savemetrust.co.uk/take-action/
• What 3 Words app Anne mentioned - https://what3words.com/

Little links

• Anne on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anneatsaveme/
• Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harperaspreywildliferescue/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with my friend Jesse Adler, a biomolecular scientist and materials innovation researcher at PANGAIA. Jesse is one of my favourite people - she is one the most enthusiastic, smartest, and overall just wonderful human beings I know. We spoke about materials innovation and what in her view are the most pressing issues in terms of materials that we need to find alternatives for, and about biomimicry and how so much of what we design as humans have been inspired by nature, including for example planes. We also discussed the cyclical nature of the world we live in and how the concept of waste doesn’t exist in nature.

Aside from her job at PANGAIA Jesse is also a future materials research fellow at the Jan Van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on finding replacements for artificial colorants in fungi. So we spoke about the makeup collection she created using pigments extracted from various types of fungi, and how she approaches this as a collaboration rather than an exploitative extractive practice. She shared her tips for ethical foraging and also how she practices mindfulness to connect with the wider ecosystems we are part of.

I’ve had bits of this conversation with Jesse over the past few years and it is so nice to have finally recorded it, I hope you’ll find it as exciting as we did!

Want to dive deeper?

• Jesse’s portfolio - https://www.jadlerdesign.com/
• Learn more about Alchemical Mycology - https://www.jadlerdesign.com/alchemical-mycology
• Learn more about biomimicry - https://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/
• Watch Fantastic Fungi on Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/title/81183477
• Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/merlin-sheldrake/entangled-life/9780525510321
• Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/thich-nhat-hanh/peace-is-every-step/9780712674065
• The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/siddhartha-mukherjee/gene/9780099584575

Little links

• Jesse on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jadlerdesign
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Poppy Mason-Watts, one of the founding members of WaterBear Network – a streaming platform where you can watch award-winning environmental and social films and documentaries for free. The first time I heard about WaterBear, it was introduced to me as ‘free environmental Netflix’ - which I think is pretty cool!

Poppy and I spoke about the power of storytelling and how WaterBear are bridging the gap between those important stories and clear actions you can take, such as petitions you can sign or nonprofits you can support. She shared examples of the positive impact she’s seen as a result of people watching these films. One of them was when 99% of a group of students said they would be looking to work with leather alternatives after having watched Slay, a documentary about the behind-the-scenes of the fur and leather industries.

Want to dive deeper?

• WaterBear Network - https://join.waterbear.com/
• Watch Slay - https://www.waterbear.com/watch/feature/62fe1af430a9286bbf6a380d
• Happiness Spells podcast - https://www.happinessspells.com/
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/margaret-atwood/oryx-and-crake/9781844080281

Little links

• WaterBear on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/waterbearnetwork/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Dr. Melanie Joy, a Harvard-educated psychologist specialising in relationships, communication, and social transformation. She’s the author of several books, including the bestselling Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows. She’s also the Founding President of Beyond Carnism, an organisation working to expose and transform carnism, the invisible belief system that conditions people to eat certain animals.

Want to dive deeper?

• Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/melanie-joy-melanie-joy/why-we-love-dogs-eat-pigs-and-wear-cows/9781590035016
• Getting Relationships Right - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/melanie-joy/getting-relationships-right/9780369356604
• Melanie’s other books - https://www.melaniejoy.org/books
• Melanie’s podcast ‘Just Beings’ - https://www.instagram.com/justbeingspod/
• Beyond Carnism - https://carnism.org/
• Cultivate healthy connections in your life, find your community (in person or online)
• Be kind to yourself, ask yourself every day ‘do I feel in balance?’
• Formula for healthy relating: practice integrity + honour dignity = connection and security

Melanie’s book recommendations

• Who Cares Wins by Lily Cole - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/lily-cole/who-cares-wins/9780241309148
• Books by Thich Nhat Hanh - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/category/all?search=thich%20nhat%20hanh
• Us by Terrence Real - https://www.waterstones.com/book/us/terrence-real/9781529906721
• Animal Liberation by Peter Singer - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/peter-singer/animal-liberation/9781847923844
• A More Just Future by Dolly Chugh - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/dolly-chugh/more-just-future/9781982157609

Little links

• Dr. Melanie Joy on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drmelaniejoy/
• Beyond Carnism on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/beyondcarnism/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

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In today’s episode I’m chatting with Julia Marsh, the Co-founder and CEO of Sway – a California-based startup making regenerative packaging from seaweed, as an alternative to single-use thin film plastic. A few years ago, Julia and her partner Matt traveled all over the world to visit seaweed farms, explore regions most affected by plastic waste, and meet with biomaterial innovators across borders and backgrounds - with the vision of creating a truly regenerative future. They are now bringing this vision to life with Sway, by developing seaweed replacements for plastics - and have even been selected as finalists of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize, which is super exciting!

Julia and I spoke about the wonderful world of bio-based plastic alternatives (bio-based means that a material is intentionally made from substances derived from living (or once-living) organisms). She told me how Sway’s approach has the potential to positively impact biodiversity in the oceans but also the local communities on land, and the climate. She also shared her recommendation on which types of plastic alternatives to look out for or avoid when shopping in supermarkets, and how she thinks you can help address the plastic problem by bringing it up with your local businesses.

Want to dive deeper?

• Learn more about Sway: https://linktr.ee/swaythefuture
• Sway’s website: https://swaythefuture.com/
• Engage in local activism, for example: start a conversation with your local businesses on whether they could switch from plastic to paper bags

The plastic hierarchy:

Avoid single-use plastic altogether if you can. If not possible prioritise:

1. Home compostable, ideally 100% bio-based plastic - look for the home compost label and investigate the percentage of bio-based content
2. Industrially compostable if you have access to an industrial composting facility
3. Look at reusable solutions, can it be reused or returned?
4. If there’s a high likelihood that it will be recycled again, recycled plastics can be considered if none of the above are available

Julia’s book recommendation

• All We Can Save by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson: https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/author/ayana-elizabeth-johnson

Little links

• Sway on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/swaythefuture/
• Julia on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/juliajmarsh/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Daze Aghaji, a climate justice, regeneration & well-being activist. I met her for the first time last year in Glasgow, when she was working as a Creative Director for Earthrise Studio. She’s now the artist in residence at Phytology, a cultural institute based at the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve in East London - and works with Extinction Rebellion’s strategy team.

We spoke about the importance and beauty of reconnecting with the land, about the Right to Roam campaign, and respecting the boundaries of the Earth. Daze is also a historian so she told me all about the Enclosures, which she believes was the starting point for the ecological emergency we find ourselves in now. She also shared her experience living on a boat in Central London - which she said really helps her feel more connected with nature but also serves as a reminder of how we’re impacting nature, as she sometimes spots very random things floating on the river - the most random one being a duvet.

Want to dive deeper?

• Watch Daze’s TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwPJSP-Ukgw&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
• Learn about the past to better understand what’s happening in the present
• Learn about your ancestors and how they were connected with the land
• The Right to Roam campaign: https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/
• Find how you want to connect with the land. Maybe learn how to forage, or learn more about the trees in your local park

Daze’s book recommendations

• The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/nick-hayes/book-of-trespass/9781526604729
• Slutever by Karley Sciortino https://www.bookdepository.com/Slutever-Karley-Sciortino/9781478944768
• From What Is to What If by Rob Hopkins https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/rob-hopkins/from-what-is-to-what-if/9781645020295

Little links

• Daze on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dazeaghaji/
• Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/
• Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/

If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.

Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.