Conscious Chatter

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Latest Episodes:

S03 Episode 154 | MOHINDERS + HEIRLOOM LEATHER TRADITIONS Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

In episode 154, Kestrel welcomes Kristen Morabito, the Creative Director of Mohinders, to the show. A small business based in San Francisco + India, Mohinders uses an heirloom process to make their traditionally-tanned leather shoes, and invests in equity and collaboration.

"I think one of the key markers of modern, factory chromium tanning is that you can tan a hide of leather in 1 day, and this process that is used in India that the shoemakers engage with takes about 30 days. And it's just a lot more similar to how leather was made maybe 500 to 1,000 years ago, compared to how leather would be made now." -Kristin Morabito, Creative Director of Mohinders

In this week's show, Kristen shares more on her background in studio art and writing, and how she originally connected with Michael, the founder of Mohinders, as a freelance designer.

Also, she explains more on the inspiration behind Mohinders, and how Michael was inspired to start the brand after purchasing a pair of shoes in a market in India. These shoes became his go-to beloved pair, and led him on a journey back to India to try to find the makers behind his shoes.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

Mohinders' tanning process is done using a specific nut and tree bark from the Acacia tree as the tanning agents; both are sourced locally and regionally to where they manufacture in India.
Rachel Cory, friend of Kristen's who is a shoemaker
Leather Working Group, certification body focused on improving environmental stewardship
Mochis, shoe repair shops throughout India

OTHER RESOURCES KRISTEN SUGGESTS:

The Responsible Leather Roundtable, an offshoot of Textile Exchange "I was introduced to them by a friend at Coyuchi, and have called into their monthly Responsible Leather Roundtables."
Hollow Bone, who does traditional hand-tanned sheep hides in California
Brittany Cole Bush of Shepherdess, here's an interview about her work

S03 Episode 153 | ELEVATED LAYERS + BALANCING WASTE IN THE INFLUENCER ERA Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

In episode 153, Kestrel welcomes Roxy Ortiz, the founder of Elevated Layers, to the show. A community that combats the textile waste epidemic, Elevated Layers offers cost-effective and ethical solutions that benefit influencers and high-end fashion designers.

"Most of these young creators just don't have access or they can't afford it or they're going into debt just to stay relevant on social media. There's all these hidden problems that I needed to solve, and bring to the surface." -Roxy Ortiz, Founder of Elevated Layers

In this week's show, Roxy shares more on her fashion background and how she originally wanted to be a shoe designer. She ended up working in retail and then making her own way as a stylist. It was in the stylist / content creation world that Roxy came up with the concept for Elevated Layers.

So what is Elevated Layers? It functions as an annual subscription model for content creators and now agencies as well, where subscribers get access to desirable streetwear brands to use as tools for their content, so they're able to tag these designers and utilize these pieces, and then send the styles back into the cycle.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

Content creators today spend around $90-$150 weekly on cheap fashion to stay quote unquote relevant on social media.
"To me, clothing should be a tool and it should be accessible and it should be something that adds value to whatever project you're trying to create."
"82% of people will actually listen to an influencer review versus a brand or somebody who has credibility. It's insane the power of influence."
"I really believe this is the next layer of the sharing economy."
"I think just applying moods and feelings to what we do in our everyday lives will probably start to impact change."

S03 Episode 152 | REWILDER + SALVAGING INDUSTRIAL TRASH FOR DESIGN Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

In episode 152, Kestrel welcomes Jenny Silbert, the founder of Rewilder, to the show. An LA-based brand, Rewilder is focused on the following tenants: salvage materials, local production, zero waste, good design, ethical production and high quality.

"I have always been interested in upcycling, like from the time I was a kid it was something that I would do. My parents would be driving and I would be like 'stop the car! I need to pick up that chair or I need to pick up that table that was on the side of the street.' " -Jenny Silbert, Founder of Rewilder

In this week's show, Jenny shares more on her journey into sustainable fashion, from originally starting in architecture. For several years, Jenny's architectural career was focused on materials development and architectural problem solving.

Through her work, she discovered how much industrial trash was building up in, for instance, the automotive and beer industries. This helped spark her and her cofounder's concept to utilize this waste — beautiful, durable, unique material — and repurpose it into bag designs.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

"The unique thing about fashion is that is really touches everybody."
"We're in this interesting time where it's very clear that we have a gigantic trash problem and it impacts everyone on the earth but the action - like changing people's behaviors is still really really difficult."
For Jenny, using pre-consumer industrial waste has proven the most efficient for Rewilder. Because often, when something is already constructed, it's so durable that the deconstruction and reconstruction makes it cost-prohibitive to utilize.
Rewilder will be launching an entirely zero waste bag in the coming months.

S03 Episode 151 | ORGANICUP + COMBATING MENSTRUAL WASTE Feb 14, 2019

Show notes

In episode 151, Kestrel welcomes Gitte Dalberg-Larsen, the founder of Organicup, to the show. The award-winning menstrual cup, Organicup helps replace pads and tampons, and reduce waste connected to women's health.

"We are on a mission to improve menstrual health on a personal and cultural and global level." -Gitte Dalberg-Larsen, Founder of Organicup

In this week's show, Gitte shares more on what led her to build a menstrual cup company, and what she has learned along the way. Additionally, she provides more of an in-depth look at how much period waste each menstruating woman generates throughout her life.

Gitte + Kestrel also dive into how society historically has aligned women's health, sexuality, and menstruation with taboo topics, and how we can continue to further challenge these systemic norms.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

The first menstrual cup was actually introduced in the 1930s, but then it never caught on or took off.
"For an average woman, we use approximately 11,000 disposable pads and tampons in our lifetime of having our period. So, if you multiple that number by all the women on this planet, it's really a substantial amount of waste.
"In the US alone, 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons pollute the landfills annually."
"The time it takes for a tampon or a pad to degrade in a landfill is centuries longer than the lifespan of the woman who's throwing it out."
Period Poverty: a lot of young girls and women cannot afford period products — the menstrual cup is one option to help reduce these costs — Organicup partners with several nonprofits in Europe and around the world to help get menstrual cups to women who need them.

S03 Episode 150 | LISA GRALNEK + BALANCING AUTHENTICITY AMIDST A TIME OF DISRUPTION Jan 30, 2019

Show notes

In episode 150, Kestrel welcomes Lisa Gralnek, a Brand & Strategy Executive, to the show. The Founder + Principal of LVG & Co, Lisa has worked with brands including Chobani, moo.com, adidas, IKEA, Walmart and more over the past decade.

"Authenticity really ties back to why you wake up in the morning - you know, what are your values, what's your mission in life or your raison d'être as the French would say." -Lisa Gralnek, Brand & Strategy Executive

In this week's show, Lisa shares more on her journey and what led her to have such a distinct interest in brand strategy and sustainability. She shares more on the idea of authenticity and its elevated importance amidst a time of disruption. Kestrel + Lisa explore some of today's current buzzwords, and whether or not those are driven by brands, shoppers or both, and how potentially important they are in influencing our behavior.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

Cleo Wade + Rupi Kaur, poets that connect on a deep level through Instagram.
"It's grow or die — especially if you're a publicly traded company."
"If we're talking about heart and soul, happiness and success and personal, I think profits with purpose is what I'd call it for business. You know - it's not just about earnings or about creating shareholder value (as we're taught to do in business school), but it's really about doing right, and that means doing right by your people, doing right by the world's people, doing right by the planet."
"How do we redefine success in business to really take care of our planet and our people, and not just our profits?"

S03 Episode 149 | IKKIVI, TWOFOLD + THE SLOW FASHION SCENE IN INDIA Jan 25, 2019

Show notes

In episode 149, Kestrel welcomes Nivi Sreenivas Murthy, the founder of IKKIVI, as well as Meenal Gupta, one of the designers behind Twofold, to the show. A slow fashion platform, Ikkivi curates ethical and sustainable designers from India, and Twofold is one of their featured brands, a label that is a tribute to Indian craftsmanship.

"Young designers and independent designers in general do not have the resources to expand and grow their business to a global platform because at the end of the day, they are designers and the creatives behind these brands. So, I think it's extremely important for platforms like IKKIVI to be able to communicate their stories and communicate their creative abilities to a global audience." -Nivi Sreenivas Murthy, Founder of IKKIVI

In this week's show, Nivi and Meenal share each of their stories and how they became interested in slow fashion. Additionally, they share more on each of their work today, and how important they feel that it is to offer global shoppers access to slow fashion options.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

"Right from when we are at that impressionable age as a teenager, we're told by society and various people and various factors, and now especially with the internet, we're told to be a certain way and told to dress a certain way, eat a certain way, behave a certain way. And I think now, as we age and mature, unless we take a step back and question these things, we'll just be a stuck in a rut and just doing what we've been told."
Explore more about IKKIVI + their featured brands >
Explore more about Twofold >

S03 Episode 148 | BEL KAZAN AND THE POWER + CHALLENGES OF OWNING YOUR OWN FACTORY Jan 14, 2019

Show notes

In episode 148, Kestrel welcomes Belinda Kazanci, the founder + designer of Bel Kazan, to the show. A collection of globally-inspired, effortless pieces, Bel Kazan is designed with the modern woman in mind.

"And then I realized the only way I'm going to be able to do the kind of business I want to do is by having a factory that meets my standards —which were: open air, there's a garden for people to eat in, it's clean, we provide lunches. There were just certain standards I wanted to meet, and I knew I couldn't do it by using somebody else's factory." - Belinda Kazanci, Founder of Bel Kazan

In this week's show, Belinda shares more on her backstory, how she grew up around textiles in Istanbul, Turkey, and how she originally got into fashion as a way to fund her musician life. Early in building her brand, Belinda realized that she needed to own her own factory to be able to make her business work. She purchased land and started building her own manufacturing facility in the second year of running her company, and at this point, has now owned her own factory in Bali for 15 years.

For Belinda, it was super important to be able to meet her deadlines for wholesale orders, as well as to offer responsible working conditions, which helped push her to build out her own production facility.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

"Second year in, we started building our factory. I would say the third year of business, we had our own factory."
"I did not want anybody working in a position that wasn't responsible for them - that wasn't good for them."
When it comes to print designs, Belinda loves collaborating, and works with artists around the world to help develop her designs - many that she actually met through Instagram
Hand printing + Batik: the two different print processes that Bel Kazan uses
"Because everything we do is very traditional methods, if it rains, that creates an issue - we can't really hang everything to dry because they don't use machines to dry - the fabric hangs on these bamboo sticks. We do run into a lot of issues with weather, because it does rain a lot in Bali."

__________

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S03 Episode 147 | FIREWIRE + DISRUPTING THE SURF INDUSTRY Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

In episode 147, Kestrel welcomes Mark Price, the CEO of Firewire, to the show. A former Rip Curl and Reef executive, Mark has over 35 years of surf industry experience and is helping push the boundaries of surfboard construction at Firewire.

"We've created a mindset where we want stuff all the time, and by definition - that can never be satisfied, so we're basically creating a sick society that is never satisfied and is always looking for something that can never be fulfilled." - Mark Price, CEO of Firewire

Throughout the show, Mark shares more on what got him into surfing as a kid in South Africa, and how when it comes to the environmental movement, he believes a level of humility is key to bringing generations together and forging ahead.

"I think that my generation has to be careful of not lecturing the younger generation because we've figured out what's wrong with the world and what needs to change. I think we can do that, but concurrent with that, we also have to be apologetic and humble for the fact that we've basically screwed things up."

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

Mark's talk at Loyola Marymount University about sustainability, surf industry + eco boards
The Gaia Concept, a holistic way of looking at the world
The Ecology Of Commerce, book Mark read in the early '90s by Paul Hawken
The materials Firewire used when launching emit 50% less VOCs than traditionally built surf boards.
"We have reduced our waste per unit built by over 95% over the last 2 years."
Firewire owns + operates its own factory in Thailand, and they are currently close to becoming Fair Trade Certified
More on Sustainability at Firewire

S03 Episode 146 | RAFA + MAKING VEGAN SHOES IN LA Jan 03, 2019

Show notes

In episode 146, Kestrel welcomes Taghrid Zorob, the founder + creative director of Rafa, to the show. A women's luxury footwear collection, Rafa is hand-crafted by a small group of artisans in Los Angeles.

"We have to remember that we're all humans and that there's more to life than just stuff that we buy, and consuming should be something that adds value to our life." - Taghrid Zorob, Founder + Creative Director of Rafa

Throughout this chat, Taghrid shares more on what led her to want to build Rafa, especially a particular experience she had connecting with shoe makers in Los Angeles at her previous job. Additionally, she explains more on how she really wanted to infuse Los Angeles into her brand, as it had become a large part of her identity growing up in the city.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

"When I started this company, I really wanted to create something that was quintessentially Los Angeles - I wanted to make something that was beautiful and incorporated all of the great things that we have here."
The vegan suede Rafa used is made using recycled PET, and is made of 80% recycled materials
"I think a lot of people forget that all the things that we consume in our lives are made by humans."
"You have to think about fashion as a part of your personality - it's not just stuff you put on your body, it's how you view the world."

EVENT ALERT FROM INTROThe Conscious Loft, powered by Mochni, will be taking place in Berlin from January 15th-17th during Berlin Fashion Week. Learn more + get tickets here >

S03 Episode 145 | TRIBE ALIVE + THE POWER OF INVESTING IN WOMEN Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

In episode 145, Kestrel welcomes Carly Burson, the founder + CEO of Tribe Alive, to the show. Focused on investing in women globally, Tribe Alive makes sustainable women's apparel and accessories through building artistic collaborations around the world.

"A lot of women are employed through fashion, but the way I view the industry as it is today is that a lot of women are kept in poverty because of fashion." -Carly Burson, Founder + CEO of Tribe Alive

Throughout this chat, Carly shares more insight into what led her to build Tribe Alive, and how the adoption of her daughter was a massive part of shifting the direction of her career.

Additionally, she shares more on how Tribe Alive truly believes that women are the key to eradicating poverty.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

Causebox, an order from them helped transform Tribe Alive from a side hustle to a main gig
Nonprofits that Tribe Alive works with: Mi Esperanza in Honduras + Maya Traditions in Guatemala + Haiti Design Co in Haiti
Tribe Alive's artisan partners are 80% female, and all of their production managers are women
Cuyana, a brand message Carly loves: "fewer better things"

This week's episode is sponsored by: The Minimalist Wardrobe, a platform that offers a source of ideas and inspiration to help you minimize your wardrobe and make more conscious clothing purchases.

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