Conscious Chatter With Kestrel Jenkins

In episode 202, Kestrel welcomes Fashion Psychologist Shakaila Forbes-Bell to the show. With her area of research focused on diversity in fashion and the importance of multicultural marketing, Shakaila was among the first people in the world to hold a Masters Degree in Psychology for Fashion Professionals at University of the Arts London: London College of Fashion, and she is also the founder of the platform Fashion Is Psychology. “In the wake of the Black Lives Movement, when people are really starting to think about the lived experiences of Black people across all industries, we’re definitely going to start to see some major upheaval, and I’m quite excited about that.” -Shakaila Forbes-Bell, Fashion Psychologist + Founder of Fashion Is Psychology On this week’s show, Shakaila shares more on what led her from wanting to be “the Black female Frasier” and a clinical psychologist, to carving out her own space in the psychology discipline at the intersections of fashion, representation, media, and marketing. He

In episode 201, Kestrel welcomes Samata, the CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress, to the show. A women-led global change-making organization working from ‘moment’ to movement, Red Carpet Green Dress creates awareness by showcasing sustainable fashion on the red carpet. A British born Ghanaian entrepreneur, Samata is also the founder of THE TRIBE, a women’s empowerment collective. “I try and choose talent that will speak to different audiences, because part of the way that I think fashion is not intersectional is by the faces it presents as the messenger.” -Samata, CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress On this week’s show, Samata shares more on what she’s been up to over the last 4 years since she first came on the show, as well as what life looks like in her new role as the CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress. Kestrel and Samata also discuss how their perspectives have shifted when it comes to sustainability, since both recently becoming new moms. Additionally, Samata shares more on the intentionality that goes into choosing ta

In episode 200, Kestrel welcomes Sanah Sharma, the founder of her eponymous label, to the show. A conceptual sustainable fashion brand from Chennai, India, Sanah Sharma is focused on making aesthetic clothing that is intelligently engineered and tested for human kinetics. “Everything in our universe is in a constant state of motion. So, I really think — you know, we’re not static, so why should our clothes be statically designed?” -Sanah Sharma, Founder of Sanah Sharma On this week’s show, Sanah shares more on how her love of fashion and making clothing began when she was a little girl — she would upcycle the clothes she grew out of into clothes for her dolls. She also explains that while she learned more about the concept of sustainability at university, she quickly realized that she had many of these ideals already in her, from growing up in her Indian culture. Sanah developed her own zero waste design technique called Planar Flux, of which other designers can access if they are interested in learning the

In episode 199, Kestrel welcomes Laura Wittig, the cofounder and CEO of Brightly, to the show. A curated discovery platform, Brightly aims to empower conscious consumers around the world. Laura is also the co-host of the Good Together podcast. “You are sending a message to the big corporations of the world — whether you are purchasing Fair Trade coffee at Target or you’re purchasing something from a small brand.” -Laura Wittig, cofounder + CEO of Brightly On this week’s show, Laura shares more on her unique background working with companies like Google, Amazon, and Adobe, and how those experiences helped her eventually launch Brightly. Additionally, Laura shares her thoughts on whether the tech landscape is shifting to bring more social good into the mix, and how COVID-19 has already transformed the future of tech. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: “Eco-Friendly Finds From Target” on Brightly’s TikTok “What’s Your Sustainability Superpower?” Brightly Quiz Natalie o

In episode 198, Kestrel welcomes Vin+Omi, award winning fashion and multi media designers, to the show. One of the leading pioneering eco fashion brands today, VIN+OMI are focused on sustainable approaches to business, design and textiles. “We don’t need another fashion brand — we don’t. You know, we have enough clothes, if everybody stopped production tomorrow (all fashion houses and every fashion brand stopped), we have enough clothes to last us at least 6 generations.” -Omi, Cofounder of VIN+OMI On this week’s show, Vin+Omi share more on the unique path they took to becoming fashion designers. They outline some of the sustainable textiles they’ve developed, including their latex project in Malaysia and their nettle project with Prince Charles. Kestrel asks Omi to share more context on a quote from him that was featured in Business of Fashion where he said that “sustainability is a dirty word” that he hates. They also discuss how they’ve intentionally resisted the traditional fashion system throughout thei

In episode 197, Kestrel welcomes Dr. Hakan Karaosman and Professor Donna Marshall to the show. A sustainability management professional and award-winning researcher, Hakan is also a fashion supply chain and sustainability expert at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Donna is a Professor of Supply Chain Management, Head of Research, Innovation and Impact, and the Director of the Centre for Business and Society at University College Dublin. The European Commission recently awarded Donna and Hakan with the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship award for their forthcoming project, FReSCH (Fashion’s Responsible Supply Chain Hub) to be conducted at University College Dublin. “In times of uncertainty, bureaucracy doesn’t work, hierarchy doesn’t work — and we need to have these much more flat network systems, which seem to be much more innovative, much more agile — and that’s really about tearing down some of the cultures that are really embedded within the fashion industry at the

In episode 196, Kestrel welcomes Kayti O’Connell Carr, the founder and creative director of MATE, to the show. A clean essentials brand, MATE is made sustainably in Los Angeles with nontoxic and certified organic materials. “I realized that the missing piece — a part of the sustainability conversation — is fashion’s impact that it has on us as women from a health’s perspective.” -Kayti O’Connell Carr, Founder of MATE On this week’s show, Kayti shares more on her journey of starting MATE, and how much the brand has evolved since its early days as a vintage tee brand. Kestrel asks Kayti to walk us through her process of shifting MATE from using conventional fabrics to organic nontoxic options, and how their Dress Clean initiative now drives the company. For Kayti, realizing the impact that clothing can have on women’s health was a big moment for her, and influenced how she wanted to ensure MATE’s products were nontoxic and healthy for our bodies. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in thi

In episode 195, Kestrel welcomes Umberto De Marco, the founder of sustainable footwear brand, YATAY, to the show. In addition to his work building sneaker brand YATAY, Umberto is the president of eco-leather giant and family business Coronet. “What I’ve been doing since I started working in the family company — I had a mission: trying to change a material that has always been just a simple, cheap alternative of leather — trying to evolve this material in a more sustainable and durable one.” -Umberto de Marco, Founder of YATAY On this week’s show, Umberto shares more on how he grew up in the leather alternatives industry, with his father being a pioneer in ‘eco-leathers’. When he joined the family business, Umberto was focused on finding more sustainable alternatives to the poly-based leathers they were offering. Also, Umberto shares more on his own company YATAY, and how they are working to further close the loop in their manufacturing, so eventually, every component of the shoe can be recycled and put back

In episode 194, Kestrel welcomes Shahidha Bari, author of Dressed: A Philosophy Of Clothes, to the show. A Professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at the London College of Fashion and a fellow of the Forum for European Philosophy at London School of Economics, Shahidha is dedicated to contributing a discourse around fashion to the philosophy field. “I feel like there has to be some sort of intellectual, cultural shift about the way that we regard our clothes— the forms of attention we give them — not just in how we buy, but how we think about them as artifacts: artifacts that have passed through many hands before they come to our own and artifacts that are expressive of our humanity.” -Shahidha Bari, Author of Dressed: A Philosophy Of Clothes On this week’s show, Shahidha shares more on her background and how her unique experiences with dressing throughout her childhood along with her synesthesia have influenced the work that she does today. While Shahidha was writing her book, Dressed: A Philosophy of C

In episode 193, Kestrel welcomes James Bartle, the Founding CEO of Outland Denim, to the show. Outland crafts premium denim jeans designed to bring the worlds of their seamstresses and their customers closer together. They made history as the first-ever denim brand to win the Thomson Reuters Stop Slavery Award in 2020. “It’s like they absorb history — they’re kind of like a song where they take you back to a memory and it’s for that reason that you don’t throw out a beautiful, premium pair of jeans even when they’re worn out — you want to leave them in your cupboard because of those memories that are associated with that product. And again, I think that’s what gives it so much power in being able to impact people.” -James Bartle, Founding CEO of Outland Denim On this week’s show, James shares more on how he went from being a freestyle motorbike rider to building a denim brand, after learning more deeply about the realities of human trafficking. James also shares that with Outland Denim’s model, their seamstr

In episode 192, Kestrel welcomes Brian Bushell, the cofounder of By Humankind, to the show. A personal care brand, By Humankind’s products are designed to reduce single-use plastic waste from your daily routine. “We really wanted to be able to make an impact — we wanted to allow our customers to truly reduce their own single-use plastic waste function just by going through their morning routine.” -Brian Bushell, Cofounder of By Humankind On this week’s show, Brian shares more on how a scuba diving trip initially inspired him to look further into the global issues surrounding single-use plastic waste. When he discovered that one third of all plastic waste in landfills comes from a personal care product, he saw a need to build a personal care brand that not only cared about creating clean formulas, but also clean containers. Brian explains how he started with one idea — to make a natural deodorant — and worked with a chemist to see if he could build a good product. After working on this for six months, and rea

In episode 191, Kestrel welcomes Kimberley Smith, the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Everlane, to the show. Known for their messaging around radical transparency, Everlane prides themselves on building timeless products that are designed to last. “We can be better — I mean we’re not perfect in any way. It doesn’t happen overnight, and I think that’s something that — our customer, just be patient, but we are listening … we really admire them, and we really want their feedback. And so, I think that that’s important for them to continue to challenge us.” On this week’s show, Kim shares more on her background, and how she found her way into the sustainable fashion world. She also walks us through more on how Everlane’s product has evolved over the years, starting with a focus on natural materials, and now evolving toward more sustainable materials and solutions. Kestrel asks Kim to respond to a petition that nonprofit Remake authored on Change.org, called “Ask Everlane To Share Worker Conditions (And Stop Greenwa

In episode 190, Kestrel welcomes Erin Flynn, the CEO of Cladwell, to the show. A personal styling app, Cladwell allows users to add in their clothes (without taking photos) and it will generate daily outfits personalized for their weather. ”I would go to my closet and say the same thing which is, I have too many clothes and nothing to wear, which was ridiculous because I had over 450 items hanging in my closet — so, there was no reason that I should have nothing to wear.” -Erin Flynn, CEO of Cladwell On this week’s show, Erin shares more on how the financial crisis got her originally into fashion blogging and entrepreneurship. Also, she explains how she first got connected with Cladwell, and eventually decided to purchase it to have more autonomy over the gradual growth of the company. Kestrel and Erin talk a lot about personal style and finding ways to appreciate the clothes we already have. For Erin, she believes that if you don’t understand your personal style, it’s difficult to build a closet that you lo

In episode 189, Kestrel welcomes Clarenda "Farmer Cee" Stanley, a fifth generation farmer, to the show. In addition to being the CEO of Green Heffa Farms, a medicinal plant and hemp farm in Liberty, North Carolina, Cee is also a senior principal gifts officer at The Nature Conservancy's World Office. ”We hustle, and the reason for that is being a black-owned farm, a black woman-owned farm — I mean, you gotta look at the numbers: 96% of all private farm land is white-owned — that leaves 4% for everybody else.” -Farmer Cee, CEO of Green Heffa Farms On this week’s show, Cee shares more on what led her eventually back to farming, after having grown up on a farm as a child. She also highlights more on the extreme discrepancy that still exists within agriculture today, and how 96% of all private farm land is white-owned. For Cee, beyond farming, it’s also important for her to provide education to black women and women of color who are interested in learning more about growing. Kestrel asks Cee to outline more on w

In episode 188, Kestrel welcomes Adriana Galijasevic, the Denim and Sustainability Expert at G-Star RAW, back to the show, alongside Sofie Schop, G-Star RAW’s Sustainability Director. Less than 2 years since the last time G-Star RAW came on the show, this conversation provides an opportunity to check in on the brand and how far they’ve come with their sustainability goals. ”It’s a journey of continuous improvement, and always looking for the solutions. And we always look at these challenges as actually enablers of new design, rather than looking at them as barriers or obstacles to what we do.” -Adriana Galijasevic, Denim + Sustainability Expert at G-Star RAW On this week’s show, Adriana and Sofie share more on G-Star RAW’s recently updated denim icons. Basically, they took their iconic styles that have been selling well, and applied their circular principles to these designs. 100% recyclable, these styles have received the highest denim product certification yet issued by the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovat

In episode 187, Kestrel welcomes Dana Thomas, the author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes, to the show. A regular contributor to The New York Times Style section, Dana has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar, among others. She was recently named the editor-at-large for Vogue Business, which is based out of London. “They’re saying from day 1 — no, we’re going to start our company with this zero-waste idea, as opposed to trying to change it. And I think that they’re the ones that are going to survive and the old dinosaurs who are stuck in their ways — they’re going to go down, they’re going to go down hard — big and hard.” -Dana Thomas, Author of Fashionopolis On this week’s show, Dana shares more on how she got started in the fashion industry working as a model in the 1970s. After leaving modeling to get an education to pursue a career in journalism, Dana found herself back i

In episode 186, Kestrel welcomes creative consultant, writer, author and photographer Olivia Lopez to the show. Known for her aesthetics-driven Instagram presence and design-travel-and-fashion blog Lust For Life, Olivia is also the founder of Bon Weekender, an art and objects shop featuring vintage sourced from around the world. She also recently published her book “Lust for Los Angeles: A Cultural Guide to LA”. “I’m spending so much more time investing in dance classes and all these other things that just provide a richer experience … I feel like that feels more sustainable than shopping … before, shopping was the ultimate form of entertainment, but you know — after I attain a garment, that’s pretty much it.” -Olivia Lopez, Founder of Lust For Life + Bon Weekender On this week’s show, Olivia shares more on how she started her blog way back in high school, and how she grew up in a unique era, where digital hadn’t yet become the powerhouse that it is today. Also, Olivia talks about what vintage has meant to h

In episode 185, Kestrel welcomes Amanda Parkes, the Chief Innovations Officer at Pangaia, to the show. A materials science company, Pangaia is on a mission to save our environment. “We are moving into the bioeconomy, which is this very notion that biomass is at the base of both agriculture, materials and energy. So, we can think about the circle and the interchange between all of those systems — it’s the basis of the true circular economy.” -Amanda Parkes, Chief Innovations Officer at Pangaia On this week’s show, Amanda shares more on her multidisciplinary background, and how she’s found a way to bridge her expertise in science, tech, and art with her work at Pangaia. She talks about the unique attributes of Pangaia’s business model — how they bring together scientists, technologists, and designers in their work; and the way they make an R&D plan that goes 8 years out, which no fashion companies are doing today. Additionally, Amanda breaks down more on Pangaia’s newest innovation — FLWRDWN™, what it’s re

In episode 184, Kestrel welcomes Kelly Phenicie + Ellen Saville, the cofounders of The Endery, to the show. A brand born in Lima, Peru, The Endery plays with color using quality fibers to create lifelong knits that would otherwise have become waste. “And just the whole manufacturing system has always been built around making what you need or want, rather than using what already exists. So, it is a lot of work to get people to think and work differently. There’s certainly not a blueprint for using deadstock, so we really just have to learn as we go.” -Kelly Phenicie, Cofounder of The Endery On this week’s show, Kelly and Ellen share more about how their work in the knitwear industry led them to want to find a creative way to address the excess and leftovers building up around them. Ellen breaks down some of the reasons why for The Endery, they believe alpaca is one of the most sustainable fibers. Also, Kestrel, Kelly and Ellen discuss what makes a garment last in your wardrobe, and whether colorful designs ca

In episode 183, Kestrel welcomes Megan Villa, the cofounder and creative content director of Svn Space, to the show. A female-focused multimedia platform, Svn Space is dedicated to educating the mainstream on the lifestyle benefits of Hemp, and how the plant can feed you, house you, clothe you, heal you and beautify you. “We were kind of dumbfounded when we realized how incredible hemp is — you know, it has over 25,000 known uses. Like our motto is: hemp is a plant that can feed you, house you, clothe you and heal you, which is pretty incredible that one plant can do all of that.” -Megan Villa, Cofounder + Creative Content Director of Svn Space On this week’s show, Megan breaks down more on why she and her cofounders are pushing to rebrand hemp, and give it a modern facelift. On their platform, they strive to showcase clear, easy-to-digest information, in an effort to “reverse stigmas, reveal the truth, and modernize the perception of this often-misunderstood plant”. In addition to sharing some of the 25,000