Conscious Chatter With Kestrel Jenkins

In episode 182, Kestrel welcomes Brian Linton, the founder of United By Blue, to the show. A sustainable apparel brand, United By Blue removes one pound of trash from U.S. oceans and waterways for every product sold. “This year, we’ll have sold over a million products for the first time, and we’ll pick up, therefore, over a million pounds of trash next year.” -Brian Linton, Founder of United By Blue On this week’s show, Brian shares more on what led him to have such an interest in ocean conservation from a young age. Turns out, he wasn’t hanging out on the beach, hiking in the woods, or spending tons of time outdoors — he was spending time in his bedroom with his 30 fish tanks, learning about the importance of clean water for their survival. Kestrel and Brian also talk about how much United By Blue has evolved over the last decade since they launched, and what they are focusing on moving forward. One of UBB’s newest initiatives is the #QuitSingleUsePlastic pledge, where they are working to remove plastic fro

In episode 181, Kestrel welcomes New York-based author, journalist, and expert on consumer culture, fast fashion, sustainability and labor rights, Elizabeth Cline, back to the show. You may already know of Elizabeth from her widely read book, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion; and she recently released a follow-up book called The Conscious Closet: A Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good. “The book in a lot of ways is very informed by moving away from fast fashion — so, really remembering that clothing is not a disposable good, because it just requires too many resources and too much energy to create.” - Elizabeth Cline, Author of Overdressed + The Conscious Closet On this week’s show, Elizabeth shares with us what she’s been working on, as well as her perspective on how much the fashion industry has shifted, since the last time she was on the show, almost 4 years ago. Kestrel + Elizabeth dive into some of the inspiration and details about her new book, The Conscious Closet

In episode 180, Kestrel welcomes Kat + Ryan Huston. the cofounders of Huston Textile Company, to the show. With a focus on making high quality, small-batch cloth, Huston Textile Company uses vintage American-made machines in their manufacturing process. “The main concept for me, at least as a kid, that I took away was — you can’t expect to have a manufacturing job in the U.S. if you’re constantly buying things that are manufactured outside of the U.S.” - Ryan Huston, Cofounder of Huston Textile Company On this week’s show, Kat and Ryan share more on their backstory, and how anticipating the birth of their first child was what instigated them to go down this path of manufacturing textiles in the United States. They also explain more on the sorts of challenges they face on a regular basis, going against the grain, and using vintage machines. For Kat + Ryan, the goal is the build out an entirely local / region textile chain from the fiber to the finished textile, and while they are able to source some fibers in

In episode 179, Kestrel welcomes Maya Spaul Johnson, the Vice President of Apparel and Home Goods at Fair Trade USA, to the show. Certifying and promoting fair trade products, Fair Trade USA enables sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, fishermen, consumers, industry, and the earth. “I joined Fair Trade in 2004 — like 7% of people knew what Fair Trade was in the surveys we would do and the marketing testing, and now we’re over 60% of people in North America recognize that Fair Trade label.” - Maya Spaul, VP of Apparel and Home Goods at Fair Trade USA On this week’s show, Maya shares more on her background and how ethnobotany eventually led her to Fair Trade. She also guides us through a bit of history on Fair Trade USA, and how much the organization has grown and evolved over the last 21 years. Also, Maya shares more on where we are at today with shopper recognition of the Fair Trade label. Kestrel + Maya talk abou

In episode 178, Kestrel welcomes Tina Hedges, the founder of LOLI Beauty, to the show. Short for “Living Organic Loving Ingredients,” LOLI is the first ZERO Waste beauty brand that is completely waterless and uses food grade reusable containers and compostable plastic to package their products. “I had a crisis of consciousness. I said to myself, wow — for 15 years, in the big corporate beauty world, my whole job was to come up with ideas of products, develop them, position them, and convince you that this was the holy grail, and then whatever ingredient I was talking about in that product was going to transform your skin and your life.” - Tina Hedges, Founder of LOLI Beauty On this week’s show, Tina shares more on her background in the corporate beauty industry, as well as how growing up in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica influenced her beliefs around the ingredients we use in products. She also shares more on what led her to build LOLI, and what she felt like was missing from the mainstream beauty market. For

In episode 177, Kestrel welcomes Elizabeth Paton, a reporter for The New York Times Styles section, to the show. Covering the fashion and luxury sectors in Europe, Lizzie’s writing focuses on business, tech and sustainability, along with Fashion Week coverage from London, Milan and Paris. “For me, it’s about being fair in my reporting, but it’s also about not being afraid of blowback from a brand for writing the truth.” - Elizabeth Paton, Reporter For New York Times Style On this week’s show, Lizzie shares more on her background, and how she originally planned to be a lawyer, but the recession among other events led her to become a fashion journalist. Kestrel + Lizzie also dive deeper into some of her articles on The New York Times, including her writing about whether using prison labor in fashion supply chains can be ethical, and her questions around the new Fashion Pact. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director for The New York Times, who

In episode 176, Kestrel welcomes Brianna Kilcullen, a sustainability and supply chain expert + the founder of ANACT, to the show. A brand new sustainable towel company, ANACT is all about taking simple acts to make an impact. “I chose hemp because it has these natural performance features that don’t need any manipulation with putting a chemical or a treatment or a finish on it. And so it made sense to me to use earth’s natural resources to solve these problems.” - Brianna Kilcullen, Founder of ANACT On this week’s show, Brianna shares more on her journey into sustainability, and how she built her own role at Under Armour, to become the first full-time sustainability employee on their team. She also walks us through the inspiration behind ANACT — basically, her search for a solution for smelly towels. :) Brianna explains several of the superpowers of hemp, and where we are currently in the United States when it comes to the industrialization of hemp. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up i

In episode 175, Kestrel welcomes Sloane, the founder and makers behind Eliza Sloane Jewelry, to the show. Handcrafting jewelry for over 7 years, and collecting crystals and sea glass for over 20, Sloane is a master maker, and creates all of her cast pieces for Eliza Sloane Jewelry from recycled metals. “I just think that not boxing ourselves in or pigeon-holing ourselves too much — that’s just what ultimate creative freedom is.” - Sloane, Founder + Maker Behind Eliza Sloane Jewelry On this week’s show, Sloane shares more of her journey, and how an internship sourcing vintage gems in New York City motivated her to build an Etsy shop, and eventually inspired her to start making her own jewelry. Sloane dives into more on how surfing inspires her creative work, and vice versa — and how they seem to feed each other consistently, helping her maintain a fluidity in both her lifestyle and creative work. Kestrel and Sloane also chat about the idea of scaling, how complicated it can be, and the challenges that come wi

In episode 174, Kestrel welcomes Rachel Faller, the founder of Tonlé, as well as Sreyoun, the General Manager of Tonlé’s production operations in Cambodia, to the show. A zero waste, ethical fashion brand, Tonlé is on a big mission, to reduce waste generated by larger factories and change the way business is done in the fashion industry. “Lots of people define zero waste in different ways, and for us, it’s basically about reducing the waste that’s already being created in the fashion industry, and using every piece of our own waste.” - Rachel Faller, Founder of Tonlé On this week’s show, Rachel shares more on her journey, and how a Fulbright fellowship to Cambodia helped plant the seeds for her to build Tonlé. Also, we explore more in depth what zero waste means to the brand, and how for Tonlé, it naturally overlaps with their approach to manufacturing, and addressing social issues. Sreyoun, the General Manager of Tonlé’s production operations in Cambodia, also shares how she started working with Tonlé, orig

In episode 173, Kestrel welcomes Ethan Song, the cofounder of Frank and Oak, to the show. Inspired by ethical and sustainable thinking and with an eye to the future, Frank And Oak has set out to create clothing that is made for good living. “So I think that for us, the idea is actually to create a deeper relationship with our customers, and make sure that we really understand them before we create something.” On this week’s show, Ethan shares more on how his entrepreneurial dreams led him to the fashion industry, and how Frank and Oak was initially the response to he and his cofounder not being able to find brands that shared their values. Also, Ethan dives into what sustainability really means to Frank and Oak, and how for them, it’s about: first —minimizing impact, second — restore. Kestrel asks Ethan to comment on sustainability when it comes to subscription box services. For Ethan and Frank and Oak, they believe their subscription service can help them learn more about their shoppers, and in turn, produc

In episode 172, Kestrel welcomes Jen Long, the CEO and Creative Director of Noble Carriage, to the show. A thoughtfully curated store, Noble Carriage offers a collection of organic & sustainably made baby goods. “I think as a new mom, you’re told that you need to buy all of these things — that you need all of these things to make raising your child easier or just to survive, and I don’t believe that. I think you need fewer, better things.” -Jen Long, CEO of Noble Carriage On this week’s show, Jen shares more on what led her to starting her own curated shop for little ones. She also talks about how she thinks sustainability as a lifestyle can really start with moms, as they are already tuned into starting fresh and doing whatever they can to provide a safe, healthy environment for their babies. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Watch more on Noble Carriage’s story > “You need to lead with good design — good design I think can change the world. I felt like that was

In episode 171, Kestrel welcomes Anabel Maldonado, the founder of The Psychology of Fashion™, to the show. A platform that explores why we wear what we wear, and the relationships between emotions, personality and aesthetic, The Psychology of Fashion™ also examines current issues in the fashion industry through the lens of psychology. “You know, if we get away from this sort of like trends just because, buy it because all these people have it — if we think about who we are, why we like what we like, the way that fashion actually can be powerful for us, I think we’re going to buy less but buy better, and invest in things because we’re sure.” -Anabel Maldonado, Founder of The Psychology of Fashion™ On this show, Anabel shares more on her background, and how she has fused her interests to build The Psychology Of Fashion™. When she realized she wanted to build this platform and write about these topics together, she started a research project, to develop a framework to better talk about fashion through the lens

In episode 170, Kestrel welcomes Nicole Rattner, the founder of Sourcery The Label, to the show. A brand focused on cleaning up fashion with beautifully designed, naturally sourced garments, Sourcery is known for their Innovative Machine Washable silk. “I think it’s important that we start to offer the customer, the consumer, something that works for her too, and invite her into this world of sustainability through better functionality. So, for me, a washable silk kind of did both of those things.” -Nicole Rattner, Founder of Sourcery The Label On this week’s show, Nicole shares more on her past experiences working in design and textile development with larger brands like Victoria’s Secret, Polo Ralph Lauren, Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom and others. Through working on more of a global scale with these bigger brands, Nicole started to realize that, as the designer, she had a larger responsibility to start working to clean up fashion. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: “60

In episode 169, Kestrel welcomes Adam Taubenfligel, the designer + creative director at Triarchy, to the show. An LA-based sustainable denim brand, Triarchy has a focus on conserving water, and reducing the massive consumption that is typically used to make jeans. “We’re trying to be as sustainable as possible, but then, if we bring something to market that’s not giving you those things you love about the jeans that hold you in and do all this stuff, then they won’t sell, and then you’re not running a business. And so, you have to also remember this is a business and not a not-for-profit sustainable thing.” -Adam Taubenfligel, Creative Director + Cofounder of Triarchy On this week’s show, Adam shares more on what led him from film to fashion, and how he discovered the destructive nature of the apparel industry. He also elaborates on how he believes mindfulness could be the key to transforming the fashion industry. After being on a month-long Instagram cleanse, Adam describes the power in disconnecting, when

In episode 168, Kestrel welcomes Erin Wallace, the brand director at thredUp, to the show. The world’s largest tech-powered resale marketplace, ThredUp’s platform gives you the chance to buy and sell high-quality secondhand clothes. “I mean if everyone in the U.S. bought just 1 item used instead of new this year, it would save around 6 billion pounds of carbon emissions, which is the equivalent of taking half a million cars off the road for an entire year.” -Erin Wallace, Brand Director at thredUp On this week’s show, Erin shares more on how the secondhand world brought her into the sustainability conversation — she got her start working at Crossroads years ago. We also chat about the thrill of the hunt when it comes to secondhand, and how we both got into thrift shopping, in search of those extra special pieces that nobody else would have. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: thredUp processes up to 100,000 items per day At this time, thredUp lists over 2 million uniqu

In episode 167, Kestrel welcomes Chrissie Lam, the founder of the Love Is Project, to the show. Connecting people around the world through a universal message of LOVE, the Love Is Project empowers artisan communities through an ethical supply chain. “There’s sometimes a lot of negative media and portrayals of people, and I wanted to show the positivity and humanize people. And I think the word love is very universal and it connects people.” -Chrissie Lam, Founder of Love Is Project On this week’s show, Chrissie shares more on her past adventures, and how she came up with this random idea to ask people what love means to them while on a flight to Russia. This led her to continue asking this question to strangers all over the world throughout her travels. Chrissie also shares more on how quickly the Love Is Project has evolved since the beginning. After starting in Kenya almost 5 years ago, the brand has now grown through their “pay it forward” social enterprise model, to be working with artisans in 10 differe

In episode 166, Kestrel welcomes Marielle Elizabeth, a body positive blogger, writer, photographer + self-proclaimed social media monster, to the show. A standout Instagrammer, Marielle is also known for her #slowfashionforall hashtag and blog Something Copper. “The conversation of ethical fashion already comes from a place of immense privilege, and if we are not making space for everyone, we are failing.” -Marielle Elizabeth, Founder of Something Copper On this week’s show, Marielle shares more on her slow fashion journey, and how it was inspired at a young age by a cool, local shop in the town she grew up in. She also dives into more on the idea that revolutions must be inclusive. As Marielle said in an interview with Clothed In Abundance, “Revolutions are for everyone and the biggest disservice we can do is to make it exclusive.” Marielle reveals some of the results from the Size Inclusive Survey that she hosted through her Instagram in March 2019, and how she intends to utilize these numbers to help chal

In episode 165, Kestrel welcomes Brendan Synnott, the CEO of Pact Apparel, to the show. Offering head-to-toe basics, Pact believes in crafting clothing differently: sustainable materials, kindness toward humans and the softest clothing you’ll want on every layer. “If I wanted to change everything in my wardrobe — if I just changed everything to organic cotton, how much more is that really going to cost me? And it turns out it’s not that much, and what impact does that make.” -Brendan Synnott, CEO of Pact On this week’s show, Brendan shares more on what originally got him interested in the health movement, and how impactful it was for him to see his grandfather shift his diet after being diagnosed with heart disease. Also, Brendan shares more on Pact’s supply chain, and how they grow, spin, knit and sew their organic cotton garments in Fair Trade factories in India. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Bear Naked, granola company Brendan built and sold to Kellog’s Evol F

In episode 164, Kestrel welcomes Cayley Pater, the founder of Made Trade, to the show. An online marketplace, Made Trade curates artfully-designed, ethically-sourced goods that put people and our planet first, and they are on a mission to become the ultimate destination for conscious consumers who love design. “We love to shoot on bright, fun colors and to celebrate diversity in that way. Color is a big part of cultural representation.” -Cayley Pater, Founder of Made Trade On this week’s show, Cayley shares more on her background and what got her interested in the sustainability, and heritage conversations. Turns out, for her — language was her entry point. Having studied linguistics, and speaking multiple languages, Cayley was exposed to the power of sustainable business through some of her experiences abroad, that her interest in language originally connected her to. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Symbology, Cayley’s friend was launching this company nearby in Jai

In episode 163, Kestrel welcomes Mary Alice Duff, the founder of Alice Alexander, to the show. A size-inclusive, ethically and sustainably made womenswear brand, Alice Alexander is on a mission to radically change the fashion industry to one that is inclusive of ALL BODIES and is respectful of people and the planet. “It’s still the vision and our mission — when someone is shopping on our website, that they feel seen. And to not get the feeling that I got when I went shopping before I had my own brand, and all I saw were thin white women whose bodies looked nothing like mine, and it was very clear that this isn’t the place for me.” -Mary Alice Duff, Founder Alice Alexander On this week’s show, Mary Alice shares more on what led her to quit her reliable job as a social worker, and instead start a fashion brand. She also takes us back and shares more on the early stages of Alice Alexander, which until last year, involved working out of her home — cutting and sewing with her tiny team on her family’s kitchen tab