Conscious Chatter With Kestrel Jenkins

In episode 142, Kestrel welcomes Holly Staves Olson, a marketing wizard + her cofounder of a new venture called Left Edit, to the show. A new direct-to-consumer womenswear brand for those who don’t want to sacrifice ethics for style, Left Edit builds essentials that make an impression. “I think it’s so cool because our relationship always revolved around this entrepreneurial spirit. I think that’s where you and I really connected is every time we’d get together, we’d be brainstorming different ideas, and we’d be talking about fashion and we’d be talking about new businesses and how we can make a change.” - Holly Stavnes Olson, Cofounder of Left Edit In this episode, Holly and Kestrel share more on what drew them together as cofounders, and how they ended up finding their way to building Left Edit. They also share more on how incredible the designer community has been in supporting them in the development process and sharing information to help them along the way, from sourcing fabrics and materials to connec

In episode 141, Kestrel welcomes Lauren Engelke, a professional sustainable stylist, blogger + the curator of The Minimalist Wardrobe Shop, to the show. A new project, TMW Shop offers a curated collection of quality garments, perfect to help build a minimalist wardrobe. “I never expected this in a million years, but the major pain point was shopping — and a lot of the clients that I worked with had actually almost over minimalized their wardrobe. And they had come so far from big wardrobes to a paired down, lean wardrobe that they were afraid to shop again.” - Lauren Engelke, Sustainable Stylist + Curator of TMW Shop In this episode, Lauren shares more on how she started questions some of the realities of the fashion industry, through her work as a stylist. Whether it was overproduction or the chemicals in the apparel she was steaming, she realized firsthand the disconnects between her values and what was happening behind-the-scenes in the industry. After giving herself a crash course in sustainable fashion,

In episode 140, Kestrel welcomes Katie Pruett, the founder and editor-in-chief of Ethical Style Journal, to the show. A platform to help shape fashion culture into one that is as much about awareness, action, and accountability as it is about style, Ethical Style Journal is a stunning publication stacked with substance. “If you look at the history of our country, they’ve always kind of helped shape peoples’ perspectives - they’ve always had that authority. Specifically if we’re talking about fashion magazines - I mean look at Vogue and their influence. I wanted to get in on that and say hey - let’s do some good with this, because we have that power and that’s what media has always done - and let’s use it in a positive way.” - Katie Pruett, Editor-In-Chief of Ethical Style Journal In this episode, Katie shares more on how she went from searching for a pair of boots to building an independent magazine. For Katie, Ethical Style Journal is a way to use the power of media for good, and she's bringing dynamic voic

In episode 139, Kestrel welcomes ethical fashion blogger Benita Robledo and Casey Dworkin, founder of sustainable footwear brand, Sylven New York, to the show. Benita + Casey together are the co-founders of The Better Shop, a new Brooklyn-based pop-up, open this November + December 2018. “We want people who are as interested in community and collaboration as we are, because we feel like - that’s how the sustainability movement is going to grow is if we foster community over competition.” - Benita Robledo, Cofounder of The Better Shop In this episode, Benita and Casey talk a lot about how they bonded over wanting to make the sustainable and ethical fashion conversation + shopping experience more accessible. They also share more on how they feel The Better Shop stands out from the crowd. For Benita + Casey, they want the shop to bring people in from the community, which is why they are hosting an array of activations to connect people with sustainable lifestyle activities. The below thoughts, ideas + organizat

In episode 138, Kestrel welcomes Shannon Lohr, the founder of Factory45, to the show. An online accelerator program, Factory45 takes sustainable fashion companies from idea to launch. Shannon’s newest project, Market45, is an ethical fashion marketplace, and it just made its debut in the e-commerce space. “Now we are living in a world where you know, the average consumer, they’ve at least heard sustainable fashion before - they’ve heard those words. And that’s really cool. It’s really great to see the growth and the recognition of what’s happening in the space, and remembering that there’s no such thing as perfectly sustainable - if you’re making something new, everything has an impact, but knowing that we’re getting better, the conversation is at least moving along, and we have these independent fashion brands that are trying to provide better options for consumers.” - Shannon Lohr, Founder of Factory45 + Market45 In this episode, Shannon gives us an update on where things are at with Factory45, and how muc

  In episode 137, Kestrel welcomes Pierre Nicolas Hurstel, the founder of REMODE, to the show. A conference that is meant to unite fashion brand leaders and industry-wide professionals to inspire solutions for growth and innovation, Remode’s inaugural event is taking place on November 13th and 14th, 2018 in Los Angeles. “The future for brands is sustainable, vertical, omnichannel, purposeful - and this future has started now actually, because thanks to the incredible innovations that are now available, it is now possible for brands to do that at the same time, and sometimes the same technology can help solve both sustainability and retail problems.” - Pierre Nicolas Hurstel, Founder of ReMode In this episode, Pierre shares more on his background and what led him to want to build ReMode. Additionally, he outlines a selection of the panels and speakers he’s looking forward to hosting at this year’s inaugural event. Given the cost of entrance to ReMode, Kestrel asks Pierre to share his thoughts on accessibility

In episode 136, Kestrel welcomes Sebastian Juhola, the creator of The Minimalist Wardrobe, to the show. A platform and popular Instagram, The Minimalist Wardrobe is meant to help people minimize their wardrobes, with a focus on ethical and sustainable values. “Minimalism brings instant results for your personal life. It has those practical effects right away, in addition to sustainability and the environment. It also helps you personally in tremendous ways.” - Sebastian Juhola, Founder of The Minimalist Wardrobe In this episode, Kestrel gets the chance to connect with Sebastian about what led him to start @theminimalistwardrobe Instagram. Surprisingly, he started it on a whim for fun, and at one point in 2017, left it dormant for several months. Now, the account is growing an average of 500 followers per day. Throughout this chat, Kestrel asks Sebastian to share his insight as to what storytelling + social media tactics are resonating with The Minimalist Wardrobe audience. Also, they discuss the potential th

In episode 135, Kestrel welcomes Lydia Wendt, the Founder + Creative Director of Cloth Foundry, as well as Ashley Denisov, the Design Lead at Cloth Foundry + founder of womenswear label 1x1, to the show. In collaboration with nature, Cloth Foundry creates textiles and apparel in California. “This is constantly the industry dilemma. Small brands are the most innovative and they don’t have access to the best fabric because they can’t support the volume that needs to be supported to create the orders for the mills to start up the mill and knit or weave the fabric.” - Lydia Wendt, Founder of Cloth Foundry In this episode, Lydia shares more on the origins of Cloth Foundry and how her collaboration with North Face for the Backyard Project inspired the early days of the company. She and Ashley dive into more of their thoughts on what a healthy wardrobe can look like, and how much it can impact our health in different ways. Additionally, Lydia and Ashley share their thoughts on the difficulties that young designers

In episode 134, Kestrel welcomes Kathleen Talbot, the VP of Operations + Sustainability at Reformation, to the show. A revolutionary lifestyle brand, Reformation offers thoughtfully produced clothing at an affordable price–a reminder that being green shouldn’t mean sacrificing style and quality. “If you’re confident and you’re motivated to really manage the impact of your product and really your product’s whole life cycle, you shouldn’t be afraid of growth. You should be really trying to maximize that because by growing our business, by reaching a bigger consumer base, we’re actually magnifying our impact." - Kathleen Talbot, VP of Operations + Sustainability at Reformation In this episode, Kathleen shares more on the origins of Reformation, and how they are an act + iterate company. For Reformation, they’re all about testing to try to reduce their impact - when they discover that something isn’t working and/or reducing their footprint, they shift right away and try something else. Kathleen also shares more

In episode 133, Kestrel welcomes Nasreen Sheikh, the founder of both Local Women’s Handicrafts and nonprofit LOCWOM, to the show. An international public speaker and anti-sweatshop advocate, Nasreen has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan and more. "I was working in this small room, thousands of t-shirts would be all around the room, the window would be so small so there would be not enough air, and really when you have a new t-shirt that just came from the other factory and it’s literally filled with so much chemicals - and one of the hardest things for me was not being able to breathe sometimes." - Nasreen Sheikh, Founder of Local Women’s Handicrafts In this episode, Nasreen shares stories of growing up in rural Nepal, and the fear that was connected to growing up as a woman. She tells a story about a woman being murdered in her village for being too outspoken, the numerous forced marriages that happened around her, and the challenges she faced paving herself a different route. Nasre

  In episode 132, Kestrel welcomes Renee Peters, the founder of Model4GreenLiving, to the show. A fashion model, lifelong animal lover and nature enthusiast, Renee’s interests have inspired Model4GreenLiving, which showcases practical tips and everyday actions that help encourage mindful, sustainable living. "Feminism and environmentalism are not two separate things - they go together." - Renee Peters, Founder of Model4GreenLiving In this episode, Renee shares her insider insight on the modeling industry, from its challenges to its perks to its abusive nature. She also talks about where she is now in her career - at 29 - and how she can already see that the end of her modeling days are in sight. Kestrel + Renee also talk about Project Drawdown, the book edited by Paul Hawken, that outlines solutions that reduce greenhouse gases by avoiding emissions and/or by sequestering carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. For Renee, she believes strongly that if you are an environmentalist, you should be a feminist. A

In episode 131, Kestrel welcomes Kohl Crecelius, a social entrepreneur, and the founder and owner of two social impact apparel brands, the the show. With a focus on helping shoppers know and connect with the makers behind their clothing, KNOWN SUPPLY and Krochet Kids intl. are pushing to humanize the fashion industry. "I remember in probably our first couple years, all we ever heard (because we were starting around the same time that Tom's was really starting to take off), all we ever heard was - what is the tagline that's like one-for-one? And we thought about it and we came up with all these iterations and then, eventually we kind of just said - you know what, there's so much more to who we are and what we're trying to accomplish than a simple little quip." - Kohl Crecelius, Founder of Known Supply + Krochet Kids In this episode, Kohl shares more on the origins of Krochet Kid intl., and how it evolved out of a company he and his friends started in high school after his brother taught him how to crochet. Ad

In episode 130, Kestrel welcomes Shelly Gottschamer, the head of sustainability and supply chain at Outerknown, to the show. A sustainable menswear brand co-founded by 11-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater + designer John Moore, Outerknown believes in building products by making every decision with the highest regard for the environment and the people they work with. "We're in an environmental crisis that we cannot ignore, so you have to kind of take that approach to business, and do what you can in business to sort of change that paradigm - and that's a piece of smash the formula. We really want to do things differently and inspire others by proving the case that you can do this." - Shelly Gottschamer, Head of Sustainability + Supply Chain at Outerknown In this episode, Shelly shares more on her personal journey, how she's had an interest in fashion since she was a young child, and the amount she learned about sustainability working with Levi's in the past. She also shares details on Outerknown's appro

In episode 129, Kestrel welcomes Zacil Pech, the Health & Safety Organizer at The Garment Worker Center, as well as Blanca Hernandez, a member of The Garment Worker Center, to this week's show. A worker rights organization, The Garment Worker Center's mission is to organize low-wage garment workers in Los Angeles to fight for social and economic justice. "I would often ask myself, but it was the fear of losing my job that kept me there. Anytime someone tried to speak up - especially in these type of garment shops - they always tell us if we don't like our job, then there's a lot more people that would be willing to do our job, so we are disposable." - Doña Blanca Hernandez, a member of The Garment Worker Center + garment worker in Los Angeles (translated by Zacil Pech) While on Conscious Chatter we often discuss human and environmental rights when it comes to the fashion industry, we rarely get the chance to hear directly from individuals working in garment factories. This is a powerful and important sho

In episode 128, Kestrel welcomes Morgan Hamel, the founder of The Garment, to the show. A platform that helps connect women and responsible brands, The Garment is known for their Virtual Pop-Ups, which showcase quality products from makers who also have a good story. "I realized that there was an entire community of makers out in the world who basically were trying to connect to a community of women who are interested in living more vibrant lives by owning fewer, better things, and sometimes those communities struggle to find each other. Basically, The Garment stepped into the middle." -Morgan Hamel, Founder of The Garment In this episode, Kestrel chats with Morgan about the origins of The Garment, and how their Virtual Pop-Ups really work. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Unfancy by Caroline Rector, a blog that inspired Morgan in her early explorations of ethical fashion 10,000 Garment Goal, The Garment's goal to connect women and 10,000 responsibly made garments by t

In episode 127, Kestrel welcomes Saloni Shrestha, the cofounder + designer of Agaati, to the show. A womenswear brand that is committed to bringing accessible luxury to the industry, Agaati believes there is a way to fuse cultural traditions with today's fast-paced tech-driven world. "Designing with what is there at the moment is complicated. So using both the channels: preserving this art of weaving; at the same time, working with the eco-friendly mill-created textile is I think a good balance for our company." -Saloni Shrestha, Cofounder + Designer of Agaati In this episode, Saloni shares more on her background, and how she found herself leaving the corporate world and moving to New York to study fashion at Parsons. Saloni talks about how intentional her internship process was - she went into her experiences working with Oscar De La Renta, Diane Von Furstenberg, Zac Posen and Naeem Khan, with a larger goal in mind. For Saloni, it was about learning to understand the design process & the decision-making

In episode 126, Kestrel welcomes Zoe Cleary, the cofounder of Nisolo, as well as Matt Stockamp, the Impact Associate at Nisolo, to the show. A fashion company known for their hip, fairly made shoes, Nisolo's mantra is: Intentionally designed. Ethically made. Fairly priced. "Our mission has really been to kind of bridge the gap between the end consumer + the producer, and show how you can make a positive or a negative impact into producers lives. And to have that conversation going - for the consumer to feel like they understand where their products are really from, and the importance of the role that they can really play in that." -Zoe Cleary, Cofounder of Nisolo In this episode, Zoe shares her unique story, and what led her to shift away from the conventional fashion industry. She also shares the background of how she first connected with her cofounder over a 4-hour Skype call, that pushed her to buy a ticket to Peru to meet him, and then, quickly after - she quit her job in New York to move to Peru to help

In episode 125, Kestrel welcomes Laurinda Ndenzako, the cofounder of Collective Closets, to the show. A womenswear label based + made in Melbourne, Collective Closets was built off of Laurinda + her sister Fatuma's African - Australian identities. "As far as Collective Closets go, we always say that we don't have all the answers, but we definitely want to be part of that conversation - we want to be part of that movement as well to leave a positive impact. And it all starts at home - and sometimes, just the smallest changes make the biggest impact." -Laurinda Ndenzako, Cofounder of Collective Closets In this episode, Laurinda shares more on the origins of Collective Closets, and how while she and her sister Fatuma were trained outside of fashion, both of their parents made clothing at home, and that was something that influenced them growing up.  A large part of the spark that pushed Laurinda + Fatuma to build Collective Closets was a family trip to Nairobi. According to Laurinda, the brand blossomed out of 

In episode 124, Kestrel welcomes Luke Haverhals, the founder and CEO of Natural Fiber Welding, to the show. An analytical chemist, materials scientist and entrepreneur, Luke is working to produce sustainable, high performance materials for a variety of applications with his team at Natural Fiber Welding. "We're doing something really important for the world which is to basically unleash the abundance of nature and what nature produces at scale (that's very high performance), and being able to convert those materials very simply and very cost-effectively into the things that we need to have high quality and standards of living that are sustainable and renewable." -Luke Haverhals, CEO + Founder of Natural Fiber Welding In this episode, Luke shares more of his backstory, and how growing up on a farm in the Midwest helped him understand some of the processes behind the creation of things - whether it was food or other materials. He also explains how his research / the early developments of Natural Fiber Welding 

In episode 123, Kestrel welcomes Rachel Temko, the founder + creative director of Whimsy+Row, to the show. A lifestyle brand for the creative, adventurous lady, Whimsy+Row not only offer their clothing + goods online, they also have a lovely freestanding store in Venice, California. "I started Whimsy promoting other brands, and that to me is like - we should all be in this together to spread the word and make everybody aware that this is more of a lifestyle." -Rachel Temko, Founder + Creative Director of Whimsy+Row In this episode, Rachel shares her journey toward taking the leap to start her own company, and how much the creative energy of her family has inspired her over the years. Additionally, Kestrel + Rachel discuss this new age of influencers, and Whimsy+Row's approach to hiring them for their marketing efforts. While Rachel believes you have to use a combination of influencer marketing mixed with more traditional styles today, she sees the extra benefit of receiving valuable content through influence