series 8

Ep193, Big Dress Energy - the Practical Magic of Cecilie Bahnsen

Ep193, Big Dress Energy - the Practical Magic of Cecilie Bahnsen

Copenhagen-based designer Cecilie Bahnsen operates at the intersection of couture and ready-to-wear  – it’s high craft, she creates her own textiles, and loves to use embroidery and smocking . But although expensive, it’s not untouchable, as you will hear. Cecilie wears hers’ on her bike! A very Danish approach.

In this joyful conversation, we cover the challenges of upcycling precious scraps which defy standardisation. The idea of timelessness in a novelty-obsessed world. Building a creative business, and how Cecilie approaches scale and growth. What it takes to make it - determination, for sure, but also a really clear sense of what you want, and how you treat others.

Ep191, Say What? The UN Wants To Help Fashion Get its Sustainability Coms Right. Rachel Arthur Explains

Ep191, Say What? The UN Wants To Help Fashion Get its Sustainability Coms Right. Rachel Arthur Explains

ICYMI: fashion has a greenwashing problem. No wonder policy makers, consumer watchdogs and NGOs are taking an interest. According to the UN: “Misinformation and greenwashing are ubiquitous ... As sustainability has grown as a selling point, all manner of vague and inflated claims have appeared across advertising, marketing, media, packaging and beyond.”

Enter the UN's new Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, an open-access guide that seeks to change that, while better aligning how the fashion industry talks with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.

Ep190, Is Regenerative Farming the Answer? Yes! Says Sarah Langford

Ep190, Is Regenerative Farming the Answer? Yes! Says Sarah Langford

Why is everyone talking about regenerative farming, for starters. For fibre as well as food. #regenag is fashion's new favourite hashtag. What if we put back more than we took out? Stopped drenching the land with toxic chemicals? Worked in harmony with Nature? Could we feed and clothe the world if we produced less, and differently? Would we starve? Would prices skyrocket? How did we get to this place, where no one - not the land, not biodiversity, not the nutritional content of food, and not the farmers who are on the front lines - wins? Author and regenerative organic farmer Sarah Langford share her insider’s view.

Ep 188, Future Fabrics: Sustainable Textiles Masterclass, with Amanda Johnston

Ep 188, Future Fabrics: Sustainable Textiles Masterclass, with Amanda Johnston

When it comes to the fabrics we make our clothes from, there’s much confusion. Many of us don’t have a clue what textiles we’re buying and wearing; we’re not really teaching it in schools and brands don’t tend to talk too much about it, not least because so many of the textiles they use are unsustainable synthetics.

But materials matter, and they are all around us. Getting back in touch with them can be really satisfying. And when it comes to creating a more sustainable fashion industry, their impact is enormous, so what we choose whether as designers or consumers really makes a difference.

Ep187, Emma Hakansson - "If we want total ethics in fashion, we can't ignore animals."

Ep187, Emma Hakansson -  "If we want total ethics in fashion, we can't ignore animals."

Why are animals so often left out of the conversation about sustainable and ethical fashion? We talk about people and planet, but less often about animals. My guest this week wants to change that. She challenges us to rethink the idea of animals as commodities - they are, she says, someone, not something.

She is Emma Hakansson, founder of founder of Collective Fashion Justice, an organization that puts animals as well as people and planet at the heart of an ethical fashion industry.

Ep 186, Why Vegan Model Activist Robyn Lawley Eats Her Spinach

Ep 186, Why Vegan Model Activist Robyn Lawley Eats Her Spinach

Robyn Lawley wants to talk about is spinach. In this candid interview, she tells her powerful personal story of overcoming some pretty scary health issues, and challenges us all to rethink our relationship with meat and dairy products. We're used to talking about vegan diets as planet-friendly and cruelty-free, but could their anti-inflammatory properties also help people heal from auto-immune conditions? While the studies are scant, and the official line remains that: in general, autoimmune disorders cannot be cured - what you eat obviously plays a role in the body's complex responses.

Ep185, The Giants: Legendary Aussie Green Bob Brown on Saving Native Forests (and Strategic Protest Dressing)

Ep185, The Giants: Legendary Aussie Green Bob Brown on Saving Native Forests (and Strategic Protest Dressing)

A vital convo with legendary Aussie Greenie, Bob Brown talking Tasmania’s old growth forests. In the Tarkine, towering eucalypts that have been standing for centuries are threatened with the chainsaw, thanks to government short-sightedness and corporate greed. The good news? Grassroots action is rising, as the numbers of tree-appreciating citizens swell, helped by a glowing new documentary, The Giants, by Rachel Antony and Laurence Billiet.

The film's subjects are indeed giants - not just Bob, but the towering Eucalyptus RegnensHuon Pine and Myrtle Beech trees. As Bob said back in the 1980s when another pristine wilderness in his adopted state was under siege - destroying these natural wonders would be like scratching the face of the Mona Lisa.

Ep184, Rana Plaza 10 Years - So, Did We Make Fashion Ethical Yet?

Ep184, Rana Plaza 10 Years - So, Did We Make Fashion Ethical Yet?

Ten years ago, the devastating Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka proved just how deadly the business of making clothes could be for marginalised garment workers. In countries like Bangladesh where cheap clothing is produced at high volume, and wages are kept low, it’s these workers - mostly young women - who face the greatest exploitation and vulnerability. Events commemorating the disaster’s anniversary went hard on the hashtag, #ranaplazaneveragain - but how much has really changed since 2013? Are factories everywhere safer? How about fairer? To what extent has fashion production really become more ethical?