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)
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 Regnens, Huon 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?
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?
Ep183, Brill Botanist Merlin Sheldrake Talks Fantastic Fungi and the Wonder of Mycelium
Magic Mushrooms! Mycelium networks are working their wonders all around us. Together with bacteria, fungi break down organic matter - without fungi, nothing would decay. They help build soil and work in collaboration with plants and trees. We partner up with fungi to make bread and beer. We're even using fungi to make fashion. Meet brilliant botanist Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life.
Ep182, What Can We Learn About Sustainability from Central Asia's Textile Traditions? Meet Fashion Revolution Kazakhstan's Aigerim Akenova
Whether it’s the joy of dyeing cloth with pomegranates, the age-old practicality of turning sheep wool into felts and knits, or the rich legacy of complex embroideries and silk Ikat weaving, Central Asian textile traditions are bonded by cultural meaning and a respect for the natural world. And resources: nothing gets thrown away, as this week’s guest Aigerim Akenova explains through her love for patchwork - her nomadic ancestors' answer to upcycling.
What role could sustainable fashion play in growing newer, lower carbon industries here in line with SDGs? What do young urban Kazakhs and Central Asians in neighbouring countries want from the fashion today? As well as its craft heritage, Kazakhstan also has a vibrant modern fashion scene, its own fashion week, and (doesn’t everywhere?) fast fashion - so how can these two sides find balance in future?
Ep181, Forever Chemicals Be Gone! Andrea Rudolph on the Hidden Dangers of Toxic PFAS
How much do you know about the chemicals you're exposed to through every-day things like cosmetics, skincare, clothing, even food packaging, and food itself? How about what toxic chemicals might be contaminating air, soil and water from industrial processes? Organic beauty pioneer Andrea Rudolph talks about the hidden dangers of PFAS - forever chemicals, and shares her breast cancer story.
Ep180 Olena Braichenko: "Culinary Diplomacy Won't Stop Putin's War on Ukraine, but Stories About Our Rich Culinary Heritage and Sustainable Food Culture are Worth Telling"
A year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, over 8 million Ukrainian refugees have been registered across Europe. According to UNHCR, the vast majority of civilians who have fled the war are women over 35 with one or more children. Men aged between 18-60 are not permitted to leave (except under special circumstances).
This week, instead of the regular fashion angles, I’m bringing you this very personal conversation with Olena Braichenko, a Ukrainian refugee who, with her six-year-old daughter, is currently staying with my best friends in London. When I go to visit them, they joke that I never want to leave. How must it feel when you can’t?
Ep 179, Turkish Designer Bora Aksu Talks Culture, Creativity and Responding to the Earthquake
Fashion doesn’t exist in a vacuum. As Coco Chanel once said, it’s “in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what’s happening.” So how, as a designer, you do respond to what’s going on in the world when that's a tragedy close to home or heart?
Do you try to compartmentalise, or block it out, or use your platform to speak out and raise money? Probably all of the above, at the same time! There’s obviously no correct answer, but these are the questions. And also, the context for this week’s interview with London-based Turkish designer Bora Aksu, who shares candidly about what it means to be a creative trying to navigate all this.
Ep 178 How Does Trend Forecasting Work? The Future Laboratory's Chris Sanderson Pulls Back the Curtain
How do you feel about trends? In sustainable fashion circles, that word can have negative connotations. After all, it's the sped-up trend cycle delivers us fast fashion. But mapping cultural, lifestyle, economic and societal trends helps us form a picture of where we are headed and shape our strategies for everything from new business models to reaching our chosen audiences. How do the professionals do it? Could you?
Ep 177, Who Grew Your Cotton? Nishanth Chopra on Regenerative Agriculture - the New-Old Idea We Need Now
No doubt you’ve heard the buzz about regenerative agriculture. But who’s actually putting it into practice for the textile sector? At the soil level? Brands can say they want it, regulators can try to incentivise it, chemical companies might resist it, but at the end of the day, it’s the grower who has to actually do it.
What’s it really like for a small-scale Indian cotton farmer trying to make a living? What challenges do they face? And what’s in it for them if they do decide to transition their fields and methods back to the old ways? Yes, the old ways... because, guess what - regenerative agriculture is not at new idea!