WARDROBE CRISIS with Clare Press

Denim is ubiquitous. Almost 2 billion pairs of jeans were sold around the world in 2017. That's a lot of jeans. It's also a lot of jeans waste. According to The New Textiles Economy report, less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new clothing. We're landfilling and incinerating more while at the same time decreasing clothing use over time. The new Jeans Redesign Guidelines from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation seek to solve this. Can they get everyone on board? Enjoying the show? Let us know via https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcastFind Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspressThank you for listening. Don't forget to hit subscribe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By 2030, we keep going as we are, the fashion industry will manufacture 102 million tons of clothes and shoes. For comparison, that's the weight equivalent of half million blue whales!Growth is not something we like to question in the fashion industry (or indeed any industry). In our capitalist system, commercial success is measured by growth. But, how can we support infinite growth on a finite planet? “If we could live within the limits of what we've already got, we could get a glimpse of what fashion might be like beyond consumerist obsessions,” says this week's guest, Kate Fletcher.Kate is a professor at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion in London. She is a founding member of the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion, and the author of a wonderful book called Craft of Use. In it she asks, what if we paid more attention to the tending and wearing of garments rather than their acquisition? Enjoying the show? Let us know via https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcastFind Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspressThank you for listening. Don't forget to hit subscribe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What drives us to consume, and what does over-consumption do to us and the planet?Twenty-five-old British poet, filmmaker and activist Wilson Oryema describes himself as “a semi-retired fashion model”. He was scouted on his lunch break when he was working a London office job, and walked his first show for Margiela in Paris in 2015. He went on to appear in ads for Calvin Klein Underwear and Hugo Boss.His first book of poetry, titled Wait, explores consumerism, contemporary culture and waste. It sprang from an art show he held in a London gallery, after he interned for his photographer friend Harley Weir.Now, as well as writing, he's making short films about the fashion industry's impacts on the environment. Wilson says poetry is just another way to communicate his ideas to his audience, and that when he began it didn't worry him one bit that he hadn't read loads of poetry - he just gave it a go and it worked. This interview is about how we reach different people, how we story tell, and - ultimately - how we change the world.Enjoying the show? Let us know via https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcastFind Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspressThank you for listening. Don't forget to hit subscribe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cameron Saul is a British social entrepreneur and the co-founder of ethical accessories brand Bottletop. For his next trick, he's teamed up with the United Nations and Project Everyone on #TOGETHERBAND - which is all about spreading awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals - (SDGs) - also known as the Global Goals.“We want solutions, but what most of us don't realise is that there is a roadmap for a healthy planet, and that's the Global Goals. It's an extraordinary framework for action and for scaling solutions, and helping us achieve that healthy future for ourselves, our children and our children's children.” - Cameron SaulJoin us as we decode the Goals, and discuss where we're kicking them and where we've got a long way to go. This is an inspiring and info-packed episode - essential listening, sustainability warriors!Join the conversation - follow Clare in Instagram and TwitterFind all the links on the show-notes here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Trigger warning: this interview contains a brief reference to suicide.)This week's interview is with brilliant writer and activist Professor Jennifer Finney Boylan. Her memoir She's Not There, A Life in Two Genders is a must-read, as are her New York Times columns.For many years, Jenny was the co-chair of GLAAD's board of directors. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender and Reproduction, and she advised and appeared on the TV series I Am Cait with Caitlin Jenner. But wait - there's more: Jennifer Boylan's big TV moment was on Oprah, and you're going to hear all about that.We discuss the transgender experience, and the detail of Jennifer's journey. We talk about the role and limitations of clothes in communicating identity, how fashion represents status, the moral imagination, why Kris Jenner believes in the power of the stylist, and fighting bigotry in Trumpland. Join the conversation - follow Clare in Instagram and TwitterDon't miss the show-notes each week on https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast - they're packed with links and extra info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Blue jeans were invented by Jacob Davis and Levis Strauss in the 1870s. They were worn by gold miners and cowboys, then James Dean, Marlon Brando, American teenagers and rock stars. If you want to talk about the history of cool, Levi's was there. From Debbie Harry and The Ramones to Jim Morrison - they all wore Levi's. And did you also know that Levi's introduced women's jeans in 1934, when skirts were the norm? The company has also been active raising money and awareness in the fight against AIDs since the '80s. So there's a lot to love about this brand.But how sustainable is Levi's? This week, we hear from Levi's Vice-President of Sustainability, Michael Kobori. He started out in human rights, and joined Levi's in 1995. He's seen the conversation move from sweatshops and corporate social responsibility (CSR) to new gen materials, life cycle assessments, worker wellbeing and carbon emissions. Join the conversation - follow Clare in Instagram and TwitterDon't miss the show-notes each week on https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast - they're packed with links and extra info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CHOOSE LIFE, EDUCATION NOT MISSILES, WORLDWIDE NUCLEAR BAN NOW, SAVE THE FUTURE, and more recently, CANCEL BREXIT...just a few of the iconic slogan T-shirts designed by this week's guest over the years.Designer Katharine Hamnett is one of the pioneers of modern British fashion. She invented the much copied slogan T-shirt, was the first winner of the British Fashion Council's 'Designer of the Year' award (in 1984), and championed organic cotton long before it was trendy. This year marks her 40th in the industry.In 1989, her research into fashion's environmental & social impact horrified her. She lobbied the industry to act for change, but with little success. She campaigned directly on issues such as the use of pesticides and the plight of cotton farmers, and badgered her licensees to reduce the environmental and social impact of her collections. But it was a war before its time. She took the decision to wind down her brand – ripping up licences – until production methods could meet her environmental criteria. Moving out of the mainstream industry, she concentrated on campaigning, political activism and collaborating with charities. Now the world has caught up with Katharine Hamnett - in 2017, she relaunched her business.In this frank, intimate discussion, you get to hear it all from her glitzy early years as a designer to what motivates her to be change agent today. We talk fast fashion, climate change, her work with organic cotton, saving the bees, but also growing up in France and being comfortable with being a minority of one. This Episode goes live on World Environment Day 2019, as Katharine Hamnett launches her latest tee. The Global Green New Deal Now T-shirt can be purchased at katharinehamnett.com and all proceeds go to support Greenpeace and their work on climate justice. Join the conversation - follow Clare in Instagram and TwitterDon't miss the show-notes each week on https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast - they're packed with links and extra info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We don't talk very much about mindfulness in fashion, but it's not like the two are mutually exclusive. If the opposite of sustainable fashion is thoughtlessly buying more and more clothes and getting rid of them after just a few wears, then mindfulness surely has a place.Fashion journalist Bandana Tewari is a former Vogue India editor who now writes for Business of Fashion, and speaks globally on India's rich tradition of fashion craftsmanship. This episode covers that but from a unique perspective: Bandana's been developing a theory around what we can learn from the great Indian activist Mohandas Gandhi (mahatma means high-souled in Sanskrit). It was Gandhi who lead the khadi movement, uniting Indians in opposition to British colonial rule around the issue of cotton production. How did he develop his sartorial integrity, and what can we learn from that in today's context of hyper-consumerism. As powerful argument as we ever heard in support of the idea that clothes do matter...Join the conversation - follow Clare in Instagram and TwitterDon't miss the show-notes each week on https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast - they're packed with links and extra info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2011, Arizona Muse landed a Prada contract and a 14-page story in American Vogue, with Anna Wintour comparing her to Linda Evangelista and Natalia Vodianova. She's since become a familiar face on Vogue covers everywhere (including Vogue Paris, British vogue plus she's graced 3 Australian Vogue covers). But these days Arizona has new priorities.Today she is using her platform to help the industry that she loves transition to a more sustainable future. She's been working with The Sustainable Angle, curating showcases of young sustainable designers with her friend Rebecca Corbin-Murray, and she plans to set up a consultancy.This episode is about following your dreams, diving into new worlds, reinvention, and learning. It's the story of a woman we knew for one reason, her beauty, changing the conversation around her, to focus outward. Join the conversation - follow Clare in Instagram and TwitterDon't miss the show-notes each week on https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast - they're packed with links and extra info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet the millennial behind cult New Zealand label Maggie Marilyn. We hear a lot about how the Gens Y and Z are more woke, more into sustainability and of course more worried about climate change and the environment - why wouldn't they be? These are the generations that are going to inherit the mess that's been made. They are already inheriting it.Find out why designer Maggie Hewitt is determined to do fashion differently, how she sold her very first collection to Net-A-Porter and gets most excited about seeing her clothes worn by women she doesn't know in the street. Yep, even though Megan Markle, Kendall Jenner and Rose McGowan are fans.The brand launched in 2016, and is Made in New Zealand. Big on pink, but never simply pretty, these clothes evoke a sense of feminine strength and speak to the designer's passion for sustainable production and materials. (BTW, who wants to move to New Zealand?!)Join the conversation - follow Clare in Instagram and TwitterDon't miss the show-notes each week on https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast - they're packed with links and extra info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.