In episode 239, Kestrel welcomes Lauren Bartley, the head of sustainability and CSR for GANNI, to the show. A Danish contemporary ready-to-wear fashion brand, Ganni is known for building a cult following in the fashion space.
“Nowadays, sustainable or sustainability — it means different things to different people. To you, it might mean plastics and to me, it might mean human rights or circularity or carbon. You know — it’s so broad. I just think we need to move away from this broad brush approach to the subject and I guess, be more specific with which issues actually we’re trying to tackle.” -Lauren
On this week’s show, Lauren shares a bit of background on her distinct way into the fashion industry, and how she found her way to working with Ganni.
We talk about the brand’s resistance to labeling themselves as “sustainable”, how their 44 responsibility gameplay is driving them, and some of the ways they are working to creatively reduce their overproduction and waste, by adjusting their business model.
Soil Association - their mission is to help everyone understand and explore the vital relationship between the health of soil, plants, animals and people. Lauren worked with them in the past.
“For us, we’d like to focus the conversation on trying to become a more responsible company and making responsible choices. In saying that — when we say we don’t identify as a sustainable brand or sustainable company, it’s not excuse-making essentially. And I think that’s where maybe some of the confusion is coming from lately — just to say, “we’re not sustainable” is not an excuse not to act. It's more so that it’s so complicated and it’s so convoluted and there’s so many things to it, that we just prefer to focus on saying responsible and becoming more responsible.” -Lauren
“Out of what we’ve seen so far, we have a higher amount of reorders from all channels — wholesale, resale and e-commerce — instead of an initial large volume purchase, so it already means that we’re buying much closer to demand than previously, and then reducing that risk of wastage. However, with reorders and what we now need to measure actually is if the impact on multiple shipments actually balances out the potential of the waste that’s been saved.” -Lauren speaking about Ganni’s findings thus far, addressing Goal 14: MEASURE IF BY CHANGING COLLECTION DROP STRUCTURE IT HAS AN IMPACT ON OVERPRODUCTION BY 2021
Open Apparel Registry, an open map of global apparel facilities
Fair Wear Foundation, Ganni is working with a consultant to further explore what a living wage means throughout their supply chain
Fashion On Climate Report by McKinsey x Global Fashion Agenda
circular.fashion
Ganni’s 2020 Responsibility Report
Ganni Repeat, Ganni’s rental platform
Ganni’s Responsibility page
Follow Ganni Lab on Instagram >
Follow Ganni on Instagram >
This week's episode is brought to you by OEKO-TEX® - a worldwide association of 18 independent research and test institutes that sets standards for safer textile and leather production and products. The OEKO-TEX® portfolio of independent certifications and product labels help all of us make responsible decisions to choose products that are safer, more environmentally friendly, and manufactured in a socially responsible way.
Learn more about their labels at www.oeko-tex.com.
Wafa Ghnaim of Tatreez and Tea & Dr. Tanveer Ahmed of Central Saint Martins on preserving culture, decolonial frameworks, and how intersectional reform can be a pathway toward sustainable fashion futu
Sustainable fashion podcasters unite — Emily Stochl of Pre-Loved Podcast & Stella Hertantyo of Conscious Style Podcast help us reflect on 11 years since Rana Plaza, celebrating collective movements
Upcycling artists Francisco Alcazar & Ella Wiznia of Series NY are redefining sustainable fashion while reimagining craft & challenging the gender binary
How gender plays into the devaluing of knowledge and its links to sustainable fashion & wellness with Megan Schnitker of Lakota Made and Niha Elety of Tega Collective
Celebrating the cultural tradition, past and present, of Palestinian Tatreez with artists / educators Lina Barkawi and Eman Toom & why sustainable fashion must include cultural sustainability
Intergenerational knowledge & sustainable fashion — how clothing is more than just aesthetics; it’s about the upholding of cultural practices and the amplifying of knowledge & traditions
Vintage stylist Beth Jones & Dounia Wone of Vestiaire Collective on whether fast fashion brands fit into the resale experience
Why self work is integral to advocating for transformation in fashion & why we must deeply question our personal values to truly get active in creating a more sustainable fashion future
Denali Jöel on fashion as an art praxis rooted in Afro-Indigenous philosophies, interrogating the emphasis placed on the *industry* & reminding us of the possibility of creating new ecosystems
Julius Tillery aka the "Puff Daddy Of Cotton" on the need to remix both the perception of the cotton industry and the business model
Cassandra Pintro of Consumption Project on welcoming her community to challenge their buying habits and question what is *enough*
Jeanell English on navigating the pressure to project a certain image in business & across climate spaces and balancing the worlds of activists & execs as a leader in impact
Muchaneta Ten Napel on utilizing tech as a tool to change how fashion does business, not a crutch that will *save us all* & preparing for the fashion policy changes that are on the horizon
*Breaking It Down* with Rachel Arthur, lead author of The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, an actionable guide co-published by UNEP and UN Climate Change
Tameka Peoples of Seed2Shirt on rebuilding equitable + just cotton systems & fostering the reclamation of cotton acreage for Black farmers
Lisa Diegel, Global Sustainability Director, on Faherty's Native Initiatives, what mutually beneficial relationships can look like in practice, and the nuanced ways brands must take responsibility for
Eric Liedtke of UNLESS on pressing fashion to ditch the plastic ingredients and ideating on what it will take for corporations to truly change
A new era of storytelling at Conscious Chatter, meet our newest team member Natalie Shehata & what slow media means for us in practice
Jessie Frances (@cappuccinosandconsignment) on the complications with resale's *moment* — fast fashion addictions becoming secondhand addictions, luxury's obsession with exclusivity & the gentrifica
Winona Quigley of Green Matters Natural Dye Company on reimagining what *scale* means for natural dyeing & how accessibility and limits also play into the idea of *growth*
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