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.”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 have in sourcing sustainable fabric options. For Cloth Foundry, they truly want to help support smaller designers to give them access to smaller minimums and textiles with a more transparent supply chain.
The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:
“A Healthy Wardrobe” - just as we think about wanting to put healthy food options into our body, the garments we wear can have an impact on our health as well
"Our skin is our largest organ, and it’s capable of absorbing up to 64% of the chemicals that come in contact with it from fabrics.” -Ashley
“There has been an increase in allergies - skin allergies in particular over the last few years.” -Lydia
PFCs (perfluorinated chemicals) - are often used for waterproofing fabrics, and have been found through studies to cause cancer, thyroid issues, and other health impacts
Fire retardant chemicals that are required to be added to our upholstery, beddings and children’s sleepwear are being found in the fetuses of newborn children, and in breast milk of mothers in the state of California.
The Sustainable Cotton Project - a nonprofit that supports the farmers that grow cleaner cotton
Cleaner Cotton - a brand of cotton that has eliminated the use of the 13 most toxic chemicals in cotton farming. They are not organic - they have not certified their land organic, but they are eliminating 50-70% of the toxins that are notoriously used in conventional cotton farming.
EVENT ALERT
On Saturday, October 13th from 6-10pm, the Pollima Material Revolution event will be happening in Los Angeles. The event is all about giving us an opportunity to touch, smell, and learn about how biology and waste are contributing to the next generation of materials, and tickets are free here >
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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