In episode 134, Kestrel welcomes Kathleen Talbot, the VP of Operations + Sustainability at Reformation, to the show. A revolutionary lifestyle brand, Reformation offers thoughtfully produced clothing at an affordable price–a reminder that being green shouldn’t mean sacrificing style and quality.
In this episode, Kathleen shares more on the origins of Reformation, and how they are an act + iterate company. For Reformation, they’re all about testing to try to reduce their impact - when they discover that something isn’t working and/or reducing their footprint, they shift right away and try something else.
Kathleen also shares more on how Reformation believes that growth isn’t something they shy away from - instead they lean into it, and believe that growth - if done in the right way - can only expand their impact exponentially.
Throughout this chat, Kestrel + Kathleen talk specifically about the resale market, and Reformation’s recently launched partnership with ThredUp to help close their loop.
The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:
“Up to 90% of the clothing that is thrown away is before the end of its useful life and can be reused, and only a fraction of stuff is getting recycled.”
According to ThredUp’s 6th annual Resale Report released this last April, they stated that by 2022, the resale market will hit $41 billion.
ThredUp’s Report outlines that RESALE is growing 24 times faster than RETAIL.
ThredUp’s Report says that 1 in 3 women (18 years of age and older) shopped secondhand last year.
Reformation Vintage Shop in Los Angeles
Vestiaire Collective, another resale platform Kathleen mentioned that Ref has partnered with in the past
Depop, another resale platform Kathleen mentioned that Ref has partnered with in the past
FROM THE INTRO:
Kestrel is traveling with Remake on their Made In Mexico trip this upcoming week. Alongside students from California College of Arts, the group will travel to Mexico City and Oaxaca, with the intention to meet directly with garment workers and artisans to hear their personal stories.
If you are interested in following along on the journey, you can watch Kestrel’s Instagram @consciouschatter or Remake’s @remakeourworld.
Nelson ZêPequéno of Black Men With Gardens and Cayetano Talavera of Hecho By Caye on why fashion needs to listen to nature’s lessons on slowing down, tuning in, practicing patience & cultivating creativity to better center sustainability
Teju Adisa-Farrar of Black Fiber & Textile Network and Author Layla K. Feghali on geography and what our relationship to place can teach us about *sustainability*
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 futures
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 & ways to focus our continued advocacy
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 the products they put out into the world
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
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