Episode 25 Talking Ethical Fashion the Birdsong way with Susanna Wen

Fast fashion is one of the most polluting industries on the planet, with high use of plastic, hazardous chemicals and waste as well as slave wages and hazardous working conditions for farmers and workers.

In this episode Where Does It Come From? founder and podcast host Jo Salter chats with fellow ethical fashion entrepreneur Susanna Wen of Birdsong.

Birdsong is a certified B-Corp and winner of Marie’s Claire’s Best Ethical Brand of 2021.  Based in London the brand works with a small local workforce to create high quality fashion using sustainable and ethical practices and materials.

Susanna Wen studied Fashion Design, focusing her dissertation research on waste in the fashion industry, and its ecological and human costs. She graduated from Kingston University in 2014 with an award winning "Most Ethical and Sustainable Collection", made with completely natural dyes and biodegradable fibres.
 
A WISE100 Environmental Champion Finalist for 2022, Susanna has always focused on sustainable and ethical design, in her previous roles working for People Tree and 69b Boutique. Upon being offered a freelance role at Birdsong in 2016, Susanna worked her way up, eventually becoming Creative Director and Co-Founder.
 
As a second generation, biracial British-Chinese woman, Susanna has always wanted to challenge colonial attitudes to fashion production. She hopes to do so with Birdsong’s mission to create fashion goods locally,
 
“Production for a lot of fashion brands is so far away it is often easy to consider who makes your clothes as 'other'. That's why we make locally and in a different way to fast fashion brands, making a point of knowing every single person we work with so everyone feels respected and like they belong.
 
Susanna is also passionate about Birdsong’s body positive messaging, and available for comment on their plus size offering, which currently goes up to a size UK 30.
 
“Growing up in the 90’s and early 00’s reading fashion magazines was really destructive to me. Going through disordered eating as a young adult and receiving professional treatment for it has instilled in me the value of body positivity and pride in your appearance, however different it might be from the status quo. We try to have a diverse range of models to celebrate and wear our clothes. I wanted to build a fashion brand that had positive body representation and I wished a brand existed like birdsong when I was younger.”
 
Links:

Birdsong - https://www.birdsong.london

Where Does It Come From? - https://www.wheredoesitcomefrom.co.uk

 

#ethicalfashion #sustainablefashion #ShopEthicalInstead #organicfabrics #fairtrade #bcorp #socialenterprise #bodypositivity #smallbusiness