Casey Dworkin is the founder and creative director of Sylven New York, a sustainable, luxury footwear brand. Born on Earth Day, Dworkin has been dedicated to sustainable practices from a young age as a result.

Before launching her own line, Dworkin spent her professional career working within small footwear and fashion companies, and attributes a lot of her early knowledge and experience to “being thrown in the deep end.” When she decided to launch a company of her own, she felt compelled to base her brand equally on craftsmanship and mission – finally getting the opportunity to combine her affinities for both fashion and sustainability.

Recently, Casey has been working to redesign footwear from the inside out, focusing on materials such as apple leather (a vegan material made from organic apple waste), linings made from wheat and corn byproducts, leathers treated naturally with tree barks, and vegan leathers derived from 100% recycled fibers.

We discuss:

• How Casey is turning food waste into luxury shoes

• The pros and cons of both vegan and leather products

• How the fashion industry is adapting to meet consumer demands for sustainable products

• Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

You can follow Sylven New York on Instagram and Facebook

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