Stitching consciousness: Recent Episodes
Saniya
A platform for exploring climate, sustainability and consumption practices by unlearning what we know and learning out of the box ideas for existing and potential environmental problems. Join me in exploring the multifaceted layers of sustainable production and consumption of textile goods in our bi-monthly podcast. This is the Diary of an Opinionated Millennial!
- What was the process of negotiations at COP27? How was your experience? “Loss and Damage” Fund for Vulnerable Countries – thoughts on this and how would it be done?
- Do you think there should be debt cancellation?
- What actions do you take in your personal life that are environmentally conscious?
- What is one skill everyone should have regardless of their career?
These are some of the many questions that Mr Jourdain, a French diplomat answers in this episode.
Born in 1992 in the south of France in Aix-en-Provence, gratuated from Sciences Po Paris and La Sorbone. After having been member of the cabinet of the President of the French Constitutionnal Court and research fellow at the French High Institute for National Defense (IHEDN), now French Diplomat at the climate divison of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Negotiator in G7, G20, and climate COPs formats for France. Lecturer at Sciences Po Paris and the French Institue of Public Policies (INSP, formerly ENA).
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- In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges in bringing change in an industry?
- Are Pakistanis exceptionally resistant to change?
- What are the best tools for introducing change?
- What advice would you give to young professionals and students who want to work in the development sector?
These are some of the many questions that Mr Muhammad Armughan, an electrical engineer working in the development sector answers in this episode.
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- How can one start a sustainable fashion journey?
- How can brands be held accountable and how do you think they can become more sustainable?
- What is one life skill everyone should have in life, regardless of their career?
These are some of the many questions that Cris Herrera, founder of Naturspired answer in this episode.
Cris is the Founder of NaturspiredTM Media Inc. and a sustainable fashion activist at heart. She studied marketing and sustainable business strategy to learn how brands and individuals think and behave, with the goal to find ways to reinvent how fashion is viewed and consumed in society.
In 2021, Cris started NaturspiredTM to help change the way society connects, views and interacts with fashion; this includes brands, individuals and everyone who wears clothes. She started by consulting fashion brands on improving their transparency practices and supply chains with the mission to make sustainability not only a nice thing to do as a business but just common sense. Now, NaturspiredTM exists to educate and organize individual-led action through workshops, events and educative content through the Naturspired Podcast.
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- Why is recycling no longer enough?
- What kind of challenges did you face in starting an upcycling business and how long did it take to find your target audience?
- Where do you get your supplies from and how difficult is it to run a business of this nature?
- Tell us about your sustainable packaging.
- In your opinion, do sustainability and profitability go hand in hand?
These are some of the many questions that Cailyn & Jared , Co-founders of Yvonne and Mitchelanswer in this episode.
Yvonne and Mitchel is an upcycled fashion brand that gives old clothes new life.
Caylin Yvonne Willis and Jared Mitchel Armstrong created the brand in 2017 after they met in college and bonded over their love for thrifting and personal style. Jared was going to school to get a degree in health sciences but wanted to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a designer, while Caylin was studying journalism and looking to start her own clothing business.
Yvonne and Mitchel is owned and operated by Jared (designer) and Caylin (CEO) out of Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Their mission is to reduce global textile waste by building a high-fashion clothing brand that's powered by used materials and sustainability.
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- Do sustainability and profitability go hand in hand?
- How diverse and inclusive is the fashion business?
- What are some of the most detrimental social impacts of fashion?
- Why is recycling no longer enough?
- How important is innovation and research for finding sustainable solutions?
- How important is credible sustainability?
These are some of the many questions that Ms Stephanie Strauss, Co-founder of Sustain Learn answers in this episode.
Our listeners can get a free course on greenwashing which is otherwise limited to paying consumers using the code: STITCH/Stitch.
Greenwashing- FREE COURSE
Sustain learn is an online platform that aims at providing fact-checked information and science-based education to actors and consumers of the fashion industry. It creates modules that are fun and educational with videos, articles, industry case studies etc.
The courses are aimed at individual actors but also as a tool for in-house training of staff in fashion companies.
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Ms Stephanie Strauss
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stephanie@sustainlearn.com
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- What is Innovation?
- What limits people’s imaginations when it comes to innovation?
- Is there a concept of fast fashion in Pakistan?
- Why is innovation important to circular economy?
- How difficult is it to encourage people to ‘change’?
These are some of the many questions that Mr Umar Farooq - Technical Advisor GIZ TextILES answers in this episode.
Mr Umar Farooq is an industrial engineer and management professional based in Pakistan, who is motivated to bring an industrial renaissance ensuring competitiveness. He has a dynamic hands-on experience as a professional technical advisor at GIZ- a German development organisation and a certified trainer from UNDP. He has 08 years of experience in productivity enhancement, innovation and sustainability projects in different industrial sectors.
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Mr Umar Farooq LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/umar-farooq-54a60974
- How is sustainability an emotion?
- How to minimise overproduction?
- What does the demographics of their customer base tell about the mindsets of people who care about sustainability?
- How can you be conscious in a budget?
- What is one life skill that everyone should have regardless of their career?
These are some of the questions that Niccolò answers in this episode. In July 2018 he officially founded Rio - a brand that focuses on sustainability, responsibility and quality.
Rifò is a Tuscan inflection from the verb "rifare".
They chose this local name because it represents the locals and the way of speaking of the artisans who invented the recycling method of old clothes more than a hundred years ago: the so-called "Cenciaioli". Furthermore, Rifò, in italian "doing again" because they "rebuild" a traditional craft that was disappearing in recent years
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- What is decolonisation of fashion?
- Why is it important for BIPOC women to have a say in sustainable fashion?
- How does Siham's brand 'Wildly Black' empower women of colour?
- How does fashion exclude certain kinds of women?
- How can you be more conscious in a budget?
- What is one life skill that everyone should have regardless of their career?
These are some of the many questions that Ms Siham Omer answers in this episode.
Siham Omer is the founder of Wildly Black, a sustainable fashion line launching next year! She has been researching the sustainability market and building her brand since 2019. She hopes to inspire BIPOC women to take up space in this industry that intersects at fashion and sustainability.
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Wildly Black
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- What is circularity in textiles?
- Who are some of the best sustainable fashion designers the world should know about?
- How to be more conscious of what you wear and what you buy?
- How can you be conscious in a budget?
- What is one life skill that everyone should have regardless of their career?
These are some of the many questions that Ms Jackie May, founder and editor of Twyg Magazine answers in this episode.
Jackie has worked in big and medium-sized mainstream media organisations for more than 20 years. She launched Twyg in 2018. At the core of the content she publishes on the platform is a commitment to exploring ways we can live well now while ensuring a kinder, inclusive, nature-friendly future for all. When she’s not producing content for her site, she works with Refashion Lab exploring inclusive and repurposed fashion. Jackie is a graduate of Stellenbosch University, University of South Africa and University of London. In 2020, she graduated with a PGDip from the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University. She is currently studying for an MPhil Sustainable Development.
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