Our Top Sustainable Fashion Podcast Episodes
If you’re at all familiar with the Lady Farmer origin story, you know we began our journey as a slow fashion brand with the core belief in sustainability and the right to fulfill our basic human needs for food and clothing without harming our planet or our human community. And while the world was waking up to the importance of “slow food,” we were going through our own awakening surrounding the horrors of the fashion industry. We found ourselves drawn to the “slow fashion” movement and the combination of these two movements, slow food and slow fashion, embodied the core of our “slow living” ethos.
We realized that our relationship with our clothes should reflect the same philosophy as our relationship with our food. While we were learning to grow our own food and spending time working outdoors, we’ve noticed that we didn’t actually have the clothes that worked with our lifestyle or were a part of a supply chain of integrity. We wanted to produce clothing for the earth-centered lifestyle that was not only practical but socially responsible and to be transparent about our process along the way.
Ultimately, that process allowed us to discover and connect with so many wonderful humans rallying behind a true fashion revolution. Along the way we’ve grown and expanded far beyond that initial dream and have had the privilege of sharing truly inspirational and aspirational stories around revolutionizing our approach to fashion.
In honor of #fashionrevolutionweek and all of the amazing slow fashion stories we’ve discovered along our journey, we’ve compiled a list of our top slow fashion podcasts to inspire your very own revolution below. Happy listening and happy Fashion Revolution Week!
- Listen to The Good Dirt -
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail
The Regenerative Role of Local Fibersheds with Rebecca Burgess
On this special live episode of The Good Dirt, Mary and Emma talk with Rebecca Burgess, the founder of Fibershed, a non profit organization that develops regional fiber systems that build soil and protect the health of our biosphere. Fibershed envisions the emergence of regional textile communities that facilitate soil-to-soil textile processes, and create opportunities for localized clothing production and supply. Rebecca speaks about the origins of the organization and its efforts in connecting wearers in numerous regions with local fields where the clothes are grown, working to build viable systems that can be sustained for generations to come.
The Role of Activism in the Fashion Revolution with Elizabeth Cline
In this episode we speak with Elizabeth Cline, a New York-based author, journalist, and expert on consumer culture, fast fashion, sustainability and labor rights in the apparel industry. She is the author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, which was published in 2012, and which laid the foundation for the modern global ethical and sustainable fashion movement. Her most recent book, The Conscious Closet, published in 2019, describes how consumers can transform the apparel industry and change the world for the better by making more informed decisions about what they wear every day.
In this episode, Elizabeth inspires slow fashion enthusiasts to move beyond the response of merely modifying their purchasing decisions, to come together with other individuals in the wider community to impact policy change through social activism. Elizabeth discusses campaigns such as Pay Up Fashion for direct relief for garment workers that have not been paid by American companies during the pandemic, and the Garment Workers Protection Act that will provide minimum wage for garment workers in California. Elizabeth encourages consumers to embrace their civic right in bringing the malpractices and inequities of the fashion industry to light, holding brands accountable for their unethical practices and therefore affecting real change in this broken system.
All About Natural Plant Dyes with Kathy Hattori of Botanical Colors
In this episode, Mary and Emma talk with Kathy Hattori of Botanical Colors about natural plant dyes, and how she created a business from her desire to connect herself and others to the natural world. She talks about a personal wake-up call that led to her decision to quit her corporate job in pursuit of a more creative and personally fulfilling career, despite her fears around the uncertainties of such a move. Though at the time, Kathy couldn’t imagine the career potential in the world of plant dyes, Botanical Colors is now the premier source for all things related to dyeing with plants, including sustainably sourced materials, supplies, information and education.
Who Made Your Clothes? Relationships & Good Dirt with Eric Henry of TS Designs
Mary and Emma sit down with Eric Henry from TS Designs who has been navigating sustainability through the fashion industry for the past 40 years. Henry discusses the effects of NAFTA on TS Designs and the process of rebuilding his business with the triple bottom line - People, Planet, Profit - in the forefront of operations. Eric pushes you to think about the impact of the goods you consume and the places you spend your money while considering that sustainability is a journey not a destination.
