A podcast for people who make progress: in politics, government, and purpose-driven organizations. Your host: Spencer Critchley.
The Social Impact Show is where CSR professionals can get the latest strategies and tactics to develop their goodness and CSR programs. You'll learn from industry experts to help your programs to the next level, no matter if you are just starting out or a seasoned professional looking to scale even more.
Fashion and apparel. It touches nearly everyone. When its at its best, fashion and apparel is not only functional, but also fun, expressive, sexy, and for some businesses, very profitable. But when it is at its worst, fashion and apparel is superficial, exploitative, polluting and extremely wasteful - in other words the essence of unsustainable consumption. And while it is argued that the industry's rapid growth has created employment opportunities for more than 300 million people worldwide, ...
Sustain:epreneur Podcast is bridging the gap between business and sustainability. We're here to educate and motivate entrepreneurs toward sustainability by discussing important topics, debating different perspectives and by showcasing those of you who are doing it right, right now. Sustainability is quickly becoming the new differentiator in business and if you're not getting on board, you're getting left behind. Check us out and be a part of the biggest market shift since the world-wide-web.
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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What History Can Teach Us About the Attack on Our Democracy
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Spencer Critchley talks about: Why we can’t “just move on” after the Capitol riot - or everything else that’s happened over the past four years. The circle of shared moral values that must encompass democracy and how each of us can and must defend it — starting by simply speaking up. Lessons from other countries, especially about the consequences o…
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The Social Impact Show


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How to measure the impact and performance of your Corporate Social Responsibility Program
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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR expert, and discuss how to measure the effectiveness and impact of your CSR Program. We explore the challenges of measuring impact including how a program was developed affecting how it could be measured. We also review measurement tools and why executive buy-in on what to measure is crucial. Watch…
Just about the only thing many of us are thinking about these days is the endangered state of American democracy, especially since the attempted coup on Jan. 6. In this episode, Spencer Critchley offers some of his thoughts, and invites you to share yours. You can do that at these links: Twitter: @scritchley Facebook: spencer.critchley.page dastard…
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The Social Impact Show


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Developing a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Part 5: Presenting to Executives
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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR expert, and discuss Part 5 of developing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy: The Pitch. We discuss how to develop a CSR Strategy presentation to your leadership and executive teams. We explore the four key steps to take during your presentation and how to be strategic with the timing …
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The Social Impact Show


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Developing a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Part 4: Advocacy
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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR expert, and discuss Part 4 of developing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy: advocacy. We discuss the three parts of finding internal advocates and why the other phases of research, articulate and "back-it-up" must be completed before starting this phase. We also explore where to find…
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The Social Impact Show


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Developing a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Part 3: Benchmarking
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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR expert, and discuss Part 3 of developing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, creating benchmarks. We discuss using data to influence or motivate the creation of your program. We explore how to build stakeholder confidence to invest in the program and how to use impactful stories to ma…
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The Social Impact Show


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Developing a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Part 2: Solving Business Problems
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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR expert, and discuss Part 2 of developing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, creating your why and what your program is solving for. We discuss how to frame your program around the business problems/issues the CSR Program is solving for, how it aligns your stakeholder priorities and w…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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HOT OFF THE PRESS: Fashion is endangering our forests. A new report from Canopy weighs in on what we need to do about it.
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Forests play a crucial role in promoting biodiversity, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and supporting livelihoods, especially in poorer countries. But because wood is the basis for so many of our products, the pressure to exploit forests, usually in unsustainable ways, continues to increase. What does this have to do with the fashion in…
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The Social Impact Show


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Developing a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Part 1: Research
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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR expert, and discuss the first part of developing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, conducting research in your business. We explore assessing current CSR activities, how to building internal relationships and researching what employees care about. We also go over what to research wh…
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The Social Impact Show


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Top 7 benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility
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In this video, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR Expert, and discuss the top seven benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility for businesses from talent attraction and retention to increased revenue and brand value. Top 7 benefits (timestamp of our discussion): Talent attraction Talent retention Developing talent Marketing and communications Incre…
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What is Corporate Social Responsibility and why it's crucial for your business!
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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Campbell, CSR expert, and answer the question of what is corporate social responsibility (CSR)? You'll learn why it's important and the benefits for modern businesses. We explore the history, how CSR programs operate and elements to success. Key topics we discuss: History of CSR and how it has evolved to today W…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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HOT OFF THE PRESS: Are the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and the HIGG tools making a meaningful difference? A new report weighs in.
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It's been nearly a decade since Patagonia, Walmart and a number of other brands, retailers, manufacturers and NGOs established the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an innovative industry collaboration. As the coalition's website states, its vision is "an apparel, footwear, and textiles industry that produces no unnecessary environmental harm an…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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DEBATE: Part 2 - A proposed Swedish chemical tax on textiles - is this a case study in great government leadership or political greenwash?
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Sweden has a reputation for being a sustainability leader in many areas, so you can imagine how curious we were to learn about a newish proposal from the current Swedish government for a chemical tax on textiles. The proposal was recently made available to stakeholders for comment, and of course, a robust debate has ensued. Is this proposal, as pre…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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DEBATE: Part 1 - A proposed Swedish chemical tax on textiles - is this a case study in great government leadership or political greenwash?
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Sweden has a reputation for being a sustainability leader in many areas, so you can imagine how curious we were to learn about a newish proposal from the current Swedish government for a chemical tax on textiles. The proposal was recently made available to stakeholders for comment, and of course, a robust debate has ensued. Is this proposal, as pre…
Zach Friend is an author and a public policy and communications expert who has worked for Barack Obama and John Kerry’s presidential campaigns, the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Democratic National Committee. He’s been featured on and quoted by CNN, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, Fox News, and many ot…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Sustainable investment expert Sasja Beslik thinks the fashion industry is a very poor performer and possibly a stranded asset.
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Sasja Beslik, Head of Sustainable Finance Development at J Safra Sarasin, fled Bosnia when he was 18 to escape the war. He ended up in Sweden and today spends his time leveraging the power of the financial sector to improve the world. He is particularly interested in the fashion industry's impact on people and has recently attracted attention for h…
The Lincoln Project is made up of top Republican political consultants who are aiming attack ads at a Republican president. We find out why and how from the Lincoln Project's Mike Madrid. Mike is an expert on Latino voting trends, based on work starting with his master’s thesis at Georgetown University. He’s the former press secretary for the Calif…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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MAKE YOUR CASE: Phil Patterson believes the way we use chemicals in the textiles industry is broken and here is his plan to change it!
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Phil Patterson, Managing Director at Colour Connections, has been working at the intersection between the textile industry and influential retail brands for over twenty years, and after some recent soul-searching he had an epiphany. He has come to the conclusion that the current way we use and dispose of chemicals is extremely wasteful and will not…
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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Ryan Coonerty: Facing Historic Wildfires and a Pandemic—at the Same Time
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As a county supervisor in Santa Cruz County, California, Ryan Coonerty is having to cope with two historic challenges: the national coronavirus pandemic and the catastrophic western wildfires. Both disasters have hit his community hard. In this episode, host Spencer Critchley talks with him about leadership in a time of crisis — or crises.…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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FACT OR FICTION: Alden Wicker and Sandra Roos think the fashion industry has a misinformation problem... do you agree?
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In this episode we continue to explore the most commonly repeated "factoids" in fashion and sustainability in order to determine whether they are substantive and useful. As a reminder, a "factoid" is information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact. During Stockholm Fashion Week, Mike spoke with Alden Wicker, free…
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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How to Do Social Impact Marketing That Works
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Social marketing uses the persuasion techniques normally used to sell potato chips, fashion, detergent, cars, and endless other consumer products, but for social good campaigns. Knowing how to do social marketing right is important to nonprofits, socially responsible corporations, and all other purpose-driven organizations — but all too often, it's…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Femke Groothuis argues that tax reform is the best way to transform the apparel industry at the scale and pace required.
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You've heard it before: The global environmental challenges we face are daunting and time sensitive. If we want to avoid catastrophic tipping points, we need to move quickly and ambitiously. If we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we need to invest trillions of dollars. And so we scratch our heads and wonder if the actions we…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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LEADING CHANGE: What can a new psychology of climate action teach us about being better change agents?
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As a listener of Big Closets Small Planet, you are likely interested and engaged in changing the apparel industry. So for those of you who are keen to strengthen your change agent skills, we are introducing a new segment called Leading Change. In this first episode we are joined by Per Espen Stoknes who is that rare combination of thinker and doer.…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INDUSTRY UPDATE: Circular business models, like clothing resale and subscription rental, are taking off - but can they ever fully replace today's retail models and deliver the radical sustainability improvements ...
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Experts and practitioners agree that simply improving upon today's take-make-waste linear business models will not ensure the apparel industry can operate within the planet's ecological boundaries. Instead, a new circular economy is needed and thus new circular business models. Circular business models, like resale and rental, are not actually new.…
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FACT OR FICTION: Does the apparel industry really create more greenhouse gases than flights and shipping combined?
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In this new segment we will explore commonly repeated "factoids" in order to determine whether they are substantive and useful. Perhaps you have heard the statement that the production and use of clothing creates more climate impact than that of flights and shipping combined? A range of organisations - including the United Nations - have referred t…
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INDUSTRY UPDATE: COVID-19 - Are millions of workers at risk? Will Bangladesh ever be the same?
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The impacts of the corona virus on the apparel sector have been fast and furious. We are all affected, but millions of low-wage garment workers are facing a potentially catastrophic situation. In this episode we talk to a number of experts and union representatives to better understand what is happening on the ground, what responsibility buyers hav…
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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Patriots of Two Nations: Why Trump Was Inevitable & What Happens Next
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The election of Donald Trump shocked America and the world — and that included Dastardly Cleverness host Spencer Critchley. But Spencer believes now that we should have seen him coming, like we should have seen the approach of this hyper-partisan crisis of democracy we're going through. He's written a book about it, called Patriots of Two Nations: …
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INSPIRING INNOVATION: Is digital clothing the future of fashion and a solution to overconsumption?
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The Fabricant, a digital fashion house, recently sold a piece of digital clothing - clothing that is only available in digital environments - for over 9000 USD. This experience helped them realise that their expertise in 3-d digital modelling could be used for a better purpose: creating a new industry sector for digital only clothing which is very …
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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How to Communicate in a Crisis, With Brent Colburn
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Brent Colburn’s experience goes back to the Al Gore presidential campaign in 2000, through Howard Dean’s campaign in 2004, both Obama campaigns, FEMA, Homeland Security, HUD, and to the Pentagon, where he was in charge of communications for the Defense Department. After that, he led communications for Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s Chan Zucke…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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HOT OFF THE PRESS: Pioneering analysis estimates 300 billion USD is needed by 2030...
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...to develop and mainstream the sustainable apparel innovations required to meet key sustainability goals for the apparel industry. Listeners of this podcast series are familiar with our on-going focus on the crucial role finance and investment plays in enabling industry transformation. For the past two years SFA and Fashion for Good have been con…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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MAKE YOUR CASE: Lewis Perkins warns the industry not to reinvent the wheel
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In this new segment - Make Your Case - Big Closets Small Planet provides industry experts and stakeholders a platform to argue for a particular position or perspective. In this episode, Lewis Perkins, President of the Apparel Impact Institute (AII), outlines his organisation’s vision and advice for accelerating change in the apparel industry. He ma…
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How Republicans Are Beating Democrats Online, With Mark Barker & Jordan Ruden
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By Dastardly Cleverness In The Service Of Good
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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Tracy Palandjian: Changing How Change Happens, With Pay for Success
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Host Spencer Critchley talks with Tracy Palandjian, the co-founder and CEO of Social Finance, a nonprofit dedicated to using capital to drive social progress. So far, it has helped direct more than $100 million toward challenges in criminal justice, early childhood education, workforce development, health and homelessness. Social Finance uses the P…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INSPIRING INNOVATION: Will molecular bonding of fibers mean the end of polyester?
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Here is a quick dose of inspiration! At Planet Textiles, Mike spoke to Spencer Null about Natural Fiber Welding's breakthrough solution: enabling natural fibers like cotton to behave like polyester. Is this a game changer? It is if it means poor quality fibers can be upgraded to premium fibers... Listen to this bite size pod to get a quick lesson o…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: The optimist CEO of Lenzing, Stefan Doboczky, weighs in on circular business models, short-termism & watchdogs.
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Do you ever wonder how CEOs from some of our industry's most influential companies view the big social and environmental challenges we are facing today and the potential of business and innovation to adequately address these? TENCEL is a sponsor of this podcast series, so Michael took the chance and invited Lenzing's CEO Stefan Doboczky to discuss …
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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Jake Harriman: Fight Terrorism By Ending Extreme Poverty
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For more than seven years, Jake Harriman was a US Marine, serving as a platoon commander in the Infantry and in a Special Operations unit. He was deployed in Southwest and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and served two combat tours in Iraq. During the second tour, he earned the Bronze Star. Jake believed whole-heartedly in the mission …
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INSPIRING INNOVATION: Can a simple phone call make invisible workers visible?
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Dr. Lea Esterhuizen, an expert in gathering sensitive data from scared populations, believes we are unwittingly eating and wearing products that have likely been made or assembled using forced labor. Typically the apparel industry has used the "social audit" to address this problem. But social audits provide an incomplete picture of the situation. …
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INDUSTRY UPDATE: Finance & Innovation - Today’s financing models don’t cut it. We need new approaches that are structured in a way to help reduce risk for all parties involved.
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Mike had the unique opportunity to sit down with an impact investor and a vertical manufacturer to share their real world views on what it takes to accelerate the uptake of sustainable apparel technologies in the apparel supply chain. Tanvi Karambelkar, representing the newly launched Good Fashion Fund, introduces the fund’s pioneering approach for…
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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Jenn Park: What If Government Just Did What Works?
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We hear so many stories about government spending big money without getting results — to the point that many Americans agree with Ronald Reagan's famous assertion that government isn't the solution, it's the problem. That claim was never accurate, as government successes like the Internet, highways, or vaccinations make clear. All the same, though,…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INDUSTRY UPDATE: Sound the alarm? Or have we overestimated the problems associated with microfibers & microplastics?!?
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Between 2014 and 2016, an increasing number of journalists began reporting on disturbing new research showing that microfibers from synthetic garments were making their way from our washing machines into fish and other aquatic animals. Since then the textile industry has been scrambling to understand the extent of the problem and what our industry …
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INSPIRING INNOVATION: The robots are coming! This development may be good for the environment, but is this the beginning of the end for garment workers in production countries?
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The United States Military is required to make their clothing in the United States. But because very little clothing is produced in the United States today, the U.S. Military needed to find alternative solutions. Enter Pete Santora, who launched SoftWear Automation 13 years ago to respond to this challenge. Today his technology, which automates sew…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INDUSTRY UPDATE: A Sexy Update on the State of Chemical Management in Textiles Today. "As consumers, we've probably never been safer. As citizens, we have probably never been more unsafe..."
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At Planet Textiles, Mike Schragger spoke with two of his favorite chemical and textiles experts, Phil Patterson and Linda Greer, about the state of the industry regarding chemical management in textiles today. If this does not sound sexy to you, then you don't know Phil and Linda! In addition to getting a primer on chemical history and good and bad…
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Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good


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Elin Kelsey: How Optimism Can Help Save the Oceans
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“We recognise and respect the many challenges facing our oceans, yet too often 'doom and gloom' stories are the only kind of ocean news we hear. "The evidence suggests that if we do not balance the bad news with good, and the problems with solutions, we will not motivate people to act.” That’s a quote from the website of Ocean Optimism, a movement …
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Jacob Martinez: How Digital NEST Helps Youth Take Flight
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Jacob Martinez is the founder of Digital NEST, an incubator for young tech talent in the farming towns of Watsonville and Salinas, California. Its graduates make an average starting salary of more than $46,000. The average Watsonville resident makes about $17,000. NEST graduates have been hired not just by local companies but by multi-nationals lik…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INSPIRING INNOVATION: Subcritical water… what the “!#@%” is that? And what can it do for the apparel industry?
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The founders of Tyton BioSciences are not personally interested in fashion, but that won’t stop them from using subcritical water to help solve the current textile-recycling conundrum. Mike Schragger talks to Luke Henning, CFO of Tyton, about their unique process for separating cellulose from polyester in blended materials. This podcast is sponsore…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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INSPIRING INNOVATION: Apparel industry = waste.
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Nearly 6 million tons of leftover textiles - the equivalent 18 million new clothes - are wasted in South East Asia and China alone. If we could remanufacture these textiles and reuse them, or ensure we only produce what we need when we need it, we may be able to significantly reduce the environmental impacts of clothing production and support the t…
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Big Closets Small Planet


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BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: Climate Action - The H&M group boldly committed to becoming climate positive by 2040. But getting there requires unprecedented leadership and change. Is the H&M group in over its head ...
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In a refreshingly candid and constructive interview, Mike spoke with the H&M group’s Kim Hällström about what has happened since the company first made their important public climate commitment and what we can learn from the H&M group’s insights and experiences in order to help the entire apparel industry reduce its emissions in line with a 1,5 deg…
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Alex Gershenson: The Huge Potential of Making Corporate Buying More Sustainable
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Big corporations buy what they need from all over the world because they're looking for the best prices. But increasingly, they’re also looking for environmental and social sustainability. For example, McDonald’s has committed to serving only sustainably-sourced coffee at all of its locations by next year. To achieve that it’s buying its coffee fro…
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INSPIRING INNOVATION: What if using your credit card to purchase clothing could actually help combat global warming?
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If we knew the specific climate impacts of each of our purchases, such as the greenhouse gas emissions of our favourite dress or shoes, would we make more climate friendly purchases? And would the companies who make fashion and apparel products – now knowing that we know the climate impacts of our clothing purchases - offer more climate friendly op…
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Innovation - Edwin Keh thinks that to solve the fashion industry’s sustainability challenges we need to radically rethink R&D.
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Mike speaks with Edwin Keh, CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles & Apparel Limited, about his team's pioneering and surprising breakthrough in the area of textile recycling, his deep conviction that to accelerate the development and uptake of sustainable solutions our industry needs to do R&D very differently, and why industry innova…