Conscious Chatter by Kestrel Jenkins

Headed south after a vibrant few days in San Francisco to emcee the EarthSummit at @rivianofficial by commonsearth x @rewild 🌏🌎🌍 So grateful for these moments in community, to meet new folks and reconnect with virtual friends. The world is in a tumultuous place, and at the same time, I’m growing a human. It’s a lot to take in and it’s a lot to process on the daily. 🌙 Being amidst so many brilliant souls, hearing how they are engaging with community and finding moments for joy was so needed and also beyond motivating. Also seeing / meeting friends who are also growing humans at this exact moment was truly grounding. 🌱 So thankful I could bring the whole family along for this earth month journey. 💫 under 6 hours to go on the drive back home! 😅

Do I like mirrors? 🪞 Yes, but what’s wrong with admiring an outfit if I love it!? But real talk — to me, posting outfits daily isn’t about vanity. It’s about storytelling, sustainability and branding. 📸 You may be confused or wondering WTF do these diverse realms have to do with putting on an some clothes. For me — EVERYTHING! 🕸️ Putting together an outfit is absolutely a form of storytelling — I’ve always thought of it as a form of art, because it’s like putting together a composition by layering elements on top of a body, instead of a canvas. 🖼️ When you know the stories behind each of these garments — whether they are handed over from a family member, having cultural significance, have stories embedded in them from your experiences wearing them, or have stories in them from where you acquired them … there’s deep storytelling connected to how you dress, and that matters. Not only do these intimate connections make getting dressed more meaningful, they lead you to build real relationships with your clothing, which means you tend to care for these garments more thoughtfully. They then last longer, and allow you to more naturally hone in on your personal style. Identifying your personal style is a key part of building your brand. The colors you regularly wear become a part of your visual identity, and people will recognize you / your brand based on certain unique identifiers of your style. So the next time someone says “fashion is frivolous” … remember that the choices you make when it comes to your clothing matter. From sustainability to branding to storytelling, style is a part of all of these distinct conversations.

Sustainable Fashion Folks, Are You OK?! I posed this question yesterday in my first episode back after a months-long hiatus. The resounding answer has been NO, based on the number of messages I’ve received since then. 😭 The big takeaway is why fashion really needs is VULNERABILITY — not faux or performative vulnerability but true vulnerability. And how this is integral to instigating and cultivating any sort of change. How are you? If you work in the fashion industry, are you OK? Do you need support? Let’s discuss! 👇 cover photo by @bendulay777 💛

Wow, time is wild – as I watch my baby approaching her first birthday next month, I am in total awe of how fast things can feel. 💨 Also, coming off of Earth Month, which was probably the busiest month of my career, feels like a lot. I feel gratitude and excitement, a little sadness and a lot of motivation.  Finally getting around to sharing a little recap – I co-hosted two climate week workshops on design for compliance in collaboration with my cofounder Gabi at Fashion Is Outrageous, Joanne of The California Product Stewardship Council and Tosin, a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley. We did one for LA at Little City Farm and one for SF at UC Berkeley, focusing on conversations around SB 707. Also, Gabi and I did a mini zine-making activity at UCLA for their Buy Your Values climate week event.  While I was in the Bay Area, I got to co-emcee the Commons Earth Summit alongside Esteban Gast that took place at thredUp’s headquarters in Oakland, and then, finally – to round out the month, Gabi and I delivered a guest lecture at UC Berkeley for their Waste & Society course.  April was a lot. But looking back at these photos and reflecting on these moments amidst community has me feeling a lot of hopefulness, amidst a time that feels full of overwhelm, constant unknowns and intense realities.  How are you all feeling post-Earth-month as we root further into this spring season? 🌸🌿

This April, join the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) and Fashion Is Outrageous (FIO) to deepen awareness and drive proactive participation in SB 707: California Responsible Textile Recovery Act 2024. We are co-hosting two intimate workshops — one at Little City Farm for LA Climate Week and one at UC Berkeley’s Faculty Club for SF Climate Week. 🦋 These workshops bring brands, designers, buyers, upcyclers, waste diverters, policymakers and researchers together to improve a diversity of thought and build real pathways for circularity. ⭕️ SF is already full, but you can sign up for the waitlist, and LA has only a couple spots left. We look forward to sharing space and engaging IRL soon! 🌿 Luma links can be found in FIO’s bio. 🔗

The fashion industry and *sustainable fashion* space has a concerning history with data. 📊 The so-called stat “fashion is the 2nd largest polluter globally after oil” unfortunately spread like wildfire before it was found to be unsubstantiated. In 2017, journalist Alden Wicker brought this to light in an article on Racked, and the NY Times did a deep dive the following year, calling it the “biggest fake news in fashion”. BUT while this stat wasn’t backed up by data, the fashion industry’s impact IS real. On episode 339, I welcome Beth Jensen, the Chief Impact Officer at @textileexchange to the show to discuss what data means to the organization and how they are addressing fashion’s complex history with it through their open-source reporting and standards. Some of what we explore — 🌱 A desire for perfect data can’t prevent action 🌱 Navigating the innate grey in sustainability & fashion 🌱 Centering science-backed data 🌱 Integrity in LCA data Tune in wherever you get your podcasts! 🎧

We are in this period of misinformation and an era in which DATA MANIPULATION is very real. From AI to unsubstantiated claims, the issue isn’t only how data is being adjusted to fit the user’s agenda - there’s also the reality that scientifically-backed data is disappearing. 🪄 I discovered investigative journalist @randi_green through her newsletter “The Understory” that she writes for @atmos … her article “Big Gov Wants To Take Away Your Climate Data” drew me in and made me immediately reach out to have a deeper conversation. As Miranda shares, under the Trump Administration, climate and emissions data is disappearing at an extremely rapid rate, which is making it more challenging for journalists to tell important climate stories. What does fashion have to do with this? SO MUCH. Considering fashion’s concerning history with “data”, along with that fact that several of the most notorious polluters are fashion companies, the overlaps are significant. And then there’s the marketing piece — when we can’t access scientifically-backed data, does it just become a marketing battle? Tune into the full conversation to hear more of the layers Miranda helps pull back. 🎧

I hope you’re taking care amidst this totally intense and disturbing time. I wrote this very small piece for an upcoming Conscious Chatter episode. It’s in no way comprehensive, as there are so many more examples to add, but it’s a tiny start to acknowledge the overlaps. I am home with my kids today, participating in the national strike, and my mind has been racing with all the additional examples I didn’t add. Please share more in the comments, if you’d like to build on the conversation. Talk to your neighbors, support your communities, engage with local mutual aid groups, and never stop listening and learning. 🫶

This conversation with @gail__gallie of @thenat____ builds on our last show with @carrysomers and the focus of “bringing nature back into the fold”. But this one’s from an entirely different angle — one that involves CAPITAL and the NATURE FINANCE GAP. 🎤 Maybe you already know this, but there is an actual number that has been calculated — an amount of money that if invested annually into nature-positive projects — could halt biodiversity loss and support a reset for the Earth, enhancing life on this planet for years to come.  It’s called the nature finance gap – and according to estimates in 2020 (Financing Nature Report, Paulson Institute), the number was $711 billion dollars. Sounds massive, right? Turns out, for folks working in the investment space, it’s not that astronomical and maybe even somewhat accessible — according to this week’s guest, if just 2% of global capital is redirected into nature, we could close that gap. So how does that happen? Considering that over 80% of current conservation funding (State Of Finance For Nature 2023, UNEP) comes from public sources like governments and multilateral institutions – that leaves a ton of space to galvanize private capital to bridge that gap.  Gail has set out to make this happen by creating a luxurious spectacle in celebration of Nature. Anyone ever heard of The Met Gala? Right. Of course you have.  This inspired THE NAT, a gala in celebration of nature, with the focus of generating more funding for NATURE. Tune in to hear more from Gail on what she’s building with The Nat and why their focus is fashion, food and finance. 🌱

If you know me, you know I get very nerdy about words and their layered meanings. Which is why reading this segment from @carrysomers ‘ new book, The Nature Of Fashion, pulled me deep into the pages that followed –  “The Latin verb texere, meaning to weave or construct with elaborate care, reminds us that both textiles and texts stem from acts of creation. Textiles and texts, born of the same etymological thread, are entwined with our histories, our cultures, our lives.” The beautiful thing is that these overlaps between textiles and texts – materials and stories – go far beyond just Latin. As our guest shares, they both evoke texture and encode memory, and through her research, she discovered that across various cultures around the world, there are parallels in both language and meanings, connecting textiles with texts. So, it becomes more and more clear that textiles have something significant to teach us about our collective history and future. At the same time, as Carry reminds us, the inequity of the archives became glaringly obvious the deeper she got into her research. So, in her book, *data collection* meant something more expansive than what we might be used to. For her, it was rooted in research, while also welcoming imagination and prioritizing oral traditions.  As she poses in the book – “What if the story of humanity could be told through a single thread?” Have you tuned into the podcast or have you read Carry’s book yet?

As social media and fast fashion continue to glorify speed, I decided to slow things down for this partnership with Woolmark. 🐢 Poetry has always helped me slow down. While many don’t know it, I’ve written poems for my family every holiday season - they are always metaphorical and always weave in earth-related language. 🖊️ So, here’s my little ode to Merino wool, its beauty and incredible potential as a super fiber: As the host of the first global sustainable fashion podcast - I’ve asked a lot of fabric questions, they add up fast. One thing I can confirm, when done right  Is Merino wool is a super fiber. Here’s some of my insight – I’ve never been drawn to wool. I always thought of it as itchy and scratchy. But Merino wool is super soft - it’s actually finer than human hair  I’m wearing it as we speak, without an extra layer underneath. It’s a natural fiber, which can speak volumes about quality since today, over 65% of fibers are petroleum-based - Covering our skin in oil? Not that hot. With all that fossil-fuel derived thread  All I can think of is the plethora of microplastics shed Ending up on our land, waterways and beyond. A renewable natural fiber, research shows that Merino wool can biodegrade - even in marine environments  It also has the potential to give back Grazing sheep can help sequester carbon, getting soil health back on track. Merino wool is naturally odor resistant, so wash it less Not only is that better for the planet, it also reduces your everyday stress. Data shows that certified wool is climbing Ensuring that animal welfare is rising. It’s durable and it lasts, which is why it’s being reused Studies show wool is a top fiber for recyclability. I’d say that’s one reason to be enthused. If you’re looking for a fabric that’s often underestimated, check out Merino wool. If you’re a fashion nerd like me, its history, future and functionality will leave you fascinated. Sources in the comments 👇 #woolmarkpartner #choosemerino @thewoolmarkcompany

As reported by the UNEP, Africa contributes less than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the continent has been disproportionately impacted by the changing climate.  With this in mind, in conjunction with her knowledge in fashion, design, anthropology and regenerative agriculture – Lisa Kibutu founded a powerful two-prong approach to not only address the negative impact of the global fashion industry on climate change, biodiversity, and the environment in Africa, but also – to strategically research and develop innovative textiles made from the waste of Indigenous crops, and to maintain ownership of these technologies within the continent.  Africa has a unique potential at this point in our history – especially when it comes to regenerative agriculture, with 80% of all the food production in Africa being run by smallholder farmers. (*Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) The opportunities across Africa are expansive. And as Lisa reminds us, it’s not about empowerment. It’s about following the blueprint from AI – that is ancestral intelligence – and focusing on enriching communities across the continent.  Tune in to hear more from Lisa on all the powerful work she’s doing through @regenerativefashion_africa and RTDI. 🎧