Conscious Chatter With Kestrel Jenkins

In episode 211, Kestrel welcomes Diandra Marizet, who spearheads Business Development + Operations at Intersectional Environmentalist. A conscious curator, brand strategist + writer, Diandra is dedicated to elevating intersectional sustainability through the lens of fashion, social impact + culture. “We need everybody pursuing intersectionality, environmentalism, sustainability — like, whatever you’re latching onto in terms of progress, latch onto it, but do it in a healthy way that’s manageable in the longterm.” -Diandra Marizet, Business Development + Operations at Intersectional Environmentalist On this week’s show, Diandra shares more on her journey into the environmental movement, and how she went from growing up as a tomboy to working in apparel buying at Kate Spade, and eventually getting into social impact funding. She also shares more of her thoughts on what the fashion industry needs to be focusing on right now to avoid putting another bandaid on an issue — and to instead, look at the root of the i

The Root Episode 6: The New Standard is broken down into 3 parts — 1) coproducers Dominique and Kestrel interview each other to get a brief feeling of how this project has impacted them individually, 2) we share interviews with 4 of our sponsors from this project, and 3) we share more on what “The New Standard” means to us, the pillars it is built upon, and what questions we all need to be asking moving forward.  THE ROOT SPONSORS SAMATA, CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress “It’s mandatory listening to the point where it should be curriculum. And I always advocate for teaching people about how clothes are made - that they come from trees and farms and rivers and lakes and hands. But I think the other part is that we need to educate people about the systems that exist within the industry - not just the products and how they’re made.” REBECCA BURGESS, Founder of Fibershed “Our culture is so superficial right now around the conversations around race. And I think what The Root did is - it literally rooted in the va

The Root Episode 5: Where Do We Go From Here? is a unique compilation of all 17 guests from the previous 4 episodes sharing a proclamation statement of how we intentionally move the fashion industry forward.  PART 1, Historical Analysis & Paradigm Shift   MIKO UNDERWOOD “The American fashion community was born from the inception of indigo farms in America. The enslaved labor of Black Americans grew the cotton industry and built America’s fashion economy … we are required to be culturally accountable and culturally responsible.” ADITI MAYER “The future of fashion is one that understands the history and oppression that it’s built upon … What we need is an interrogation of power exists, why it exists and how we can disassemble and redistribute it for true equity.” NIKKI SANCHEZ “My vision for the future of fashion is a complete decolonization of the industry. From design to material sourcing to brand and marketing structure. This would mean a 180 turn from appropriation, exploitation, extraction and fa

The Root Episode 4: The Future Of Fashion is broken down in 4 lightening talk segments, hosted by Dominique Drakeford. Part 1 discuses Marketing with Aditi Mayer & Terumi Murao. Part 2 hones in on Education with Kimberly Jenkins and Whitney McGuire. Part 3 dives into Small Business Entrepreneurship with Akilah Stewart and Ibada Wadud. Lastly, Part 4 contextualizes the landscape of Policy with Ify Ike and Ayesha Barenblat. Terumi Murao is a sustainable stylist and model who works in the fashion and commercial advertising industry. She has worked previously in scientific research, luxury hospitality, and marketing for design & technology. Her curiosity and creative restlessness continually drive her to imagine and iterate on new human-centered, sustainable solutions. She cares deeply about fashion as a tool for personal growth, and a platform to elevate underrepresented voices and advocate for justice. Links to Terumi’s work: Terumi’s Website Follow Terumi on Instagram Aditi Mayer is a sustainable

The Root Episode 3: Racism In The Fashion Industry is broken down into 2 segments. The first segment focuses on the designer lens in which Dominique Drakeford speaks with sustainable fashion designers Miko Underwood and DJ discussing the creation of the fashion industry and the importance of shifting the white exploitive gaze through historical analysis, Black abundance mindset and cultural responsibility. In the second segment, Dominique Drakeford hones in on the “influencer” lens by speaking with Aja Barber and Emi Ito on the uses of social media as a tool for education, advocacy and solidarity against institutional oppression. Damian Joel (preferably called D.J.) is a self-taught designer who credits his interest in fashion to years of witnessing his mother sweat over her sewing machine to make ends meet. After years of working in corporate Jamaica as a Marketing and PR executive, D.J. transitioned his career, and became a regular style correspondent on Jamaica’s morning show. He also acted as a Personal

In The Root Episode 2: The Power of Privilege, Dominique Drakeford speaks with activist-educators Ericka Hart, Blair Imani and Rachel Ricketts, discussing the functions of privilege and the importance of applying critical and intersectional approaches toward dismantling white supremacy in fashion and beyond. Rachel Ricketts is a global thought leader + outspoken champion for Black and Indigenous womxn. As a racial justice activist, lawyer, healer, speaker + author, she educates white folx on their role in perpetuating white supremacy, and helps folx of colour heal from internalized oppression. Rachel’s work has been featured in Vox, Mind Body Green, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Elephant Journal, 21Ninety, Black Girl in Om and Thrive. She has worked with prestigious international companies including Google, WeWork, Lululemon and TELUS and presented at renowned conferences including SXSW 2018 + 2019. Rachel’s first book My Love Includes Anger will be published by Atria Books in 2021. Links to Rachel’s work: Ra

In The Root Episode 1: Racism as a System, Dominique Drakeford speaks with scholars and academic activists Nikki Sanchez and Lisa Betty on the importance of dismantling colonial systems and reclaiming the fullness of Native American & Afro-Indigenous history as a regenerative framework for liberation and true sustainability across every industry. Nikki Sanchez is a Pipil/Maya and Irish/Scottish academic, Indigenous media maker, environmental educator and community organizer. She holds a master's degree in Indigenous Governance and is presently completing a Ph.D. with a research focus on emerging visual media technology as it relates to Indigenous ontology. Nikki's first book, Spirits of the Coast - An Anthology of the Salish Sea Resident Orca Whales - was just released by the Royal BC Museum. Nikki's most recent project is the 8-part documentary VICELAND series “RISE” focused on global Indigenous resurgence. RISE was debuted at Sundance in February 2017 and has received global critical acclaim, recently

In episode 204, Kestrel welcomes Kamea Chayne, the host of Green Dreamer Podcast, to the show. A Taiwanese American eco creative, writer and author, Kamea illuminates our paths to ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all through her powerful show, Green Dreamer. “Sustainability to me isn’t an individualistic pursuit for individual people or brands — rather, it’s a collective goal requiring context and systemic change. In order to be sustainable, we also need to be regenerative in our actions and practices.” -Kamea Chayne, Host of Green Dreamer Podcast On this week’s show, Kamea shares more on her journey, along with the origins and evolution of her podcast, Green Dreamer. Kestrel asks Kamea to share more on what regenerative means to her, and she outlines the way she interprets it, with relation to sustainability. Also, Kamea shares more on what she has learned through her show, with regard to why we need to decolonize “environmental conservation”. As Gr

In episode 203, Kestrel welcomes Manpreet Kaur Kalra, the founder of Art of Citizenry, to the show. An activist and educator, Manpreet is dedicated to exploring the intersection of digital media, social impact and justice. “One of those very tangible things that I often tell people that they need to work on is the language they use — really being thoughtful about words such as empowerment, which really imply this idea of the person on the receiving end is not empowered to begin with.” -Manpreet Kaur Kalra, Founder of Art of Citizenry On this week’s show, Manpreet shares more on what led her from the tech industry to creating her own unique business in the social impact space. After discovering how the minority voice is lost in sustainability, Manpreet set out to address power dynamics in social entrepreneurship. Throughout the conversation, Manpreet breaks down more on heropreneurship, white saviorism, and what decolonization means to her. She also dives into more on how fashion has been built on appropriati

In episode 202, Kestrel welcomes Fashion Psychologist Shakaila Forbes-Bell to the show. With her area of research focused on diversity in fashion and the importance of multicultural marketing, Shakaila was among the first people in the world to hold a Masters Degree in Psychology for Fashion Professionals at University of the Arts London: London College of Fashion, and she is also the founder of the platform Fashion Is Psychology. “In the wake of the Black Lives Movement, when people are really starting to think about the lived experiences of Black people across all industries, we’re definitely going to start to see some major upheaval, and I’m quite excited about that.” -Shakaila Forbes-Bell, Fashion Psychologist + Founder of Fashion Is Psychology On this week’s show, Shakaila shares more on what led her from wanting to be “the Black female Frasier” and a clinical psychologist, to carving out her own space in the psychology discipline at the intersections of fashion, representation, media, and marketing. He

In episode 201, Kestrel welcomes Samata, the CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress, to the show. A women-led global change-making organization working from ‘moment’ to movement, Red Carpet Green Dress creates awareness by showcasing sustainable fashion on the red carpet. A British born Ghanaian entrepreneur, Samata is also the founder of THE TRIBE, a women’s empowerment collective. “I try and choose talent that will speak to different audiences, because part of the way that I think fashion is not intersectional is by the faces it presents as the messenger.” -Samata, CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress On this week’s show, Samata shares more on what she’s been up to over the last 4 years since she first came on the show, as well as what life looks like in her new role as the CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress. Kestrel and Samata also discuss how their perspectives have shifted when it comes to sustainability, since both recently becoming new moms. Additionally, Samata shares more on the intentionality that goes into choosing ta

In episode 200, Kestrel welcomes Sanah Sharma, the founder of her eponymous label, to the show. A conceptual sustainable fashion brand from Chennai, India, Sanah Sharma is focused on making aesthetic clothing that is intelligently engineered and tested for human kinetics. “Everything in our universe is in a constant state of motion. So, I really think — you know, we’re not static, so why should our clothes be statically designed?” -Sanah Sharma, Founder of Sanah Sharma On this week’s show, Sanah shares more on how her love of fashion and making clothing began when she was a little girl — she would upcycle the clothes she grew out of into clothes for her dolls. She also explains that while she learned more about the concept of sustainability at university, she quickly realized that she had many of these ideals already in her, from growing up in her Indian culture. Sanah developed her own zero waste design technique called Planar Flux, of which other designers can access if they are interested in learning the

In episode 199, Kestrel welcomes Laura Wittig, the cofounder and CEO of Brightly, to the show. A curated discovery platform, Brightly aims to empower conscious consumers around the world. Laura is also the co-host of the Good Together podcast. “You are sending a message to the big corporations of the world — whether you are purchasing Fair Trade coffee at Target or you’re purchasing something from a small brand.” -Laura Wittig, cofounder + CEO of Brightly On this week’s show, Laura shares more on her unique background working with companies like Google, Amazon, and Adobe, and how those experiences helped her eventually launch Brightly. Additionally, Laura shares her thoughts on whether the tech landscape is shifting to bring more social good into the mix, and how COVID-19 has already transformed the future of tech. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: “Eco-Friendly Finds From Target” on Brightly’s TikTok “What’s Your Sustainability Superpower?” Brightly Quiz Natalie o

In episode 198, Kestrel welcomes Vin+Omi, award winning fashion and multi media designers, to the show. One of the leading pioneering eco fashion brands today, VIN+OMI are focused on sustainable approaches to business, design and textiles. “We don’t need another fashion brand — we don’t. You know, we have enough clothes, if everybody stopped production tomorrow (all fashion houses and every fashion brand stopped), we have enough clothes to last us at least 6 generations.” -Omi, Cofounder of VIN+OMI On this week’s show, Vin+Omi share more on the unique path they took to becoming fashion designers. They outline some of the sustainable textiles they’ve developed, including their latex project in Malaysia and their nettle project with Prince Charles. Kestrel asks Omi to share more context on a quote from him that was featured in Business of Fashion where he said that “sustainability is a dirty word” that he hates. They also discuss how they’ve intentionally resisted the traditional fashion system throughout thei

In episode 197, Kestrel welcomes Dr. Hakan Karaosman and Professor Donna Marshall to the show. A sustainability management professional and award-winning researcher, Hakan is also a fashion supply chain and sustainability expert at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Donna is a Professor of Supply Chain Management, Head of Research, Innovation and Impact, and the Director of the Centre for Business and Society at University College Dublin. The European Commission recently awarded Donna and Hakan with the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship award for their forthcoming project, FReSCH (Fashion’s Responsible Supply Chain Hub) to be conducted at University College Dublin. “In times of uncertainty, bureaucracy doesn’t work, hierarchy doesn’t work — and we need to have these much more flat network systems, which seem to be much more innovative, much more agile — and that’s really about tearing down some of the cultures that are really embedded within the fashion industry at the

In episode 196, Kestrel welcomes Kayti O’Connell Carr, the founder and creative director of MATE, to the show. A clean essentials brand, MATE is made sustainably in Los Angeles with nontoxic and certified organic materials. “I realized that the missing piece — a part of the sustainability conversation — is fashion’s impact that it has on us as women from a health’s perspective.” -Kayti O’Connell Carr, Founder of MATE On this week’s show, Kayti shares more on her journey of starting MATE, and how much the brand has evolved since its early days as a vintage tee brand. Kestrel asks Kayti to walk us through her process of shifting MATE from using conventional fabrics to organic nontoxic options, and how their Dress Clean initiative now drives the company. For Kayti, realizing the impact that clothing can have on women’s health was a big moment for her, and influenced how she wanted to ensure MATE’s products were nontoxic and healthy for our bodies. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in thi

In episode 195, Kestrel welcomes Umberto De Marco, the founder of sustainable footwear brand, YATAY, to the show. In addition to his work building sneaker brand YATAY, Umberto is the president of eco-leather giant and family business Coronet. “What I’ve been doing since I started working in the family company — I had a mission: trying to change a material that has always been just a simple, cheap alternative of leather — trying to evolve this material in a more sustainable and durable one.” -Umberto de Marco, Founder of YATAY On this week’s show, Umberto shares more on how he grew up in the leather alternatives industry, with his father being a pioneer in ‘eco-leathers’. When he joined the family business, Umberto was focused on finding more sustainable alternatives to the poly-based leathers they were offering. Also, Umberto shares more on his own company YATAY, and how they are working to further close the loop in their manufacturing, so eventually, every component of the shoe can be recycled and put back

In episode 194, Kestrel welcomes Shahidha Bari, author of Dressed: A Philosophy Of Clothes, to the show. A Professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at the London College of Fashion and a fellow of the Forum for European Philosophy at London School of Economics, Shahidha is dedicated to contributing a discourse around fashion to the philosophy field. “I feel like there has to be some sort of intellectual, cultural shift about the way that we regard our clothes— the forms of attention we give them — not just in how we buy, but how we think about them as artifacts: artifacts that have passed through many hands before they come to our own and artifacts that are expressive of our humanity.” -Shahidha Bari, Author of Dressed: A Philosophy Of Clothes On this week’s show, Shahidha shares more on her background and how her unique experiences with dressing throughout her childhood along with her synesthesia have influenced the work that she does today. While Shahidha was writing her book, Dressed: A Philosophy of C

In episode 193, Kestrel welcomes James Bartle, the Founding CEO of Outland Denim, to the show. Outland crafts premium denim jeans designed to bring the worlds of their seamstresses and their customers closer together. They made history as the first-ever denim brand to win the Thomson Reuters Stop Slavery Award in 2020. “It’s like they absorb history — they’re kind of like a song where they take you back to a memory and it’s for that reason that you don’t throw out a beautiful, premium pair of jeans even when they’re worn out — you want to leave them in your cupboard because of those memories that are associated with that product. And again, I think that’s what gives it so much power in being able to impact people.” -James Bartle, Founding CEO of Outland Denim On this week’s show, James shares more on how he went from being a freestyle motorbike rider to building a denim brand, after learning more deeply about the realities of human trafficking. James also shares that with Outland Denim’s model, their seamstr

In episode 192, Kestrel welcomes Brian Bushell, the cofounder of By Humankind, to the show. A personal care brand, By Humankind’s products are designed to reduce single-use plastic waste from your daily routine. “We really wanted to be able to make an impact — we wanted to allow our customers to truly reduce their own single-use plastic waste function just by going through their morning routine.” -Brian Bushell, Cofounder of By Humankind On this week’s show, Brian shares more on how a scuba diving trip initially inspired him to look further into the global issues surrounding single-use plastic waste. When he discovered that one third of all plastic waste in landfills comes from a personal care product, he saw a need to build a personal care brand that not only cared about creating clean formulas, but also clean containers. Brian explains how he started with one idea — to make a natural deodorant — and worked with a chemist to see if he could build a good product. After working on this for six months, and rea