Conscious Chatter With Kestrel Jenkins

In episode 151, Kestrel welcomes Gitte Dalberg-Larsen, the founder of Organicup, to the show. The award-winning menstrual cup, Organicup helps replace pads and tampons, and reduce waste connected to women’s health. “We are on a mission to improve menstrual health on a personal and cultural and global level.” -Gitte Dalberg-Larsen, Founder of Organicup In this week’s show, Gitte shares more on what led her to build a menstrual cup company, and what she has learned along the way. Additionally, she provides more of an in-depth look at how much period waste each menstruating woman generates throughout her life. Gitte + Kestrel also dive into how society historically has aligned women’s health, sexuality, and menstruation with taboo topics, and how we can continue to further challenge these systemic norms. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: The first menstrual cup was actually introduced in the 1930s, but then it never caught on or took off. “For an average woman, we use a

In episode 150, Kestrel welcomes Lisa Gralnek, a Brand & Strategy Executive, to the show. The Founder + Principal of LVG & Co, Lisa has worked with brands including Chobani, moo.com, adidas, IKEA, Walmart and more over the past decade. “Authenticity really ties back to why you wake up in the morning - you know, what are your values, what’s your mission in life or your raison d'être as the French would say.” -Lisa Gralnek, Brand & Strategy Executive In this week’s show, Lisa shares more on her journey and what led her to have such a distinct interest in brand strategy and sustainability. She shares more on the idea of authenticity and its elevated importance amidst a time of disruption. Kestrel + Lisa explore some of today’s current buzzwords, and whether or not those are driven by brands, shoppers or both, and how potentially important they are in influencing our behavior. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Cleo Wade + Rupi Kaur, poets that connect on a de

In episode 149, Kestrel welcomes Nivi Sreenivas Murthy, the founder of IKKIVI, as well as Meenal Gupta, one of the designers behind Twofold, to the show. A slow fashion platform, Ikkivi curates ethical and sustainable designers from India, and Twofold is one of their featured brands, a label that is a tribute to Indian craftsmanship. “Young designers and independent designers in general do not have the resources to expand and grow their business to a global platform because at the end of the day, they are designers and the creatives behind these brands. So, I think it’s extremely important for platforms like IKKIVI to be able to communicate their stories and communicate their creative abilities to a global audience.” -Nivi Sreenivas Murthy, Founder of IKKIVI In this week’s show, Nivi and Meenal share each of their stories and how they became interested in slow fashion. Additionally, they share more on each of their work today, and how important they feel that it is to offer global shoppers access to slow fas

In episode 148, Kestrel welcomes Belinda Kazanci, the founder + designer of Bel Kazan, to the show. A collection of globally-inspired, effortless pieces, Bel Kazan is designed with the modern woman in mind. “And then I realized the only way I’m going to be able to do the kind of business I want to do is by having a factory that meets my standards —which were: open air, there’s a garden for people to eat in, it’s clean, we provide lunches. There were just certain standards I wanted to meet, and I knew I couldn’t do it by using somebody else’s factory.” - Belinda Kazanci, Founder of Bel Kazan In this week’s show, Belinda shares more on her backstory, how she grew up around textiles in Istanbul, Turkey, and how she originally got into fashion as a way to fund her musician life. Early in building her brand, Belinda realized that she needed to own her own factory to be able to make her business work. She purchased land and started building her own manufacturing facility in the second year of running her company,

In episode 147, Kestrel welcomes Mark Price, the CEO of Firewire, to the show. A former Rip Curl and Reef executive, Mark has over 35 years of surf industry experience and is helping push the boundaries of surfboard construction at Firewire. “We’ve created a mindset where we want stuff all the time, and by definition - that can never be satisfied, so we’re basically creating a sick society that is never satisfied and is always looking for something that can never be fulfilled.” - Mark Price, CEO of Firewire Throughout the show, Mark shares more on what got him into surfing as a kid in South Africa, and how when it comes to the environmental movement, he believes a level of humility is key to bringing generations together and forging ahead. “I think that my generation has to be careful of not lecturing the younger generation because we’ve figured out what’s wrong with the world and what needs to change. I think we can do that, but concurrent with that, we also have to be apologetic and humble for the fact tha

In episode 146, Kestrel welcomes Taghrid Zorob, the founder + creative director of Rafa, to the show. A women’s luxury footwear collection, Rafa is hand-crafted by a small group of artisans in Los Angeles. “We have to remember that we’re all humans and that there’s more to life than just stuff that we buy, and consuming should be something that adds value to our life.” - Taghrid Zorob, Founder + Creative Director of Rafa Throughout this chat, Taghrid shares more on what led her to want to build Rafa, especially a particular experience she had connecting with shoe makers in Los Angeles at her previous job. Additionally, she explains more on how she really wanted to infuse Los Angeles into her brand, as it had become a large part of her identity growing up in the city. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:  “When I started this company, I really wanted to create something that was quintessentially Los Angeles - I wanted to make something that was beautiful and incorporated a

In episode 145, Kestrel welcomes Carly Burson, the founder + CEO of Tribe Alive, to the show. Focused on investing in women globally, Tribe Alive makes sustainable women's apparel and accessories through building artistic collaborations around the world. “A lot of women are employed through fashion, but the way I view the industry as it is today is that a lot of women are kept in poverty because of fashion.” -Carly Burson, Founder + CEO of Tribe Alive Throughout this chat, Carly shares more insight into what led her to build Tribe Alive, and how the adoption of her daughter was a massive part of shifting the direction of her career. Additionally, she shares more on how Tribe Alive truly believes that women are the key to eradicating poverty. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:  Causebox, an order from them helped transform Tribe Alive from a side hustle to a main gig Nonprofits that Tribe Alive works with: Mi Esperanza in Honduras + Maya Traditions in Guatemala + Haiti

In episode 144, Kestrel welcomes Zinzi Edmundson, the editor + cofounder of Knit Wit Magazine, to the show. A website for fiber freaks, Knit Wit explores everything about fiber arts and their makers. “Just like cutting out fast fashion and knowing about your materials and the process behind where your clothing is coming from, that’s equally as important with buying your materials for crafting.” -Zinzi Edmundson, Founder of Knit Wit Throughout this chat, Zinzi shares more on Knit Wit's recent shift from print to digital, and how listening to her readers was an integral piece of this decision. Additionally, she shares more with us on which crafts are "all the rage" right now, and how even though there are trends in crafting, makers tend to not ditch the past trends when they find a new one - instead, they just add them to their fiber art arsenal.  The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: Sashiko, Mend and Make New, article Kestrel wrote for Knit Wit about Jessica Marquez’s new

In episode 143, Kestrel welcomes Barrett Ward, the founder + CEO of ABLE, to the show. A lifestyle brand, ABLE is focused on ending generational poverty through providing economic opportunity for women. “We also know that when a woman is empowered and given a job - this is a statistic, it’s a fact - that a woman has a far more significant impact in her community than does a man. If you want to have a serious impact on poverty in the world, the fashion world is an extraordinary place to start.” -Barrett Ward, Founder of ABLE In the introduction of this episode, Kestrel shares a bit of context as to what constitutes a living wage, according to The Clean Clothes Campaign. A living wage is a human right. And as The Clean Clothes Campaign outlines, a living wage should be earned in a standard working week (no more than 48 hours) and allow a garment worker to be able to buy food for themself and their family, pay the rent, pay for healthcare, clothing, transportation and education and have a small amount of savin

In episode 142, Kestrel welcomes Holly Staves Olson, a marketing wizard + her cofounder of a new venture called Left Edit, to the show. A new direct-to-consumer womenswear brand for those who don’t want to sacrifice ethics for style, Left Edit builds essentials that make an impression. “I think it’s so cool because our relationship always revolved around this entrepreneurial spirit. I think that’s where you and I really connected is every time we’d get together, we’d be brainstorming different ideas, and we’d be talking about fashion and we’d be talking about new businesses and how we can make a change.” - Holly Stavnes Olson, Cofounder of Left Edit In this episode, Holly and Kestrel share more on what drew them together as cofounders, and how they ended up finding their way to building Left Edit. They also share more on how incredible the designer community has been in supporting them in the development process and sharing information to help them along the way, from sourcing fabrics and materials to connec

In episode 141, Kestrel welcomes Lauren Engelke, a professional sustainable stylist, blogger + the curator of The Minimalist Wardrobe Shop, to the show. A new project, TMW Shop offers a curated collection of quality garments, perfect to help build a minimalist wardrobe. “I never expected this in a million years, but the major pain point was shopping — and a lot of the clients that I worked with had actually almost over minimalized their wardrobe. And they had come so far from big wardrobes to a paired down, lean wardrobe that they were afraid to shop again.” - Lauren Engelke, Sustainable Stylist + Curator of TMW Shop In this episode, Lauren shares more on how she started questions some of the realities of the fashion industry, through her work as a stylist. Whether it was overproduction or the chemicals in the apparel she was steaming, she realized firsthand the disconnects between her values and what was happening behind-the-scenes in the industry. After giving herself a crash course in sustainable fashion,

In episode 140, Kestrel welcomes Katie Pruett, the founder and editor-in-chief of Ethical Style Journal, to the show. A platform to help shape fashion culture into one that is as much about awareness, action, and accountability as it is about style, Ethical Style Journal is a stunning publication stacked with substance. “If you look at the history of our country, they’ve always kind of helped shape peoples’ perspectives - they’ve always had that authority. Specifically if we’re talking about fashion magazines - I mean look at Vogue and their influence. I wanted to get in on that and say hey - let’s do some good with this, because we have that power and that’s what media has always done - and let’s use it in a positive way.” - Katie Pruett, Editor-In-Chief of Ethical Style Journal In this episode, Katie shares more on how she went from searching for a pair of boots to building an independent magazine. For Katie, Ethical Style Journal is a way to use the power of media for good, and she's bringing dynamic voic

In episode 139, Kestrel welcomes ethical fashion blogger Benita Robledo and Casey Dworkin, founder of sustainable footwear brand, Sylven New York, to the show. Benita + Casey together are the co-founders of The Better Shop, a new Brooklyn-based pop-up, open this November + December 2018. “We want people who are as interested in community and collaboration as we are, because we feel like - that’s how the sustainability movement is going to grow is if we foster community over competition.” - Benita Robledo, Cofounder of The Better Shop In this episode, Benita and Casey talk a lot about how they bonded over wanting to make the sustainable and ethical fashion conversation + shopping experience more accessible. They also share more on how they feel The Better Shop stands out from the crowd. For Benita + Casey, they want the shop to bring people in from the community, which is why they are hosting an array of activations to connect people with sustainable lifestyle activities. The below thoughts, ideas + organizat

In episode 138, Kestrel welcomes Shannon Lohr, the founder of Factory45, to the show. An online accelerator program, Factory45 takes sustainable fashion companies from idea to launch. Shannon’s newest project, Market45, is an ethical fashion marketplace, and it just made its debut in the e-commerce space. “Now we are living in a world where you know, the average consumer, they’ve at least heard sustainable fashion before - they’ve heard those words. And that’s really cool. It’s really great to see the growth and the recognition of what’s happening in the space, and remembering that there’s no such thing as perfectly sustainable - if you’re making something new, everything has an impact, but knowing that we’re getting better, the conversation is at least moving along, and we have these independent fashion brands that are trying to provide better options for consumers.” - Shannon Lohr, Founder of Factory45 + Market45 In this episode, Shannon gives us an update on where things are at with Factory45, and how muc

  In episode 137, Kestrel welcomes Pierre Nicolas Hurstel, the founder of REMODE, to the show. A conference that is meant to unite fashion brand leaders and industry-wide professionals to inspire solutions for growth and innovation, Remode’s inaugural event is taking place on November 13th and 14th, 2018 in Los Angeles. “The future for brands is sustainable, vertical, omnichannel, purposeful - and this future has started now actually, because thanks to the incredible innovations that are now available, it is now possible for brands to do that at the same time, and sometimes the same technology can help solve both sustainability and retail problems.” - Pierre Nicolas Hurstel, Founder of ReMode In this episode, Pierre shares more on his background and what led him to want to build ReMode. Additionally, he outlines a selection of the panels and speakers he’s looking forward to hosting at this year’s inaugural event. Given the cost of entrance to ReMode, Kestrel asks Pierre to share his thoughts on accessibility

In episode 136, Kestrel welcomes Sebastian Juhola, the creator of The Minimalist Wardrobe, to the show. A platform and popular Instagram, The Minimalist Wardrobe is meant to help people minimize their wardrobes, with a focus on ethical and sustainable values. “Minimalism brings instant results for your personal life. It has those practical effects right away, in addition to sustainability and the environment. It also helps you personally in tremendous ways.” - Sebastian Juhola, Founder of The Minimalist Wardrobe In this episode, Kestrel gets the chance to connect with Sebastian about what led him to start @theminimalistwardrobe Instagram. Surprisingly, he started it on a whim for fun, and at one point in 2017, left it dormant for several months. Now, the account is growing an average of 500 followers per day. Throughout this chat, Kestrel asks Sebastian to share his insight as to what storytelling + social media tactics are resonating with The Minimalist Wardrobe audience. Also, they discuss the potential th

In episode 135, Kestrel welcomes Lydia Wendt, the Founder + Creative Director of Cloth Foundry, as well as Ashley Denisov, the Design Lead at Cloth Foundry + founder of womenswear label 1x1, to the show. In collaboration with nature, Cloth Foundry creates textiles and apparel in California. “This is constantly the industry dilemma. Small brands are the most innovative and they don’t have access to the best fabric because they can’t support the volume that needs to be supported to create the orders for the mills to start up the mill and knit or weave the fabric.” - Lydia Wendt, Founder of Cloth Foundry In this episode, Lydia shares more on the origins of Cloth Foundry and how her collaboration with North Face for the Backyard Project inspired the early days of the company. She and Ashley dive into more of their thoughts on what a healthy wardrobe can look like, and how much it can impact our health in different ways. Additionally, Lydia and Ashley share their thoughts on the difficulties that young designers

In episode 134, Kestrel welcomes Kathleen Talbot, the VP of Operations + Sustainability at Reformation, to the show. A revolutionary lifestyle brand, Reformation offers thoughtfully produced clothing at an affordable price–a reminder that being green shouldn’t mean sacrificing style and quality. “If you’re confident and you’re motivated to really manage the impact of your product and really your product’s whole life cycle, you shouldn’t be afraid of growth. You should be really trying to maximize that because by growing our business, by reaching a bigger consumer base, we’re actually magnifying our impact." - Kathleen Talbot, VP of Operations + Sustainability at Reformation In this episode, Kathleen shares more on the origins of Reformation, and how they are an act + iterate company. For Reformation, they’re all about testing to try to reduce their impact - when they discover that something isn’t working and/or reducing their footprint, they shift right away and try something else. Kathleen also shares more

In episode 133, Kestrel welcomes Nasreen Sheikh, the founder of both Local Women’s Handicrafts and nonprofit LOCWOM, to the show. An international public speaker and anti-sweatshop advocate, Nasreen has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan and more. "I was working in this small room, thousands of t-shirts would be all around the room, the window would be so small so there would be not enough air, and really when you have a new t-shirt that just came from the other factory and it’s literally filled with so much chemicals - and one of the hardest things for me was not being able to breathe sometimes." - Nasreen Sheikh, Founder of Local Women’s Handicrafts In this episode, Nasreen shares stories of growing up in rural Nepal, and the fear that was connected to growing up as a woman. She tells a story about a woman being murdered in her village for being too outspoken, the numerous forced marriages that happened around her, and the challenges she faced paving herself a different route. Nasre

  In episode 132, Kestrel welcomes Renee Peters, the founder of Model4GreenLiving, to the show. A fashion model, lifelong animal lover and nature enthusiast, Renee’s interests have inspired Model4GreenLiving, which showcases practical tips and everyday actions that help encourage mindful, sustainable living. "Feminism and environmentalism are not two separate things - they go together." - Renee Peters, Founder of Model4GreenLiving In this episode, Renee shares her insider insight on the modeling industry, from its challenges to its perks to its abusive nature. She also talks about where she is now in her career - at 29 - and how she can already see that the end of her modeling days are in sight. Kestrel + Renee also talk about Project Drawdown, the book edited by Paul Hawken, that outlines solutions that reduce greenhouse gases by avoiding emissions and/or by sequestering carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. For Renee, she believes strongly that if you are an environmentalist, you should be a feminist. A