Circular Fashion: Designing for Equity & Environment

EcoJustice Radio

Just as we analyze the impacts of our food and energy use, equally important is understanding from where our clothes originate, their environmental and social impacts, and how to dispose of them in an environmentally responsible manner. According to a 2017 Ellen MacArthur Foundation report, every second on this planet, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothing and textiles is landfilled or burned. On this show we interview Karri Ann Frerichs, CEO and Founder of Circular Fashion LA [http://www.circularfashionla.com/] whose mission is to give new life and add more value to clothing and to help customers keep loving the clothes they already own for much longer. Circular fashion moves away from single use products and services that don’t reflect the true cost of an item; spoiler there is no such thing as a truly $10 t-shirt. Circular fashion is a system where the design of our clothing and personal belongings considers both the production of an item and the end of its life as of equal importance. It rethinks the linear “take-make-dispose” model and instead asks the industry to prioritize responsible materials, manufacturing, labor, use, and end-of-life for every garment. Karri Ann Frerichs has been a fashion industry entrepreneur and innovator since 2008, working in retail management, wholesale distribution, brand development and apparel manufacturing, with a focus on zero-waste, regenerative product development. She has taught the Business of Fashion to university students since 2010 and in her current position at Woodbury University, has also spearheaded the addition of Circular Economy curriculum since 2019. In 2020, she became an Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circular Economy Pioneer and mentor to the From Linear to Circular Programme, and also launched the Los Angeles Chapter of the Circular Economy Club. Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40. More Info: http://laincubator.org/startups Related Show: https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/the-steep-environmental-and-social-costs-of-the-fashion-industry/ Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/ Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio Guest: Kari Ann Frerichs CEO and Founder of Circular Fashion LA, A Social Purpose Corporation. Executive Producer: Jack Eidt Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats Board Operator: J.P. Morris