00:00Dr. Brown, why is it so important to embed sustainability within you know the fashion
00:12and design curriculum for this next generation of you know designers? I think what's important
00:18about all the conversation today is that we are educating and preparing the next generation of
00:27the leaders of all these companies and all these practices and we open the conversation but they
00:37come to the table these young people today really have such a keen awareness it's it's it's a
00:45different it's a different moment in history I mean the I I don't know that it's fair to say
00:52it's been slow because it's a process you know you see it in various ways that people have to
00:58adjust their lives so what gives me hope is that we will take the enthusiasm and the motivation and
01:06the interest that these young people have and we will help them to understand the the various levels
01:15of business that we talked about earlier I mean it really does have to be all part of a whole and
01:21it's got to be in our curriculum and it's got to be touching on both design and business and the
01:28environment and the impact and the overall socio-cultural effect of design and fashion.
01:36um so we've talked about you know individuals and the power at the community levels sad how um how do
01:45you motivate big companies with super large platforms to get involved in this conversation around
01:51sustainability I also tell companies a lot that whether you want to change or not you have to
01:57you have to because the reality of the situation is climate change is occurring and so there is the
02:04ability to prepare in advance and to help communities particularly communities of color all across the
02:11world and prevent them from suffering immense loss and damage there is also a world in which we act
02:18retroactively we let people die we let land be lost we see people suffer and we are right now at a point
02:28where we're able to make those choices what world do we want to enter and so I think that companies
02:34have a a need to take action now as well as the fact that you know I think policies are already being implemented
02:43they're already on the table whether it be the fashion act or fabric act here in the United States
02:48or the new sustainability regulations that are popping up in Europe companies are going to have to change
02:53and so there either is the reality that they can do it in advance and be seen as a leader or be struggling
02:59to catch up and become irrelevant to the new consumer dynamics and the new reality of our planet that we're facing
03:06right now we also know you know speaking of climate change that sustainability and climate change
03:12are linked that's you know a fact sometimes these communities are not speaking with one another
03:19how can we you know mentor these separate communities to come together to really forge you know the way forward
03:28I think the key and the name of the game here is intersectionality it is understanding that each of these things
03:34don't exist in silos right I think there's the reality that there are all these inputs into fashion that directly impact
03:41our climate whether that be land use whether that be agriculture as well as the outputs of the fashion industry
03:48including the physical waste of the whole system as well as the carbon outputs etc that we that we see so in many ways I think
03:56that when we're talking about fashion we're also having a conversation about climate it's just we have been taught
04:03to think of these things as separate and that you know I think a climate activist versus a fashion activist to me
04:10what's the difference probably just the outfits and so I think that as we have these conversations about how they're related you know
04:19it's the reality that the fashion industry is expected to grow by about 63% by 2030 now for a company that sounds great
04:30however for a global reality of the climate crisis where the IPCC the intergovernmental panel on climate change
04:37tells us that we need to reduce our emissions in half in that same timeframe now you have a contradiction now you have a conversation
04:45and now you have a need for these companies to bring real solutions to the table so as to not compromise the reality of the planet that we're living in
04:57going off of that how has you know education kind of evolved and changed in your years working with you know in the fashion sector
05:07I keep saying you shouldn't make any decisions anywhere without a 20 something in the rope
05:12because I really do think the thought process is different the recognition the awareness and we've started a whole new area that we call bio design where you have the scientists and the designers
05:24and what for the most part what they're doing is they're developing new and natural kinds of textiles
05:32in the beauty and also you know the food world there's been a call for so much transparency I don't think fashion has really caught up
05:41caught up so much yet how do you you know empower people to ask hard questions about the clothes they're wearing or what they're consuming and purchasing you know as a activist and a mentor
05:55I think that you know when it comes to the industries of food or beauty it's something that I think we more directly understand as I'm putting this on my body I'm putting this in my body and so there's this inherent desire to be more aware about
06:09what chemicals those things are composed of clothes are the same thing and so when we are having these conversations in the fashion industry I think it's really important that we recognize that paradigm and when we're talking about mentorship I think that it's so essential to have sort of intergenerational dialogues because I think that there's so much wisdom that we stand to gain from listening to older generations
06:35you know I think the whole notion of mentoring and the mindset of mentoring I mean what is it it's a collaboration it's not an instruction you know it's a respectful relationship where everybody learns a little something from each other and you know the whole notion of teamwork you see it in successful businesses we try and develop that in the academic models because that's where we're what we're sending
07:04students out into but you know I think the there are two things one I think the whole collaboration the team the listening respectfully and and incorporating those ideas into what we put out as reflective of the times we live in and what we think will be successful but the other thing I think I would like to say is the the whole notion of the speed with which these things can happen
07:34I think back you know if you think back you know if you think back you know if you think back you know the whole farm to table the whole natural ingredients in food and not having additives if you think back to beauty and the packaging and the ingredients these things all took time and we're talking about them now as if you know that that it's just part of the norm I think the same thing is happening with fashion I think the whole awareness of the production the use of textile the use of water the use of water
08:04dyes all of those things that are important to young people are happening and they're happening at the pace that they can that we can produce something for that informed empowered consumer to purchase but it's all changing you know I think if we have this conversation you ask somebody asked before about five years from now I think it's going to be a different conversation I have to ask you both what makes you optimistic about the future of fashion
08:34I think I'm someone who approaches these issues knowing that they can change because they have to but because I know that we can make them change you know just the week before last week I was with thousands of climate strikers marching through New York taking over the Brooklyn Bridge and demanding larger substantial structural changes and when I see that type of energy and and that type of tenacity from people to actually get out in the streets and organize and mobilize and mobilize
09:04I know change I know change can happen I know change can happen I know change is coming and we're here to deliver it and every single institution whether it is a company a government a university I think they're all starting to understand and some have understood for a long time the need and ability that an influence that they have and so that's what gives me hope is knowing that people are already on it and change is on the way
