How to Spot Greenwashing: Insider Tips From a Slow Fashion Designer

Abbie: 00:00:00

Fifty-nine percent of green claims are misleading.

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That's a statistic in the UK.

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And I know, and 68 percent of

companies in the USA have confirmed

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that they have greenwashed.

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So when a company is saying,

"We're a green company", don't

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just take it at face value.

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You need to have a look on their website

and see how they're backing them up.

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Chryssius: Hey, Relovers,

welcome to Reloved Radio.

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Today, I have Abbie James on the show to

talk about greenwashing - what it is, why

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it's so bad, and what can we do about it?

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Abbie isn't your typical fashion designer.

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- she's combined her love for fabrics and

design with a commitment to environmental

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sustainability and as such, has

carved out a niche for herself in the

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world of luxury, sustainable fashion.

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Abbie challenges the fashion

industry's norms, and I'm totally

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on board with her vision of a

future where clothing is treasured,

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craftsmanship is revered, and ethical

practices prevail over cheap labour.

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Welcome to the show, Abbie!

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Abbie: Thank you very much for

having me and what an important topic

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we're going to talk about today.

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Chryssius: It is, and I want

to start with what greenwashing

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actually is, because I'll

tell you a really quick story.

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We were having a conversation in

our lunchroom the other day, and

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I had mentioned "greenwashing" and

nobody at the table knew what it was.

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And most of them actually thought that

it had something to do with laundry.

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So, can you give us, a bit of

a rundown of what greenwashing

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actually means in the fashion world?

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Abbie: Yes, I can.

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And it's absolutely rampant in the

fashion industry, but not only the

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fashion industry, every single industry

that, uh, we are dealing with at the

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moment is greenwashing because we

are, as a consumer, so focused on

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environmental issues and sustainability

that the companies are grabbing

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onto this and they realise that

"green" things, "eco" things sell.

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And so they are trying to make their

products as green as, or to seem as

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green as possible to us so we buy them.

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The problem is greenwashing is when

it isn't a sustainable product,

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but they're greenwashing us to make

us think that it's sustainable.

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People say, oh, certified green,

but they've certified it themselves.

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So you've got to be really

careful of all those words.

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But any word, sustainable, green,

eco, it's all just these buzzwords.

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And it's actually really hard for

consumers because there are people out

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there that are doing the right thing.

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And what words do they use?

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Because they don't want to

sound like they're greenwashing.

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But it's really confusing for consumers.

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Chryssius: So how can we spot when

a brand is trying to greenwash us?

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Are we just looking for those

words or what are we looking for?

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Abbie: You're looking

for No, you know what?

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You're not just looking for those words.

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You're looking for backup of those words.

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And it does mean as a consumer,

you need to research a little bit.

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So when a company is saying,

we're a green company, don't

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just take it as at face value.

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You need to have a look on their website

and see how they're backing them up.

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Because if someone, if a brand is

sustainable, is eco-friendly, they

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are going to back up their claims

because financially it's a really smart

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thing to do because it makes sense.

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But if it's not backed up,

then it's greenwashing.

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Another thing to do, and I was

given this tip from another podcast

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called Clotheshorse Podcast.

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I interviewed her on my website

and, if you type in the company

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into Google the company's name

and then the word "greenwashing",

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have a look at what comes up.

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And if they have had a lot of

greenwashing claims in the past,

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that'll come up and, you know,

it'll just give you some red flag.

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Chryssius: That's a great tip, I'm

definitely going to try that one.

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I hadn't even thought of

doing that, to be honest.

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Abbie: works.

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works.

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Chryssius: Can you give us some

examples of the tactics that brands use?

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You know, more of the sneaky tactics

they're using to make themselves seem

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more eco-friendly than they actually are?

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Abbie: Yeah.

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H& M at one point, they, you know,

they had their Conscious Collection.

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I'm pretty sure they don't

have that collection anymore.

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I'm not really into H& M, so I'm

not really following them, but they

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promote their collection as being

sustainable because, say they're using

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a natural fibre like linen or, you

know, recycled poly, whether that's

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sustainable or not is another story,

but they're looking at one particular

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thing that is a sustainable claim.

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But then if you look at

everything else they're doing.

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It is completely unsustainable.

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Say they've got a lot of micro

seasons, a lot, you know, maybe

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they have one season a week, which

is really normal for fast fashion.

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They have a huge amount of

pieces coming out each year.

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It is so cheap.

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So ethically the, uh, the manufacturers

and the makers are not getting a living

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wage, even though it is the minimum wage.

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It needs to be looked at holistically

rather than just looking at one piece.

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And so one piece of the puzzle does not

make a whole puzzle, but greenwashing

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makes you just focus on one single

piece and they hang on to that.

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And you as a consumer need to go,

hang on, that is saying it's linen,

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but, they're doing all these other

things that are really unsustainable.

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So are they actually sustainable?

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It's like I said before, it's all about

just delving just under the surface

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and you'll see what they're on about.

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Chryssius: So it's very similar

to reading the labels on your food

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packages and that sort of thing.

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Abbie: got it!

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That's right.

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Chryssius: Some great tips there.

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There's been quite a bit of negative press

in recent times, particularly around that

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Conscious Collection that they called it?

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Abbie: Yep.

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Yeah,

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Chryssius: And there are a

few others out there as well.

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There was one that I saw the other day

that was a very, very high end brand.

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And there was some type of fibre that

was apparently softer than cashmere

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and they were selling them for these

ridiculous prices just crazy crazy prices

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and the people in this one particular

place, I think it may have been Peru,

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weren't even getting paid at all.

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Abbie: Oh, I saw that.

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That was on, on some form of social media.

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I did see that.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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That's it.

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Look, and it's really confusing for

consumers as well because in the industry,

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we've got sustainable practices, but then

we also have ethical practices and ethics.

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are a little bit different to sustainable.

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So a sustainable brand will be,

"Oh, we're using sustainable fibres.

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We're using, um, organic

farming", but ethics are not

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about the sustainable fibres.

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It's more about the people and the animals

that, that are being either misused or,

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you know, used in the, in the industry.

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So that's a really confusing thing

as well, because personally, I would

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love to see ethics and sustainability

be as I said before, holistic.

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I like things to be holistic,

but at the moment it's not.

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So you think about, okay, there is,

I'm not going to name names, but

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there is a particular Australian

brand that is incredibly popular

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that does vegan handbags and they

are calling themselves sustainable

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because they don't use animal products.

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But - and ethical of course - but they are

using virgin plastic instead of leather.

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So it's really, I feel misleading because

virgin plastic isn't very sustainable.

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Chryssius: It's very confusing.

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There's so much noise out there.

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And with all that, it makes it really

hard for people to know if they're

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making a, sustainable fashion choice.

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So do you have any tips there?

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Obviously doing the research,

is there anything else?

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Abbie: It's really important

to know what your values are.

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Some people value, it is very

important that ethics around animal

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cruelty and not using leather or

fur, that's really important to them.

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For other people, it

is very environmental.

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Say, I mean, I'm, I'm a vegetarian, but

I'm a vegetarian for different reasons

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to my daughter who's also a vegetarian,

I'm for environmental reasons, she's

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for ethical reasons for animals.

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So that just really hone in on what

your values are and what you're

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looking for in sustainability

because everyone is different.

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It's not a "one-size-fits-all" and then

look into the brands that you're wanting

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to purchase and really, really be aware

that especially fast fashion brands, they

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have marketing companies working for them

that know so much about human nature.

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They know what drives us.

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They know everything about psychology.

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They know how to manipulate you SO WELL.

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So if you know this and you have the

knowledge, knowledge is power when it

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comes to greenwashing and to sustainable

fashion, just know that you could be

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being greenwashed and look into it.

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And, if it is fast fashion and they're

saying they're sustainable, you are being

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greenwashed because there is no way the

fast fashion model could be sustainable

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in any way, shape or form because you

can't make that many items so cheaply

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and it be or sustainable or ethical.

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Chryssius: Yeah, that's right.

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And exactly as you mentioned

these micro seasons, it's crazy.

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There's no way that

that can be sustainable.

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There's just no way.

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Abbie: No, and, and look it is the way we

have been going with, you know, just the

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way we are in general as a community.

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I know when I had my boutique, when you

had something new, people were interested.

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As soon as something was a week

old, they were not interested.

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So I get why fast fashion is, really

doing a lot of micro seasons every

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single year, but as a community and as a

consumer, we need to rethink what we want

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in fashion and it's up to us to dictate

that you know what we're not going to buy

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into all of these micro seasons, we're not

going to buy into this over-consumerism

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and we are going to shop our wardrobe

a lot more than shopping these fast

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fashion chains and and I'm honing in

on the fast fashion chains because

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they're the ones that are doing the main

greenwashing because they have the money

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to really hone into our psychology.

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Chryssius: And it becomes a bit

of a vicious circle as well.

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You know, they're putting it out there.

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We're buying it, which means that they're

going there, you know, they're going to

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create more and we're going to buy more.

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So you're right.

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It

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Abbie: That's exactly

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Chryssius: Yeah.

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At a, at a community level

where we have to say, "Does this

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really align with my values?

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Is this what I want?"

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Yeah.

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Abbie: And, and it's really important to

know as a consumer, you have the power.

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And we think these fast

fashion giants have the power.

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They're putting the

clothes into the shops.

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They're telling us, as far as, you

know, we may think, they're telling

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us what is fashionable, what's on

trend, what colours we need to buy.

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But we need to take the power back

because you are voting with your dollar.

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And every time you spend something,

at a shop, spend your money,

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you are condoning the practices

of that shop of that company.

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And trust me, the people that

own fast fashion companies do not

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care a fig about fashion at all.

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They are just in it for the money,

but they have such amazing marketers

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working for them that just are kind

of, I'm going to say brainwashing us to

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think that we really need them to feel

whole, to feel okay, to be accepted.

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Chryssius: Yep.

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And I mean, brainwashing and greenwashing.

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Abbie: It's so similar, you could kind

of confuse the words, couldn't you?

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Chryssius: How big of a deal

is transparency when it comes

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to fighting greenwashing,

particularly in the fashion space?

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Abbie: Yeah, transparency is everything.

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I've got a collection coming

out next month, in April.

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And I'm focusing on being transparent

as possible to give my customer and my

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community the respect that they deserve

to actually know exactly what is going

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into their garment, even down to where

I purchased the thread from, where

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the fabric comes from, the company.

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People don't like to be transparent

because they're also worried

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about people stealing, you know.

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their manufacturers and things like that.

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But I mean, seriously,

we're all in this together.

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And you know, I lift other designers up.

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I'm not in competition with them.

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So I'm happy to help someone

be as sustainable as they can

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be if they're wanting to do

the same thing that I'm doing.

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So yeah, transparency is really rewarded.

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I feel if there's another brand out

there that's thinking about being more

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transparent and they're listening to

your podcast, then I say go for it and

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if you are a consumer and you see a

brand being transparent, that's being

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really vulnerable and you should put a

lot of respect into that brand because

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they're making themselves really

vulnerable, they're making themselves

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really open and That is to be respected.

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So yeah, transparency is key because

what you're doing is putting the

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onus back onto the consumer to say,

this is everything that my brand is.

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Now you choose if it

aligns with your values.

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Chryssius: When we're talking about

transparency are there any, like, seals

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of approval or certifications that we

as consumers can trust, that's going to

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show that a brand is actually, walking

the talk when it comes to sustainability?

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Abbie: Yeah.

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Look, It's, I mean, there are some

certifications, but it's very, very

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hard for a small brand to get them.

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And so the small brands are actually

leading the way with transparency and

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with sustainability because they are

the ones that are able to say deadstock

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fabric, which is a remnant fabric, which,

you know, it still can be a little bit

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hazy whether it's authentic dead stock.

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That is another podcast for you

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But the small brands are actually

leading the way in sustainability,

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which is really really exciting.

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So you're not going to see those small

brands get the certifications because

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it's a lot of money, but it's also

easier to delve into the small brands

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and see where they're coming from.

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And because it's written everywhere on

their website, because they're celebrating

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this sustainability that they're doing.

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But you've got B Corp certifications.

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There are some brands,

but they are bigger.

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So I feel if you've got a B-Corp

cert, then, you know, that is

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showing a lot of integrity.

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I mean, you've got something like

the BCI, which is their Better Cotton

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Initiative; that is a certification, but

I kind of take it with a grain of salt.

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Target and a lot of fast fashion brands

do get cotton from BCI and I have

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spoken to manufacturers of cotton who

say it's a bit of a load of hogwash

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but I'm not educated in it so I'm

not really going to go into that.

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You've got Fairtrade certifications,

you've got the GOTS which is the Global

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Organic Textile you know so that means 70

percent of the fibre has to be organic.

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You've got the Ecotex which certifies

against harmful substances, so it doesn't

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mean it's natural, it doesn't mean it's

not synthetic, but that is, I suppose,

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better than not, if that makes sense.

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Chryssius: So how does all the

greenwashing affect the good guys?

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So the brands that are out there

genuinely trying to make a difference

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with their sustainable fashion,

how are they being affected by

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greenwashing by the bigger brands?

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Abbie: Oh that is such a good

conversation, because it makes it really,

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really hard for us, because people don't

know if they're being greenwashed or not.

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And so some people just assume they're

being greenwashed and they're just hearing

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these buzzwords over and over again.

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"Sustainability", "conscious" - I

mean no one wants to use the word

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"conscious" anymore because of

H&M and how they overused it.

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Yeah, and look Fifty-nine percent

of green claims are misleading.

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That, that's a statistic

in the, in, in the UK.

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And I know, and 68 percent of

companies in the USA have confirmed

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that they have greenwashed.

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Chryssius: They've admitted it.

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Abbie: Yeah, they've admitted it.

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Yeah.

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So maybe, you know, without, I

don't know how they've admitted that

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without, you know, going to court.

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But, um, what I'm saying is everyone

is greenwashing the consumers.

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And so the consumers are

just so freaking wary now.

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And I put a poll out on

my Instagram community.

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And the, one of the number one things

that they are concerned about in the

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sustainable fashion arena is how do they

know if they're being greenwashed or not?

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And, and so, yeah, it does really

affect us as a smaller, sustainable

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brand, because, how do people

know if we're telling the truth?

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If they don't listen to a podcast like

yours, where we say, you know what,

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just delve into it a bit more, do that.

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They just, they don't know.

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So yeah, it has really affected

us, but you know what we're just...

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that's what my job is.

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I've got a really strong

community on social media.

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I've got an extra strong

community in my newsletter.

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And we talk about this all the time.

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And so being part of a community like that

really helps just knowing who to trust.

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Chryssius: From what you're saying,

it's just seems like there's two camps

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: 00:19:46

as consumers, because on one end of the

scale, it at face value that someone is

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: 00:19:51

saying that their product is sustainable.

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: 00:19:53

So, you know, you're believing it, but

then end of the scale as you said, people

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: 00:19:57

don't know whether or not to believe,

you know, an honest claim, so...

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: 00:20:01

So confusing.

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: 00:20:03

Abbie: Yeah, and look, it's, it's like

that old saying ignorance is bliss...

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: 00:20:07

until it's not.

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: 00:20:09

Wouldn't it be so nice to just believe

everything everyone was saying?

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: 00:20:13

Chryssius: be nice.

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: 00:20:14

Abbie: so simple, but it's not like that.

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: 00:20:16

You have the power as the consumer,

like I said, before, to vote with

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: 00:20:21

your dollar and that's a huge power.

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: 00:20:25

And it's something that

you shouldn't take lightly.

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: 00:20:28

Chryssius: Hmm.

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: 00:20:29

Absolutely.

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: 00:20:31

And my next question was actually

going to be, is there anything that

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: 00:20:34

we can do as consumers to make brands

own up to their greenwashing habits?

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: 00:20:39

And as you said, voting with

your dollars is a big one.

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: 00:20:43

Is there anything else

that you'd add to that?

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: 00:20:45

Abbie: Yeah.

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: 00:20:46

Ask questions.

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: 00:20:47

When I had my boutique and it's

in quite a, an alternative area, it

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: 00:20:53

was on Brunswick street in Fitzroy.

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: 00:20:55

And it's where I launched

the Abbie James brand.

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: 00:20:57

And now the Abbie James brand is online.

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: 00:20:59

I had so many people coming up to me

and asking me, "How am I sustainable?"

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: 00:21:05

And they were putting me to the

test and they were just asking a

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: 00:21:09

lot of hard questions, which I had

so much respect for those people.

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: 00:21:14

Asking questions, asking the awkward

questions because it can be really hard

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: 00:21:19

to ask those questions, but ask shop

owners because that gets passed on to

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: 00:21:24

brands, ask brands, send them emails,

especially if it's a smaller brand.

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: 00:21:29

Ask them, are you having

this made locally?

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: 00:21:32

There's a lot of questions

that you can ask.

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: 00:21:35

Have a voice.

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: 00:21:36

Speak out against greenwashing.

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: 00:21:38

Tell people about it.

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: 00:21:39

Say, "Hey, they said

this, but it wasn't true.

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: 00:21:45

I think you should know about this."

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: 00:21:47

And then more people know about it.

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: 00:21:50

Chryssius: What about for your brand?

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: 00:21:53

Have you faced any bumps in the

road when you've tried to push

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: 00:21:57

back against the greenwashing?

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: 00:21:59

Abbie: I have faced bumps in the road

in regards to manufacturing and when I

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: 00:22:07

was, so my first collection was designed

during lockdown and I had a local

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: 00:22:14

manufacturer lined up in Sydney, I'm in

Melbourne, and they went out of business.

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: 00:22:21

They had a family member pass away

from COVID and they just stopped, they

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: 00:22:25

just closed their, their business.

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: 00:22:27

And so I was like, I put

so much work into this.

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: 00:22:30

It's kind of like, I'm going to stop

or I have to pivot really quickly.

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: 00:22:35

And so with the help of another

company just to give me,

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: 00:22:39

contacts, I had it made overseas.

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: 00:22:42

Now I didn't know as much as I do now.

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: 00:22:45

And I'm not getting my next

collection made overseas.

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: 00:22:48

It's from lovely, lovely makers

who are self employed in Melbourne.

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: 00:22:53

But I used a certified company.

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: 00:22:56

I used a certified factory.

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: 00:22:57

They paid, you know, the minimum wage.

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: 00:22:59

They did everything correctly.

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: 00:23:01

But as a designer, that is still,

not a very sustainable option that

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: 00:23:10

I chose and I'll admit that and

I love to admit that because it

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: 00:23:14

shows that companies can change.

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: 00:23:16

Because the minimum wage isn't a living

wage and it's been proven that it's not

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: 00:23:22

over, you know overseas And so a brand

can be, you know told we've got these

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: 00:23:28

certifications, we've got this, we've

got that and they can go into this with

365

: 00:23:34

their kind of blinkers on thinking they're

doing the right thing, but it's up to the

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: 00:23:39

brand to really do their research, too.

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: 00:23:43

You know, we, we might think that fabric

made in Bali is good because it's done

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: 00:23:50

by local, communities, but there is a

river in Bali and just off the top of my

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: 00:23:55

head, I can't remember the name of it,

but I wrote a blog piece on it and it

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: 00:23:59

is the most polluted river in the world.

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: 00:24:01

And it is because of the fashion

industry and the textile industry.

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: 00:24:05

So these things brands don't know, and

they're trying thing, but as a consumer

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: 00:24:11

you need to educate yourself and as a

brand you need to also educate yourself

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: 00:24:17

and go deeper than what you're being told.

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: 00:24:18

Chryssius: Yeah, that is such good advice.

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: 00:24:21

And I will link that in the show

notes as well for you, Abbie.

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: 00:24:35

Do you have any hints about what is

coming up next in the fashion world?

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: 00:24:39

Do you think things are going

to get better or worse when

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: 00:24:41

it comes to greenwashing?

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: 00:24:42

Abbie: That's such a good question.

381

: 00:24:44

Things are getting better in

the fashion industry in general.

382

: 00:24:48

As far as greenwashing goes, that's a

really tough one because in my arena,

383

: 00:24:54

I feel it's getting better because

people are educating themselves,

384

: 00:24:58

but I feel there are a lot of people

who don't have it on their radar.

385

: 00:25:04

who are just believing what

these companies are saying.

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: 00:25:08

So it's not on their radar.

387

: 00:25:10

So you know what?

388

: 00:25:12

I think it can only get better,

but it really depends on if

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: 00:25:18

people are interested enough.

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: 00:25:20

Chryssius: Yeah.

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: 00:25:21

And do you think that it

is a generational thing?

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: 00:25:24

Abbie: Well...

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: 00:25:25

generational because the older

generations are not as interested

394

: 00:25:30

as the younger generations.

395

: 00:25:32

That would definitely say that the

future is looking a lot better because

396

: 00:25:37

the 20s, 30 year olds are definitely a

lot more interested and a lot more aware

397

: 00:25:43

of sustainable fashion and they are

making us in the industry accountable.

398

: 00:25:49

Whereas the 60 plus men and

women statistically, aren't,

399

: 00:25:55

it's not on their radar as much.

400

: 00:25:57

So yeah, generational,

that's a huge thing.

401

: 00:26:00

Definitely.

402

: 00:26:01

Chryssius: There's going to be people

that will listen to this and they're

403

: 00:26:04

going to want to know more, naturally.

404

: 00:26:07

So do you have any recommendations

for books or documentaries, websites

405

: 00:26:10

or blog posts, that sort of thing?

406

: 00:26:12

Abbie: Yeah, definitely.

407

: 00:26:13

You can look at my blog on my website.

408

: 00:26:16

Books are a huge thing for me.

409

: 00:26:19

I actually have a few here with

me, next to me because I wanted to

410

: 00:26:23

share what I personally have read.

411

: 00:26:25

The most amazing book which is

about colonialism and climate change

412

: 00:26:31

and consumerism is "Consumed".

413

: 00:26:34

It's by Aja Barber.

414

: 00:26:36

Amazing, amazing book, but I

really like "The Psychology of

415

: 00:26:39

Fashion" as well by Carolyn Mair.

416

: 00:26:41

I do feel that may be

more industry related.

417

: 00:26:44

I think that's something

that you would love to read.

418

: 00:26:46

"How to Break Up with Fast

Fashion" by Lauren Bravo is

419

: 00:26:49

a really great one as well.

420

: 00:26:51

And "To Die For" by Lucy Siegle.

421

: 00:26:53

That's a really good one.

422

: 00:26:55

"Is fashion wearing out the world?"

423

: 00:26:57

There are a lot of great books.

424

: 00:26:58

There's some amazing

documentaries as well.

425

: 00:27:02

Oh, what was that one?

426

: 00:27:04

I watched one about the denim industry.

427

: 00:27:07

Can I give it to you and you

put it in the show notes?

428

: 00:27:11

Yeah.

429

: 00:27:11

Look, I really feel it really helps

if you are on social media and

430

: 00:27:17

all credit to you if you're not.

431

: 00:27:19

But if you are on social media, find

communities that are aligned with your

432

: 00:27:25

values that build you up rather than

make you feel less than you should.

433

: 00:27:32

There are a lot of influencers now

that are promoting sustainable fashion

434

: 00:27:37

but promoting it in a way where it's,

slow fashion, vintage fashion, shop in

435

: 00:27:43

your closet and really there's a lot

of stylists out there that are helping

436

: 00:27:47

people style clothes they already have.

437

: 00:27:51

Like the old days, you know, when you had

a wedding maybe you look what's in your

438

: 00:27:55

wardrobe rather than going to a shop.

439

: 00:27:57

So find a community.

440

: 00:27:59

I have a really strong community

on my Instagram and Facebook and

441

: 00:28:06

we really connect with each other

away from that with my newsletter.

442

: 00:28:09

I, get people emailing me and asking

me for advice, and then I answer it.

443

: 00:28:15

And so finding people that you trust

and finding your community because

444

: 00:28:19

they will keep it on your radar.

445

: 00:28:21

Chryssius: I love that.

446

: 00:28:22

Abbie: Yeah.

447

: 00:28:23

Chryssius: What's your top piece of advice

for anyone who wants to shop ethically

448

: 00:28:28

and avoid falling for greenwashing?

449

: 00:28:31

Abbie: Okay, so my top advice

is it is not sustainable to

450

: 00:28:37

overshop sustainable products.

451

: 00:28:39

Just remember that first.

452

: 00:28:40

I'm talking about that on my social

media this week, because that's something

453

: 00:28:45

that I did when I first discovered

sustainability back in the day.

454

: 00:28:50

And really know your values and know

that your worth is not dictated by

455

: 00:28:58

trends, by what other people are wearing.

456

: 00:29:01

You are an individual and you don't need

whatever those fast fashion companies

457

: 00:29:10

are trying to tell you you need.

458

: 00:29:13

You don't need that to be a whole person.

459

: 00:29:17

So, just do your education but know that

you are enough without buying new clothes.

460

: 00:29:26

Chryssius: I need to write

that on a post it note stick it

461

: 00:29:28

everywhere just as a reminder!

462

: 00:29:31

Abbie: See, I'm the fashion designer that

tells people to stop buying clothing.

463

: 00:29:35

I don't, I don't know if

anyone else is doing that.

464

: 00:29:39

And, and I know it sounds really odd

to be doing that, but I know I'm going

465

: 00:29:44

to sell enough clothing, even when

I'm telling people to just hold off on

466

: 00:29:50

all of those new purchases, because so

many people are still buying clothes.

467

: 00:29:56

But I just remember the old days when your

grandparents or your great grandparents

468

: 00:30:01

and they bought a jacket and that jacket

was super, super special and they were

469

: 00:30:05

going to keep that jacket for years and

years and years to come, and they were

470

: 00:30:08

going to hand it down to their children

and it was going to be generational.

471

: 00:30:13

That jacket had a story.

472

: 00:30:15

Let our clothes live long

enough to tell stories.

473

: 00:30:20

Chryssius: Yes, yes, I

love stories about clothes.

474

: 00:30:24

Hence the podcast!

475

: 00:30:25

Abbie: Yes, I know, that's right.

476

: 00:30:27

Chryssius: I love it.

477

: 00:30:28

So just before we go, do you have a

Best Bargain Brag you can share with us?

478

: 00:30:32

Abbie: Well, it's a story, and

I don't know if this breaks the

479

: 00:30:38

rules because I didn't buy it.

480

: 00:30:41

But my mum owned a maxi

skirt that was a kilt.

481

: 00:30:46

It was a traditional kilt but it goes

all the way to your ankles and she

482

: 00:30:50

kept it and she kept all of our kilts.

483

: 00:30:52

We, we were, we went to church, my dad was

a minister so we dressed up a lot and to

484

: 00:30:58

keep up with appearances, but this kilt

I discovered last year in a box and I've

485

: 00:31:06

been wearing it a lot and styling it.

486

: 00:31:09

And I'm getting a lot

of inspiration about it.

487

: 00:31:13

And this kilt is amazing.

488

: 00:31:15

It has such a story for me

and I'm holding onto it.

489

: 00:31:20

So I'm classing it as secondhand, because

yes, it is from my Mum, but It was free.

490

: 00:31:25

Chryssius: It absolutely is.

491

: 00:31:26

Yeah, that's perfect.

492

: 00:31:30

It's got history,

493

: 00:31:31

Abbie: yeah, yeah, I have a lot

of, a lot of clothes that have

494

: 00:31:34

history and I love them all.

495

: 00:31:36

Chryssius: Well, I can't wait to

see it, and for anyone else who

496

: 00:31:39

wants to see it, I will pop it up

on our Reloved Radio highlights

497

: 00:31:44

and you'll be able to see it there.

498

: 00:31:45

Lovely.

499

: 00:31:46

And also quite important, how

can people get in touch with you?

500

: 00:31:50

Abbie: Well, there's two ways.

501

: 00:31:51

You can get onto social media,

you can get onto Instagram

502

: 00:31:56

and, it's @abbiejames.official.

503

: 00:31:58

Or you can jump onto my

newsletter community because

504

: 00:32:02

that is where I really dive deep.

505

: 00:32:06

And you know what, I'm quite honest,

I'm quite raw, I'm very very unfiltered

506

: 00:32:11

there, and that's on my website, which

I'm sure you'll have in the show notes.

507

: 00:32:16

It's abbie-james.com.

508

: 00:32:17

Remember my name is spelt A

double B I E, not like the church.

509

: 00:32:21

Chryssius: Thank you.

510

: 00:32:21

That's excellent.

511

: 00:32:22

And I do have that all linked

for you in the show notes.

512

: 00:32:26

Thank so much!

513

: 00:32:28

Abbie: Thank you.

514

: 00:32:29

It's been such a pleasure chatting to

you, and I just want to say thank you

515

: 00:32:35

so much for bringing this subject to

light because the more the merrier.

516

: 00:32:41

I think the more podcasts that

are championing slow fashion,

517

: 00:32:47

sustainable fashion, the better.

518

: 00:32:49

So well done.

519

: 00:32:50

You are being a part of

the change for better.