Podcast: Fashion and Beauty

83: Rebel Nell – One of No Other Kind

This episode has two parts – in part one, we talk with Amy Peterson, the co-founder of Rebel Nell about her inspiration and motivation to start Rebel Nell. While living next to a homeless shelter in Detroit, MI, she got to learn up-close the women who lived there and their challenges. One day out on a jog she finds a piece of graffiti that she envisioned could be repurposed into meaningful wearable art. A fusion of these two ideas gave birth to Rebel Nell. Amy with her co-founder Diana Roginson started Rebel Nell in 2013 with the mission to provide employment, equitable opportunity, and wraparound support for women with barriers to employment. They seek to embolden women, to embrace their infinite strength, and to define their own future.

They partner with local organizations to seek out women who have struggled to find and retain employment. Their goal is to help the women move from a life of dependence to one of self-reliance, overcoming barriers to employment through the fruits of their own labor. Rebel Nell’s product line starts with repurposing graffiti, after it has fallen off the walls.

These are women who when hired have no background in jewelry become creative designers who make incredibly intricate and unique piece each one more beautiful than the next. In the part two we chat with one such woman – Ethel Rucker, Production Lead at Rebel Nell.

In addition to on-the-job training and guidance on how to make jewelry, Rebel Nell also provides them with life management, financial training and business education to make sure they have the confidence and knowledge that will enable them to leave homelessness/dependence behind permanently and move forward as strong independent women. Listen to this powerful story in this episode.

https://www.rebelnell.com/
To hire Ethel Rucker for your next photoshoot contact her via her website https://harteclectic.com/

https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

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Design and Innovation
83: Rebel Nell - One of No Other Kind
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78: Thaely – Don’t Just Do It – Do It Right

We talk with Ashay Bhave, founder of Thaely, who as a middle-schooler dreamt of becoming a sneaker designer. His journey begins at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, where disenchanted within the first year, he returned back to Dubai to pursue a degree in business at Amity University. As a designer Ashay wanted to solve problems – the problem of plastic grocery bag waste – we consume 3 trillion of them annually. After some near fires in his kitchen, he developed a product Thaely Tex. Thaely is made with 100% recycled raw materials. Each sneaker uses ThaelyTex that’s made using 10 upcycled waste plastic bags. ThaelyTex is made in collaboration with TrioTap Technologies in Gurugram, India. The waste plastic bags are collected from housing complexes, offices, and stores from in and around Gurugram, India. The lining is made with rPET (Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate is a fabric made from recycling waste PET Plastic Bottles) using 12 Recycled waste plastic bottles. With their partnership with The Shoe Laundry, the sneakers are either refurbished or recycled. Each pair is also packaged in a reusable rPET. Every component of the shoe and its process is looked into great detail to achieve Thaely’s sustainability goals. Come along and learn more in this episode.

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Design and Innovation
78: Thaely - Don’t Just Do It - Do It Right
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56: Jeffrey Hollender – Seventh Generation

Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder and Board Chair of the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), which through its national member network represents more than 250,000 businesses in a wide range of industries. He was co-founder and CEO of Seventh Generation, which he built into a leading natural product brand known for its authenticity, transparency, and progressive business practices.

As an early thinker and adopter of sustainable practices, Jeffrey brought to market several green products. He talks about how and why is a living wage important. He talks about the impact of a living wage on an individual and societal level – both emotionally and financially. What sustainability means is far more than just doing no harm – we have to be a net positive. Do more good through regenerative practices. AT ASBC, he leads and lobbies for policy changes in these issues which he is passionate about. Listen now only on Mindful Businesses.

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Fashion and Beauty
Fashion and Beauty
56: Jeffrey Hollender - Seventh Generation
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53: The Grandad Company – Unisex Circular Street Clothing

Hand-made in The Grandad Company’s London home studio; The Grandad Company is a closed-loop streetwear brand whose mission is to breathe life into reclaimed vintage menswear for a new unisex generation. An upcycling brand, with being environmentally conscious at its core. “Wear your grandads’ clothes!” Don’t let your grandads’ clothes go in the bin!” – says Jess Grech, the founder of The Grandad Company. Hear about her sustainable passion to create an upcycled unisex street clothing brand – made one piece at a time.

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Design and Innovation
53: The Grandad Company - Unisex Circular Street Clothing
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51: Clean and Proud – Creating Sustainable Fashion from Plastic Waste

Clean & Proud kicks off in 2018, when two environment and ecology enthusiasts George Berthon and Beatrice Engström, living in Malawi sit together to once again talk about the problem of plastic waste littering the streets and the nature of this country they love so much. It was that evening that they decided to act against pollution. With a small amount of cash they had on hand and the help of a partially successful crowdfunding campaign, Beatrice and George set out to create machines to recycle all that plastic polluting Malawi. But they fail to operate these machines to their full potential. It was at this moment that they came across this simple and effective technique on the internet to heat-seal single-use plastic waste (such as packaging and plastic bags) together to create a durable and practical material. Since then, Clean & Proud has strived to create and produce wonderful eco-friendly and ethical products, handmade with always a little African touch to warm the hearts.

Learn more about their passion for bringing environmental change and their love for the East African nation, Malawi.

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Africa
Africa
51: Clean and Proud - Creating Sustainable Fashion from Plastic Waste
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44: Ahimsa – Quality Vegan Boots

Gabriel Silva’s dream of becoming a pilot was lost when he was diagnosed with type II diabetes, he decided to change his lifestyle and diet. Introspection led him to his spiritual roots which are based on one simple principle – “do no harm”. He apprenticed in his father’s shoe factory to learn the trade. He launched Ahimsa in 2013. In 2014, only 6 months they took a very big step. They opened the doors to their own factory. He felt uncomfortable that his products were being made by a third party who did not fully share his beliefs. To this day, it remains the only 100% vegan shoe factory in the world.

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Design and Innovation
44: Ahimsa - Quality Vegan Boots
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38: The Unscented Company – Effective Unscented Home and Body Care

Anie Rouleau – Founding CEO of The Unscented Company, is a Montrealer, who is guided by the belief that a business’ social values are no obstacle to its profitability and financial viability. Her vision is driven by a desire to encourage new consumer habits for more conscious living and to be an active participant in the global initiative to ban single-use plastic and reduce our collective ecological footprint. This B – Corp certified business is passionate about changing consumer habits – to reduce plastic use in everyday life. Listen to what she has to say in our episode.

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Fashion and Beauty
Fashion and Beauty
38: The Unscented Company - Effective Unscented Home and Body Care
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37: Textile Exchange – Creating Material Change

Being a fifth generation cotton farmer gave LaRhea Pepper the knowledge, grit and passion to farm the way her granddaddy had taught her. She set out to to create the non-profit Textile Exchange to build a community that can collectively accomplish what no individual or company can do alone.

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Agriculture & Farming
Agriculture & Farming
37: Textile Exchange - Creating Material Change
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32: Desserto – Vegan Cactus Leather.

How a chance meeting in Taipei, Taiwan brings birthday twins together in their home country of Mexico, to create vegan leather. We talk to co-founders Adrian Lopez and Marte Cazarez of Desserto, where they create a highly sustainable plant-based vegan-leather made from cactus, with its characteristic softness to touch and yet a great performer in a wide variety of applications, complying with the most rigorous quality and environmental standards.

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Fashion and Beauty
Fashion and Beauty
32: Desserto - Vegan Cactus Leather.
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24: Inai – Buy With Love

We talk to Shruti Ashok, the founder of Inai. Inai is a creative space, where timeless leather pieces are crafted using upcycled Italian leathers, handmade by skilled Indian artisans in Madras, India. The designs are made to serve a specific purpose — a bag for everyday living, new adventures, emotional milestones and so much more. ‘Inai’ is a Tamil word, derived from ‘Inaippu’ which translates to ‘connection’. – you to connect with what you buy. Inai aims to inspire people to treasure and value the products they consume and the stories behind them.

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Fashion and Beauty
Fashion and Beauty
24: Inai - Buy With Love
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