Hot Buttons

One way to curb overproduction of clothing is to keep the clothes we have longer. It’s an old-fashioned solution but a simple one: instead of tossing worn and torn clothes in the trash, repair them. Major outdoor apparel brands have embraced repairs as a way to stay close to their customers, and luxury brands have long offered repairs as a service to their clients. But with fast fashion jumping in on the trend, is this just sustainable theater or can it move the culture toward caring for clothes?

Then, Rachel, Shilla and Christina dig into a new technology from Swedish company Renewcell. Circulose is made from 100% textile waste and is used as a raw material to make things like viscose and lyocell. Zara announced they’re using it in a capsule line of clothing, including dresses and sweaters in natural colors. H&M is an investor in the company, as well. Does this signal an important step forward in recycling technology? And is it scalable enough to have an impact?

Resources:

• Harper’s Bazaar: The restoration revolution: the best luxury repair services to take note of
• Sourcing Journal: Arc’Teryx and Eddie Bauer Target Repair and Resale
• Sourcing Journal: Uniqlo launches repair services at NYC flagship
• Retail Detail: H&M trials new store concept in Amsterdam
• The Circular Laboratory: What Is ‘Circulose’ ... And Is it Sustainable?
• Sourcing Journal: Zara x Circulose Fashion Capsule Shows Off Sustainable Circular Fiber
• Bloomberg: Renewcell and ZARA Collaborate to Create a Capsule Collection Made from Material Produced with Circulose (R)

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

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Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.

It’s Secondhand September, and we’re here to dive in. All this month we’re talking with experts and offering up some of our own insights into how the resale market is evolving. This week, we talk with Andy Ruben, founder of Trove, a re-commerce platform for brands to enter the resale market on their own terms. Trove is one of a number of companies that work with brands to create white-label resale solutions that let them take back their used clothing, clean it, prepare it for resale, and sell it again as a “pre-loved.” Trove’s latest partner is On sportswear in a bold move into athletic shoe resale.

We also cast a cold eye on Pretty Little Thing’s new resale marketplace, Kourtney Kardashian’s “sustainable fashion journey” with Boohoo, and applaud Rachel Comey’s breakup with Uline packaging. And it’s New York Fashion Week, so there are stories, and Christina has some good ones.

Have a question for Christina, Rachel and Shilla? Give us a call at (508) 622-5361.‬ We might feature your voicemail on an upcoming episode of the show.

Resources:

• The Guardian is having none of Kourtney Kardashian’s partnership with Boohoo
• New York Magazine on Rachel Comey breaking up with Uline
• Bloomberg describes Trove’s resale partnership with On
• Glamour on the ascendant resale market

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Charles Conn, Chair of the Board of Directors at Patagonia joins us to share his story of how the company made the landmark decision to “make Earth its only shareholder.” This was news not just in the apparel industry, but everywhere. Patagonia had been private its entire existence, and as its founder Yvon Chouinard looked to step away, he opted for something entirely unique: give all the company to a 501(c)(4) and a perpetual purpose trust designed to put the profits to work exclusively for the planet.

The market is still digesting this move: will it signal a new path for purpose-driven companies? Will it alter the course of late-stage capitalism? Charles Conn had an insider’s view on the process of coming to the decision to embrace this unique model, and continues to be actively involved in bringing it to fruition.

Patagonia is an apparel company, too, so we talk about how they approach sustainability, from measuring their emissions throughout their supply chain, sourcing all their textiles and materials, and participating in resale and circularity.

And finally, Yvon Chouinard was recently given the outstanding achievement award at the British Fashion Awards, and Charles was there to accept it on his behalf. So, we had to ask what he wore.

Have a question for Christina, Rachel and Shilla? Give us a call at (508) 622-5361.‬ We might feature your voicemail in an upcoming episode.

Resources:

• Charles Conn in Fortune Magazine on Patagonia’s evolution
• WWD on Patagonia’s transformation
• Inc. naming Patagonia company of the year
• WWD on Yvon Chouinard receiving the outstanding achievement award at the Fashion Awards in London

Full transcript of this podcast here

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first topic of our first episode, we are asking a simple question: what is fashion’s actual impact on the environment?

We know the environmental impact of fashion is vast. But has it been properly quantified? It turns out, no. And that’s a problem for figuring out how to fix it.

Then, we turn to the most visible problem in the fashion industry: textile waste.

Rachel and Shilla are both involved in an effort to bring more transparency and regulatory scrutiny to the textiles industry. We’ll dig into some possible solutions for textile waste.

We’ll finish with one of the hottest stories in fashion: Shein.

In April, the Wall Street Journal revealed the Chinese mega-retailer had raised over $1 billion at a $100 billion valuation. Shein is now one of the most valuable private companies in the world — built off an ultra-fast fashion model that pumps out thousands of new styles per week.

What does Shein’s rise tell us about the tension between consumer desires for sustainable products and actual buying habits? And can Shein clean up its operations in a meaningful way?

Additional reading:

• New York Times: how fashion giants recast plastic as good for the planet
• Vox: fashion has a misinformation problem
• New York Times: the biggest fake news in fashion
• WWD: New working group to tackle textile waste
• Business of Fashion: the sustainability regulations that could reshape fashion.
• Sourcing Journal: Critics say Shein’s textile waste solution isn’t good enough
• WSJ: Shein valued at $100 billion funding round
• Daily Beast: Has Shein killed the dream of sustainability in fashion?

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The metaverse became a household term after Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta, and Fortnite gamers started attending virtual concerts wearing Balenciaga hoodies. And now the utopian web3 vision has come for fashion.

Brands are framing their digital clothes, shoes, and accessories as a sustainability play. This week, Christina, Rachel, and Shilla look past the marketing hype and think through the long-term impact.

Then, has fast fashion ruined thrifting? Second-hand retailers are being flooded with donated clothes from the likes of Shein, H&M, and Zara, and seasoned thrifters are despondent. It’s driving up prices and making those desirable vintage and unique items harder to find. What is the future of thrifting?

We’ll finish with a dose of optimism by sharing some of the trends and companies that are keeping us feeling positive about the fashion industry.

Resources:

• Wired: The metaverse could radically reshape fashion
• WWD: Metaverse as a magic sustainability bullet? Think again.
• New York Times: 'The golden age of thrifting is over'

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices