Ep. 31 - Kristi Soomer, founder of Encircled, on Conscious Creating & Consuming

If you've ever wondered why ethically-made clothing is 'so expensive', this week's episode of the Mind Your Own Life podcast is for you! Today's guest, an expert on sustainable fashion, will help you to understand how slow fashion works, why it's worth the price tag, and what you're really buying into when you purchase that $8 shirt from H&M.
I am so excited to have Kristi Soomer, founder of Encircled, an eco-friendly, sweatshop-free, Made in Canada clothing brand, on the podcast today.
Kristi launched Encircled eight years ago in Toronto, with a single product and a big mission and has since grown the brand to be a big name in sustainable fashion offering 40+ products.
Kristi's caring, conscious and collaborative nature is so evident in every product she launches at Encircled, and those qualities also lend themselves well to her side-venture as Coach and Consultant to other entrepreneurs who are at the beginning of their journeys.

We chatted about:

• Fast fashion; Kristi explains how the fashion industry has evolved in Canada and why fast fashion is so damaging to our planet and our people
• Conscious consumerism; Kristi shares ways we can all be more mindful of our purchases
• Entrepreneurship; Kristi shares transparently about her experiences as an entrepreneur and why it's all worth it, despite the many challenges.
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in 2020; how Kristi strives to ensure these standards are met within Encircled and beyond.
• Being B Corp Certified: what this certification means for our earth and ethics

About Kristi Soomer:

Kristi is the Founder/CEO of Encircled Inc., an ethical-fashion brand on a mission to change the way women travel and live. Encircled creates modern, versatile essentials for women from earth-friendly materials that are beautifully soft, high quality and good for the planet. Encircled embraces the notion of transparency in its entire business, in an industry notorious for secrecy. We're proudly 100% sweatshop-free and make all of our clothing locally in Toronto, Canada using fairly paid labour.
Kristi is also the Founder of Retail Bliss Consulting which helps start-up eCommerce Shopify retailers clarify their vision, and develop a focused brand strategy that's aligned with their values. She has 14+ years of retail, consulting, and consumer packaged goods industry experience and a diverse background in fashion, strategy, digital, e-commerce, brand management, store operations, merchandising, category management, supply chain, change management and customer experience.
Kristi’s holistic approach to project design and implementation, and focus on actionable results for small businesses. In addition, Kristi is a licensed Desire Map Facilitator and skilled at empowering entrepreneurs to create goals that are soul-aligned.
---------
Want to know more about Encircled? Start by taking the Capsule Wardrobe quiz: https://www.encircled.ca/pages/capsule-wardrobe-quiz
& be sure to use my code, MINDYOUROWNLIFE for FREE shipping & delivery if you make a purchase.