February 4, 2009 Radio Show Summary

Sustainable Clothing
Topics covered:
Organic Cotton, Green Fabrics, Sustainable Business Practices, Social Responsibility, Fair Trade

One key idea came out of this show: As consumers, buy higher quality, but less. This means you can afford fewer clothes but the ones you have last longer, be made in equitable (non-sweatshop) places, and have a smaller impact on the environment.

Patagonia quotes:
“Mistreatment of garment workers is not just the result of global competition for low-price products, factory greed or malfeasance. It can also be the result of inefficiency, not only at the factory but also on the part of the company buying the goods. Last-minute changes to orders, unreasonable price demands and hurry-up delivery times can exacerbate already difficult conditions on the factory floor.” This practice of 'instant business' causes disruptions in production and company relationships. Patagonia's desire to build long-term relations with their factories, sets them apart in this lowest priced supply chain world. For some companies finding an item for five cents less is reason for shifting to the a new factory. Factory owners therefore are not looking at long term practices in sustainability based on the demand from conscious companies, they are looking at lowest price.

February 4, 2009 Show Guests:

Jill Dumain, Director of Environmental Analysis at technical outdoor clothing company, Patagonia, Inc., attended the University of California at Davis majoring in Textiles and Clothing. Her studies at Davis included textile science, marketing and production courses, in conjunction with courses from the business school. While at Davis, she worked as a student intern at Patagonia, Inc., and upon graduation, began working in the company’s Fabric Laboratory testing and analyzing technical fabrics in the product line. Two years later, she moved into the Fabric Development department and began working on the development and sourcing of Patagonia’s sportswear fabrics. This position led into leadership of the company’s environmental strategies in fabrications, specifically, the organic cotton project. In 1998, she became Director of Fabric Development, and in the spring of 2003, moved in to a new position as Patagonia’s Environmental Analysis Manager. Today, she is Patagonia’s Director of Environmental Analysis, leading the charge on reducing the company’s environmental footprint. Her past and current projects have included some of the following: The Common Threads Recycling Program, The Footprint Chronicles, solar panel installation at Patagonia’s Ventura, CA campus, environmental regulation of the company’s factories via Bluesign, green building efforts, eco-friendly fabric research and more. Throughout her tenure at Patagonia, she has traveled extensively throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. visiting fabric manufacturers and interfacing with other companies committed to environmental responsibility. http://patagonia.com

Mark Galbraith, leads the product design team with Nau
Business Unusual: A small group of people, committed to the power of business as a force for change, we are not just looking to make some new clothes, we are aiming to redefine what it means to be successful. http://www.nau.com

Susan Bell, Owner of Satch and Sol
Satch & Sol partners with fair trade artisan cooperatives worldwide to bring handmade children’s clothing to you. For the love of family and earth, Satch & Sol strives to be eco-friendly through product selection and business practices. A story of a fair trade, eco-friendly and mom-owned and operated small business. For the love of family and earth, Satch & Sol is a children’s clothing collection handmade by artists worldwide? http://www.satchsol.com/