Podcasts
A Stitch in Time
Unpicking the fashion industry.
Hosting this six-parter is Kate Burnett, a journalist specialising in the creative industries. In this series Kate talks to six of the leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators and activists who are influencing fashion’s future.
Unpicking as it does the world of fashion, A Stitch in Time fittingly airs in fashion month, as New York, London, Paris and Milan hit the catwalk. But since this is an industry slammed for promoting the overconsumption of clothing, as you might expect, we at THUNK aren’t celebrating its XS, but instead we lay bare the issues and put the future of sustainable fashion in the spotlight.
Episode 1
Taking waste out of fashion.
WRAP is the NGO committed to ending waste in textiles food and plastics. Harriet Lamb discusses the scale of the crisis in fashion and consider the big picture solutions to move from a linear to a circular economy and fashion’s place within that.
Prior to joining WRAP, Lamb led Ashden, the charity that supports inspiring solutions to climate change. Before that Lamb led International Alert, and prior to that spent 16 years at the helm of Fairtrade in the UK and globally...
Episode 2
Pre-loved fashion.
Retrouvé is the vintage clothes boutique retailer that was born over a decade ago when Ginny Burnett began hosting vintage clothes parties.
Ginny’s passion for vintage clothing began when she was a child and today she describes herself as “passionate about the ethical and ecological side of vintage – I think everyone should be aware of their fashion footprint. I believe Retrouvé is the antidote to disposable high-street fashion. Well made and well looked after clothes can last for decades and I love recycling these beautiful pieces.”
Episode 3
Fashion on the mend.
Flora Collingwood-Norris has a lifelong passion for textiles, and knitwear in particular. As well as creating her own sustainable knitwear from her studio in the Scottish Borders, she also helps others extend the life of their clothing. She describes her self-help mending guide book, Visible Creative Mending for Knitwear as the “ultimate anti-fast fashion statement”.
Episode 4
Revolutionising the fashion industry.
Fashion Revolution is the world’s largest Fashion activism campaign and the perfect antidote to London Fashion Week and the many other global fashion events that sustain fast fashion and the overconsumption of fashion.
Carry Somers was inspired to launch Fashion Revolution 10 years ago, following the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. In December 2022 she co-founded League of Artisans, an NGO set up to empower and advocate for skilled craftspeople who work with their hands to make functional or decorative objects linked to their culture, community, region or traditions.
Episode 5
Making ethical fashionable.
Ruth MacGilp talks about her work as a ‘fashion activist’ and the current issues and challenges within the fashion media industry.
Ruth previously managed the communication for global fashion activism movement, Fashion Revolution, but now leads the textiles campaigns for Action Speaks Louder, which focuses on decarbonising the fashion supply chain. Ruth is also a passionate advocate of workers’ rights, having launched the Good Clothes Fair Pay campaign, a European Citizen’s Initiative fighting for living wages for garment and textile workers.
Episode 6
A material difference to fashion.
Planet of the Grapes is a collective in the south of France that makes new material from grape skins. Founder Samantha Mureau discusses this circular economy solution that aims to make socially and environmentally damaging leathers obsolete, and why materials innovation is increasingly important in fashion.
Once a fashion buyer and trend forecaster for international blue chip fashion retailers, Samantha is now “on a mission to clean up the disastrous fashion industry”.