May 15, 2019
This episode is a bit different than usual— I had the opportunity to interview ethical and sustainable fashion advocate and entrepreneur Livia Firth, Co-founder and Creative Director of Eco-Age and founder of the Green Carpet Challenge and Marianne Hernandez, President of PACUNAM, the foundation for maya cultural and natural heritage, and decided to record it for the podcast! The two of them partnered with a handful of other individuals to create a short documentary, Fashionscapes: Artisans Guatemaya, which “tells the story of the rich heritage and craftsmanship of Guatemala’s 1 million artisans.” We sat down after the premiere at Parsons and they answered my questions about the film and their views on ethical, sustainable, and artisan fashion.
In this episode, we discuss:
How the documentary came to be
The “handprint” of fashion and how artisanship fits into the landscape of ethical fashion
Comparing artisan and couture fashion
The most important thing to consider when buying new clothes
If fair trade certification is necessary on artisan goods
The role of government engagement and regulation in artisanship
How to avoid greenwashing and determining if something is truly fair fashion
Is ethical fashion really that expensive?
How fast fashion is one of the biggest threats to artisanship
Mentioned in this episode:
Greta Thunberg’s sustainability movement
All the deets:
Watch the documentary Fashionscapes: Artisans Guatemaya (it’s less than 20 minutes!)
Check out Livia’s work at Eco-Age, and Marianne’s work at PACUNAM
Follow along with Livia (@liviafirth), PACUNAM (@pacunam), and Eco-Age (@ecoage) on Instagram, as well as #30wears
Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Livia, PACUNAM, and Eco-Age on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode!