S02 Episode 75 | C&A FOUNDATION + COLLABORATION
In episode 75, Kestrel welcomes Executive Director of The C&A Foundation, Leslie Johnston, to the show. The C&A Foundation is a corporate foundation pushing to transform the fashion industry.
"To inspire belief that change is possible, and to support those initiatives that can drive that change." -The C&A Foundation's Mission
From Leslie's perspective, the big way to push the needle when it comes to the fashion industry, is through a business to business play. While customer education is key, Leslie believes that the brands, retailers and manufacturers really need to step up and act differently. And as she acknowledges, within the industry, these players have been stepping it up in recent years.
Leslie shares insight on how currently, the data from supply chains is living in a collection of separate silos. One of the ways that the C&A Foundation is working to collaborate with others in the industry is by finding ways to accurately aggregate the information, so people can access it. One of the partners they are working on this project with is SourceMap.
Throughout this conversation, Leslie brings up several organizations and initiatives that the C&A Foundation is working with on some capacity. Check them out at the links below:
Labor Link + Labor Voices: allow C&A and others to hear directly from workers, with realtime supply chain data
Reconsidered is a boutique social impact strategy + communications consultancy.
Founder Jess Marati Radparvar shared her why with us:
"I used to feel that in order to push companies to become more socially responsible, all we needed to do was articulate the business case so that we could change minds. But after years in corporate America, I realized that the business case can only take us so far. We also need to facilitate the “aha” moments that can change hearts and lead to real, lasting, sustainable change. That's why I created Reconsidered -- to work with organizations to create moments and movements that mean something."
Jess has a bi-weekly newsletter that features 5 links out to impactful content, and I highly recommend adding your name to the list.
Sign up for Reconsidered's newsletter here.