In episode 286, Kestrel welcomes Kristine Kim, the Director of Impact at Doen, to the show. An LA-based women-run business, Doen offers collections inspired by a nostalgia for the coastal California of decades past. Doen recently unveiled their 2030 Roadmap, spearhead by Kristine, which provides an overarching blueprint for the business that will encapsulate both social and environmental elements of impact.
“We wanted to see our supply chain as a value chain — not just as a global supply chain that creates beautiful products, but also generates social and environmental value across that process as well, and to find opportunities for us to maximize that social and environmental value.” -Kristine
You’ve probably heard me say this on the show before, but the fashion and sustainability space has an issue with obsessing over binaries – I mean, it’s not the only space constantly questioning what’s right vs wrong or good vs bad.
These very simplified binary structures have been deeply embedded into our society – by way of concepts from white supremacy, colonialism, and the patriarchy. They also lead to a lot of pinning one perspective against another – which doesn’t help us move forward collectively, and instead tends to force us to choose one side over the other.
I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but there is a lot of gray area here — a lot of nuance that must be welcomed so we can actually get somewhere in our efforts to transform the fashion industry.
This week’s guest leads impact at Doen, and she is determined to accept the challenges that come with these *gray areas*.
As she said in a recent blog post:
“Like any industry, ours is often viewed—but does not actually function—within a black and white framework of right vs. wrong, sustainable vs. unsustainable. We know that labeling any brand as a “sustainable fashion brand” is greenwashing and misleading, but have we challenged ourselves beyond this? Every business on a sustainability journey will be confronted with a series of complex micro and macro decisions, often on a daily basis. The “right” answer for each organization looks different, and requires collective problem-solving and collaboration. Weighing all of the various trade-offs involved in any single action is the real impact work facing companies.”
This acknowledgement is key and I find it so refreshing coming straight from a Director Of Impact. She’s recently unveiled the company’s 2030 Roadmap, which represents their desire to do better in an imperfect industry.
Quotes & links from the conversation:
“Kristine Kim On Defining Impact For Doen”, blog post Kristine wrote about the 2030 Roadmap
“The main intention that I wanted to communicate to the organization was — this type of value chain work, this type of sustainability work in fashion is very not straightforward, it’s nuanced, multiple shades of gray, it’s not a black and white binary, right or wrong, you’re sustainable or you’re unsustainable. And trying to get comfortable with that level of ambiguity and unfamiliarity is what I really wanted the teams to openly embrace.” -Kirstine (21:38)
Empower@Work, collaborative effort that Doen has joined
Doen’s 2030 Roadmap
Follow Doen on Instagram >
S05 Episode 221 | ROOPA PEMMARAJU ON HONORING ARTISANS + THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF INDIA
S05 Episode 220 | CHANELLE HARRIS OF NELLO VINTAGE ON STYLE (SELF) OVER FASHION (CONFORMITY)
S05 Episode 219 | DR. KIMBERLY MCGLONN OF GRANT BLVD ON SHIFTING FRAMEWORKS, DISRUPTION, PLEASURE + PROTECTING YOUR OPTIMISM
S05 Episode 218 | MAYA PENN, THE POWER OF HOPE + WHAT THE MAINSTREAM IS MISSING WHEN IT COMES TO LISTENING TO YOUNG ACTIVISTS
S05 Episode 217 | ETHICAL STYLE JOURNAL, DEEPENING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY + INFORMATION VS KNOWLEDGE
S05 Episode 216 | KIDS WORLDWIDE, THE POWER OF GIVING BACK TO EACH OTHER + WHAT KIDS SAY ABOUT THE PLANET AND OUR FUTURE
S05 Episode 215 | NYLAH'S NATURALS, PLANT-BASED TECH + THE IMPACT OF CONVENTIONAL HAIRCARE PRODUCTS ON BLACK WOMEN
S05 Episode 214 | ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR ISAIAS HERNANDEZ OF QUEER BROWN VEGAN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FINDING YOUR NICHE + CREATING BOUNDARIES
S05 Episode 213 | REZA CRISTIÁN OF SUSTAIN THE MAG ON THE FUTURE OF MEDIA, RESOURCEFULNESS + SHIFTING THE SUSTAINABILITY NARRATIVE
S05 Episode 212 | COMET CHUKURA, GLOW + THE WHITE GAZE IN SUSTAINABLE FASHION
S05 Episode 211 | DIANDRA MARIZET, INTERSECTIONAL ENVIRONMENTALIST + THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSPECTIVE EVOLUTION
S04 Episode 210 | THE ROOT | Episode 6 | The New Standard
S04 Episode 209 | THE ROOT | Episode 5 | Where Do We Go From Here?
S04 Episode 208 | THE ROOT | Episode 4 | The Future Of Fashion
S04 Episode 207 | THE ROOT | Episode 3 | Racism In The Fashion Industry
S04 Episode 206 | THE ROOT | Episode 2 | The Power Of Privilege
S04 Episode 205 | THE ROOT | Episode 1 | Racism As A System
S04 Episode 204 | KAMEA CHAYNE OF GREEN DREAMER PODCAST ON THE NEED TO DECOLONIZE "ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION" + BUILD REGENERATIVE ACTIONS INTO OUR COLLECTIVE SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
S04 Episode 203 | MANPREET KAUR KALRA, THE WHITE-WASHING OF SOCIAL IMPACT + BUILDING INCLUSIVE BRAND NARRATIVES
S04 Episode 202 | SHAKAILA FORBES-BELL ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FASHION PSYCHOLOGY + BLACK LIVES MATTER
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