THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Dr. Jennifer Hinton Thinks Not-for-Profit Business Models Can Help Address The Problems of Fast Fashion.

Is our current for-profit economic model a root cause of many of today's sustainability challenges generally, and specifically in apparel and fashion? Dr. Jennifer Hinton, author and Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science at University of Lund, has concluded so. She studies how societies relate to profit and how this relationship affects global environmental and social challenges. She has come to conclusion that a not-for-profit economy is better suited to our societal needs and that it should be applied to fashion and apparel as well. Listen in as we discuss Jennifer Hinton's analysis, her definition of a not-for-profit business, its relevance for fashion and apparel, Patagonia's new foundation, de-growth, and her proposals for a total transition from for-profit businesses to not-for-profit businesses. To learn more, visit www.jenniferhinton.org. 

Om Podcasten

Fashion and apparel. It touches nearly everyone. When its at its best, fashion and apparel is not only functional, but also fun, expressive, sexy, and for some businesses, very profitable. But when it is at its worst, fashion and apparel is superficial, exploitative, polluting and extremely wasteful - in other words the essence of unsustainable consumption. And while it is argued that the industry's rapid growth has created employment opportunities for more than 300 million people worldwide, especially for women in poorer countries and those in extreme poverty, many garment workers still struggle to earn enough to pay to meet even their most basic needs. More alarming is the fact that as the industry grows - by 2030 more than 8 billion people will live on the planet, and nearly 5 billion of these will be part of the global middle class - its negative environmental impacts may become unmanageable, potentially undermining its social benefits and contributing to ecosystem degradation on local, regional and global scales. Who would have thought garments could be so destructive? The fashion industry must change now, but will we manage in time? Join Mike Schragger, founder of the Sustainable Fashion Academy, as he explores the challenges, incentives and disincentives and emerging solutions needed to rapidly transform the industry. Listen in as he talks with the business leaders, activists, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs, investors, legislators, consumers and citizens - who are racing against the clock to find solutions that will transform the industry, thus ensuring it truly operates for the benefit of people and the planet. www.sustainablefashionacademy.org/podcasts/big-closets-small-planet