What's your trash story?  Can you recall a specific moment, experience, or person that sparked your love affair with trash? Can you share an early memory related to upcycling trash that left a lasting impression on you?

This is maybe more of a disturbing story that woke me up to the ick connected to trash. Growing up in the midwest, my parents owned a restaurant and hotel where they hosted outdoor concerts in the summer. One of my first jobs ever was to be on "butt duty" the morning after the shows. This meant, walking around the yard with a big pickle bucket in search of cigarette butts that had littered the lawn the night before. This experience really shocked me -- realizing the overwhelming buildup of trash that can happen in the span of one short evening. While cigarette butts aren't directly linked to my work in the fashion space, being exposed to the reality of excess trash from a young age definitely shaped my interest in exploring ways to rethink trash and reduce waste.

Describe your job. What’s trash got to do with it?

I host and produce a podcast called Conscious Chatter that's all about exploring why what we wear matters. Trash has a lot to do with it because waste is a massive piece of the sustainability and fashion conversation. I started the show back in 2016, and since then, I've spoken with several guests, including the Rewilder team, about projects that are reimagining "waste" or finding creative ways to reduce waste in the fashion space.

What something you’ve seen or worked on in the world of waste that you found surprising, delightful or inspiring? 

I remember a specific moment in time when I became super inspired by the idea of reimagining waste. It was over a decade ago, while I was living in NYC, working as a journalist for online publication Ecouterre. During Fashion Week, I attended a show by Christopher Raeburn. It was in collaboration with Victorinox (the creators of the Swiss Army Knife) and it was the first time I had seen a show done with such immense intention. The show took place in a big old warehouse space. All of the garments were hanging from the ceiling scattered throughout the space, and were made using repurposed military blankets and sleeping bags. The clothes were beautiful, but the piece of the show that stuck with me the most was the way the designer collaborated to create the soundtrack playing in the background. While at first listen, it sounded like a simple syncapated song, the music was actually another example of upcycling in action. It was a collection of sounds from the cutting room, taken while the collection was developed - the swish of a garment on the table, the chopping from cutting fabric, the rhythmic hum of the sewing machine - all put together into this amalgamation of ever-aligned musical art. This is when I first felt strongly connected to waste and the power of rethinking what it can look like and feel like.

This can be dirty, sometimes disheartening work. What’s something in your work that brings you joy right now? 

Learning about super creative ideas happening across the fashion space to address the realities of the industry's trash problem. And also - the seemingly most basic things that people around me are doing to reduce their own trash footprint like bringing their your reusable coffee cup to the coffee shop, having swap parties with your friends, cutting up rags to use at home instead of paper towels - these little things make a big impact especially considering how easily we are influenced by what we see our friends and family do around us.