Creating a Sustainability-First Fashion Brand with John Moore, Outerknown

Our guest this week blew me away. I've talked with a lot of interesting folks who are doing amazing work on this podcast and my other podcast - You Can't Eat Money - but I don't think I've had someone on who is as thoughtful and genuine as our guest for this episode. John Moore, is the creative director and co-founder of environmentally responsible clothing brand Outerknown. If you haven't heard of John, you have probably heard of his co-founder Kelly Slater, widely considered to be the greatest surfer of all time. A decade or so ago - as John recounts in this episode - Kelly asked the earliest members of the Outerknown team if they had really thought about their clothes and where they come from. Despite many doubters - including one very high profile fashion industry executive - about the relevance of sustainability in clothing, Outerknown has been built on it since day one. As you'll find out in this episode, John is the perfect person to bring this to life. With 30 years of experience in the apparel industry - including being one of GQ's menswear designers of the year in 2014 - as well as other creative projects, John was open-minded and connected enough to the natural world to unlearn some of the fashion industry's worst tendencies. And a lot of that inspiration - as you'll hear - comes from his time growing up in the valleys of Southern California and spending time in the surf lineup near his home in Venice Beach. If you listen to this podcast and care about wild spaces and the natural world, you probably know about the worst of the fashion industry. If you want to get the dirty details, I highly recommend checking out 'Unraveled' by Maxine Bedat. But I only tell you that so you can understand just how important and impressive the work Outerknown is doing to track its entire supply chain and drive responsible innovation for people and planet as John puts it. Huge thanks to John for taking time to chat and really sharing his deep relationship with nature and how that informs his work at Outerknown. I hope you enjoy this episode. And if you do, please leave us a positive rating on your favorite podcast platform and share the episode with anyone you know who might be keen to have a more considered closet. LinksJohn Moore and Kelly Slater Chat Sustainability - https://youtu.be/N8MCNfYOiZY?si=j0ZIk5z5d15suvU7Outerknown Econyl Factory Visit - https://youtu.be/Xsxn8tQAonk?si=xVoRxV5eosTJk_aUOuterknown Website - https://www.outerknown.com'Unraveled' by Maxine Bedat - https://bookshop.org/a/96865/9780593085974 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ecosystemmember.com