S03 Episode 120 | THR3EFOLD, SOURCING ETHICAL FACTORIES + LOOKING BEYOND TRANSPARENCY

In episode 120, Kestrel welcomes Jessica Kelly, the founder of Thr3efold, to the show. A platform that helps connect brands to ethical factories around the world, Thr3efold also hosts Deadstock District, a private portal to sell your fabric liability and source dead stock. "I keep digging deeper because sometimes people will be like, 'oh well, this brand doesn't talk about their factories so we should question their ethics' - maybe, but maybe not. It doesn't necessarily mean there's something that they're hiding."  -Jessica Kelly, founder of Thr3efold In this episode, Jessica shares more on her journey into the fashion industry, and how she was inspired to self teach herself as much as she could about the sustainable and ethical fashion industry. Additionally, Kestrel asks Jessica to expand on a blog post she wrote about transparency and whether or not it's actually the answer to a more ethical fashion industry. Here's a quote from that blog post: "Does publishing your factories make you more sustainable? The short answer is no. Listing your factories does not make you more ethical or more sustainable, it simply makes you more transparent. Your factories could be great or they could only be mediocre (I hope not worse) but that doesn't mean they are better than other fashion brands who choose not to list their factories openly." Also, Jessica shares more thoughts on what led her to build Deadstock District, a portal she hosts on Thr3efold. Deadstock District gives designers a way to sell their excess fabric, and other designers a place to source deadstock materials. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: "You can't steer a parked car." Sedex, ethical trade audit company (according to Jessica, this is more of a self-assessment tool, and not as advanced as they prefer when vetting factories they suggest) "Why Transparency Isn't The Solution To Being A More Ethical Sustainable Fashion Industry" (blog post written by Jessica that was referred to in the episode) Primark, map of their factories ISO9001 Standard Th3efold works with factories certified with WRAP, SA8000, Betterwork, GOTS, and World Fair Trade Organization at this time.  Fashion Revolution podcast Deadstock District, a private portal to sell your fabric liability and source deadstock material Conscious Chatter Episode 102 with Dominique Drakeford of Melanin and Sustainable Style Instagram To WatchThis week, my partner Drew and I are traveling to Oaxaca on a trip with GlobeIn, a subscription box company that features handmade and ethically sourced goods from around the world. We'll be documenting the adventures and meeting some of the makers behind their products. If you're interested in tuning in to see some of the journey, follow along on GlobeIn's Instagram @globein_world.