Decolonizing Land, Labor, and Fashion
Guests from all over the world joined Aditi in discussion with Indian decolonial leaders Dr. Vandana Shiva, Oshadi Collective and Kheti Virasat Mission. With the rise of farmer protests across India, the panelists provided the necessary context and history regarding other issues India has faced, from the impacts of colonization, the Green Revolution, and on-going attempts of privatization. Read More
The Role of Anti-Racism In Fashion: In Conversation with tonlé
On what it means to be truly zero-waste in fashion, redistributing power as a White-owned brand, and the role of anti-racism in the larger industry. Read More
The Colorful World of Roopa Pemmaraju
In conversation with luxury slow fashion designer Roopa Pemmaraju on her newest collection, preserving Indian craft, and navigating fashion during COVID-19. Read More
Understanding History’s Empires of Cotton
An excerpt from my piece for State of Fashion, unpacking the impacts of colonial violence on India’s land and labor— and the folks that are reclaiming our regenerative approaches. Read More
Inside the Fight to End Labor Exploitation In L.A. Garment Factories
Garment workers are working to change a long history of wage theft and sweatshop-like conditions in Los Angeles. Read More
The Yosemite Fires: Settler Colonialism & Indigenous Wisdom
The removal of Indigenous folks from the geographies they maintained for millennia came hand in hand with the displacement of ecological wisdom. Read More
The Social and Environmental Impacts of Masks
The same people who don’t have access to PPE or sanitation are forced to sit shoulder-to-shoulder, tirelessly creating face masks to protect everyone else and curb the spread of the virus. Read More
Are Brands Today’s Colonial Masters?
The fashion industry is built on a core truth — the oppression of black and brown bodies based on an institutional form of racism inherited from a colonial past. Read More
BEAUBIT Beauty Feature: For Asians, By Asians
Aditi Mayer chats with BEAUBIT on diversity, practicing sustainability, and the future of fashion post-pandemic. Read More
Ecofacism and The Language of Regeneration
We often say that we’re disconnected from nature– but because you and I are nature, the better word here is dissociation. And when we’re talking about dissociation, it is about no longer recognizing yourself. Read More
Looking for brands to explore?
The Role of Anti-Racism In Fashion: In Conversation with tonlé
On what it means to be truly zero-waste in fashion, redistributing power as a White-owned brand, and the role of anti-racism in the larger industry.
Read More
The Colorful World of Roopa Pemmaraju
In conversation with luxury slow fashion designer Roopa Pemmaraju on her newest collection, preserving Indian craft, and navigating her label during COVID-19.
Read More
IKIGAI LABELS: Fabric for the Mind
The ties between identity, politics, and fashion have never been clearer.
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BEAUBIT Beauty Feature: For Asians, By Asians
Aditi Mayer chats with BEAUBIT on diversity, practicing sustainability, and the future of fashion post-pandemic.
Read More
OMI NANA: Sustainable Designs Beyond the Minimal
This boutique is a wonderful antidote to all the minimalism propaganda in sustainable fashion. Read More
IKKIVI: Building a Sanctuary for Indian Slow Fashion
IKKIVI is a space for independent Indian designers who empower the artisan, revive culture and stay rooted in timeless design.
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SATVA: The Organic Athleisure Brand changing India’s Cotton Industry
This WOC owned athleisure wear brand working directly with Indian farmers to promote non-GMO seeds, cotton farmer livelihood, and sponsoring the education of young girls where their organic cotton is cultivated.
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MARCHETTI Sustainable: For the Minimal Maximalist
This genderless capsule line is challenging the ways we have understood minimalism in fashion.
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Good Apparel: Sustainability From Factory Floor to Fashion
Good Clothing Company is setting a new standard for apparel factories by providing clean and safe working conditions, fair and livable wages, and vertical integration for ultimate transparency.
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What does sustainability look like for sunglasses?
With growing consumer demand, sustainability is bleeding into all facets of the brands beyond just apparel. Enter Just Human: a new collection of sustainable luxury sunglasses.
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Lessons in Circular Design: Opus Mind
The textiles system operates in an almost completely linear way: large amounts of non-renewable resources are extracted to produce products that are often used for only a short time, after which the materials are mostly sent to landfill or incinerated. However, Opus Mind, a line of luxury leather accessories, is bringing light to an alternative solution: circular design.
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Sourcery Label: A Sustainable, Machine-Washable Silk Collection
Silk – the fabric so soft it became an adjective, just got a bit more sustainable. Sourcery Label is combating toxic synthetics with the launch of a new machine-washable silk collection.
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Timely & Timeless: The Met’s Roman Bead Collection
The Met’s new Roman Bead Collection is an ode to all that is timely and timeless. With their oversized scale and simple yet bold proportions, these pieces would fit right in at a contemporary fashion show—yet they’re almost two millennia old.
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Vegan Fashion Week
As if Fashion Month wasn’t niche enough of an event as it is, it’s getting even more nuanced: Vegan... Read More
Foundational Elements of a Minimalist Wardrobe: Grammar NYC
What is it about a classic white shirt that everyone loves so much? With the French countryside as the backdrop,... Read More
Proclaim Your Nude: “Nude” & the Politics of Inclusion
When you hear something referred to as a “nude” color, what image comes to mind? Hint: Nude is no... Read More
Time Interacts: The Met Museum’s New Fair Trade Jewelry Line
Museums have always been spaces where time interacts; a “then” meets “now”. The latest addition the Met Museum’s store... Read More
Ayurganic: Dress Code for Mindful Living
What fascinates me about natural, plant-based dyes is not only their importance for the well-being of the planet, including... Read More
Artisan & Fox: Know Your Artisan
Artisan craftsmanship remains the second largest employer in developing countries. It’s one of the main sources of income for... Read More
Material Memories with Christa Louise Designs
There’s a space in fashion and photography where perception and aesthetics come together to create material memories. It’s a... Read More
Par en Par: Resort as a State of Mind
Fashion is more than the color of the season or the length of a skirt; fashion is a way... Read More
The Aesthetics of Inclusion: Women of Color in Sustainable Fashion
The representation of women of color has become an important topic within the fashion industry at large— but why... Read More
MAKING SUSTAINABLE SEXY: DO WE MARKET AESTHETICS OR ETHICS?
How do we make sustainable fashion mainstream— ethics or aesthetics? Read More
SAYA DESIGNS: A RETURN TO THE ELEMENTS
A visual editorial exploring a return to the elements with a new emerging label, SAYA Designs. Each hairpin is... Read More
MOHANJEET PARIS
Can you make it in the west without erasing your cultural identity? In the fashion world, it’s always more... Read More
WESTERN SAVIOR COMPLEX IN ARTISAN LED FASHION?
The critique of “fast fashion” is quite clear— a regime that says pile it high, sell it cheap and... Read More
MANI JASSAL
Today’s editorial is shedding light on designer Mani Jassal and her couture of dreams. Couple the likes of sheer... Read More
WHITE SWAN
The fantasy of fashion and its power to transport and transform is strong today, dear friends. So here’s something... Read More
Latest In Sustainability
Decolonizing Land, Labor, and Fashion
Join Aditi in discussion with Dr. Vandana Shiva, Oshadi Collective, and Kheti Virasat Mission. With the rise of farmer protests across India, the panelists provided the necessary context and history regarding other issues India has faced, from the impacts of colonization, the Green Revolution, and on-going attempts of privatization.
Read More
Understanding History’s Empires of Cotton
Unpacking the impacts of colonial violence on India’s land and labor— and the folks that are reclaiming our regenerative approaches.
Read More
Why Fair Trade? A History & Gift Guide
An alternative trade that recognizes the effects that colonization had on the worldwide trading system, and seeks to create a more equal exchange on commodities connected with long histories of slavery and oppression.
Read More
The Yosemite Fires: Settler Colonialism & Indigenous Wisdom
California’s Creek Fire— alongside the rest of the West Coast’s wildfires— are the manifestation of displacement of indigenous knowledge and the denial of climate change— all of which tie back to settler colonialism.
Read More
Decolonizing Fashion
Why decolonization will always be a part of the sustainable fashion movement.
Read More
Does Compostable Wallpaper Exist?
Ecological wallpapers are finally here, providing interior design solutions that can be both beautiful and sustainable. We learn more about them from one of the first players to enter the market.
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Ecofacism and The Language of Regeneration
The slippery slope when statements go from rejoicing about the return of nature amid coronavirus, to justifying human deaths to preserve the environment (read: that’s not climate justice, it’s ecofacism).
Read More
Addressing Sustainable Fashion’s Diversity Problem
Common sustainable fashion slogans like ‘Vote With Your Dollar’ often fuel problematic ideas of how one holds power. But more importantly, who can hold power.
Read More
Sustainable Clothing: What to Look For When Buying Eco-Friendly Garments
Here are four things to look for when buying eco-friendly garments. Read More
Pleather vs. Environment: an Honest Look
No animals are harmed in the process of making it, but its impact on the environment — in other words, pleather’s sustainability — is hugely up for debate.
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7 Ways To Declutter Your Closet (Without Donating Your Clothes)
Here are 7 ways you can properly dispose of your used clothing (without the eco guilt).
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Thinking of donating your old clothes? Read this first.
For many of us, the well-intentioned thing we might have done in the past was to box everything up and drop it off at the local Goodwill. But the steady stream of clothes being imported from abroad made it almost impossible for businesses to compete in the local textile and manufacturing industry.
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The Rise of Non-Plastic, Non-Animal Leather: A Guide
Animal-free leather has come a long way since the ‘pleather’ of yesteryear.
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Smoke and Mirrors: Why Major Brand-Led Efforts Won’t Fix Fast Fashion
What does it mean when one of the largest fast fashion retailers funds sustainable fashion research? It’s like the coal industry funding climate change research.
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The Aesthetics of Inclusion: Women of Color in Sustainable Fashion
The representation of women of color has become an important topic within the fashion industry at large— but why... Read More
PRIVILEGE AND POWER IMBALANCES IN ETHICAL FASHION
Let’s keep it real: the fashion industry is an engine that’s driven by modern slavery, whose success manifests from... Read More
MAKING SUSTAINABLE SEXY: DO WE MARKET AESTHETICS OR ETHICS?
How do we make sustainable fashion mainstream— ethics or aesthetics? Read More
SAYA DESIGNS: A RETURN TO THE ELEMENTS
A visual editorial exploring a return to the elements with a new emerging label, SAYA Designs. Each hairpin is... Read More
HOW TO: CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM WITHOUT THE PRICETAG
At face value, conscious consumerism is an important step in responding to the current exploitation in our world today.... Read More
AIRBNB EXPERIENCES: NATURAL DYEING IN LOS ANGELES
Peep that silk scarf. Hand dyed courtesy of leftover onion skins and plants native to LA’s canyons. Say what? ... Read More
Explore Social Justice
Inside the Fight to End Labor Exploitation In L.A. Garment Factories
Spanning 4 years, my reporting + documentation on the past, present, and future of garment worker resistance in Los Angeles.
Read More
The Social and Environmental Impacts of Masks
It’s less natural — uncomfortable even — to think of the social and environmental impacts of our new protection methods. But the truth is, these impacts will far outlast the viral outbreak.
Read More
Are Brands Today’s Colonial Masters?
Looking at the history of commodities, and later manufacturing, for the fashion industry, it is clear to see that it is built on a core truth — the oppression of black and brown bodies based on an institutional form of racism inherited from a colonial past.
Read More
COVID and Systemic Racism
Talking about COVID demands that we understand how systemic racism makes BIPOC communities especially vulnerable.
Read More
On “Radical” Veganism
Veganism has long been a movement stifled by an air of moral superiority and blindness to the context that surrounds communities’ lifestyles and access to resources.
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H&M’s CEO Says to Keep Consuming: Here’s A Rebuttal
This week in fashion news… “Climate activists are encouraging people to stop consuming, which poses a terrible threat to the fashion industry,” warns H&M’s CEO, a billionaire businessman. 🤡
Let’s Push Back On Brands Commodifying Social Justice Movements
Questioning the harm caused by the status quo would mean corporate titans have to sacrifice their self-interests.
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Sustainable Fashion’s Race Problem
We are simply buying too much, for too little money, and throwing it away too fast – and the most devastating impact is on black and brown bodies.
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The Motherf*cker Awards
“Celebrating” the companies that screw Mother Earth the hardest. Read More
Cultural Appropriation: A Conversation That Can Make Both Our Fashion and Communities Better
Cultural appropriation. It’s arguably the most exhausted word in recent years when it comes to conversations of cultural currency:... Read More
The Aesthetics of Inclusion: Women of Color in Sustainable Fashion
The representation of women of color has become an important topic within the fashion industry at large— but why... Read More
PRIVILEGE AND POWER IMBALANCES IN ETHICAL FASHION
Let’s keep it real: the fashion industry is an engine that’s driven by modern slavery, whose success manifests from... Read More
HOW TO: CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM WITHOUT THE PRICETAG
At face value, conscious consumerism is an important step in responding to the current exploitation in our world today.... Read More
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About Me
Aditi Mayer is a sustainable fashion blogger, journalist, and speaker whose work explores the intersections of style, sustainability, and social justice. Read More
