Creating Cradle-to-Cradle Clothing with Heike Petersen
Season 4: Episode 9
The guests in our commercial series, are experts focused on how our collective system is organized. We’re not talking about which produce to pick at the grocery store – although these lifestyle choices are critical. Our guests in this second series play pivotal roles in the organization of our society, disrupting the economy at the institutional level and changing how products are imagined and created.
In this episode, Heike Petersen shares with Eric her multicultural global journey in creating her cradle-to-cradle sustainable, biodegradable, and hypoallergenic yoga fitness brand, Wellicious. The discussion sheds light on the challenges of the fashion supply chain emphasizing the importance of understanding sustainable certifications, consumer behavior, greenwashing, and the important shift we all must take towards slow fashion.
After the interview, design researcher Bhavna Bhavanishankar joins Eric to unpack the episode providing the most important calls to action from the discussion that you can implement today!
About our guest
Wellicious founder, Peruvian-German Heike Petersen Cunza, boldly pursued a dream to shake up the fashion industry. The Wellicious story began in London in 2007 when a sustainable supply chain was a vision shared by just a few in the fashion industry. Heike combines her love of yoga with her eco-ambitions to create stylish pieces that reflect the philosophy that style should not be at the expense of our planet. Wellicious shows how sustainability can permeate our lives, rewiring our consumer habits and behaviors.
Links mentioned in this episode
FMCG Definition Cradle to Cradle Certification
Rainforest Alliance Certification
Social Media for Hieke
Interview Outline
00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:25 Season Four Focus: Changing the System
01:41 Guest Introduction: Bhavna's Insights on Heike
07:52 Heike's Journey and Company Vision
14:29 Challenges in the Fashion Supply Chain
21:46 Cradle to Cradle Certification
32:55 Slow Fashion vs. Fast Fashion
34:49 Changing the System: Less is More
35:17 Challenges in Men's Yoga Clothing
35:47 Advice for Aspiring Sustainable Fashion Pioneers
37:42 The Importance of Teamwork and Positivity
40:17 Future Predictions for Sustainable Fashion
40:39 The Role of Certifications and Greenwashing
47:10 The Value of Incremental Steps and Risk-Taking
48:39 Concluding Thoughts and Calls to Action
Music in this episode
Nature sound effect by bbc.co.uk – ©2023 BBC
Climify Theme Song by Casual Motive
The Season 4 Climify Team
Eric Benson (Host)
Cam Burkins (Producer)
Bhavna Bhavanishankar (Experience Researcher and Multisensory Educator)
Adam Dziaba (Designer)
Jacqui Himmel (Multimedia Journalist and Scriptwriter)
Abigail Zhuk (Design Researcher)
Climate Design Assignments
At the end of each episode, we ask our guests what their ideal climate design project would be. They have four weeks with a class full of design students. We translated their response into a project brief that you can use for your class.
