Every year, to raise awareness about textile waste and provide fashionable solutions, The New York City Department of Sanitation’s donateNYC program hosts ReFashion Week. This month's workshop is about all things fashion and beauty!
Panelists include:
Nicole Robertson: Founder of Swap Society, an online clothing swap for women and kids that makes it easy and affordable for members to mix up their wardrobes sustainably. Prior to founding Swap Society, Nicole’s passion for the environment led her to work as VP of Marketing for a NASDAQ bioplastics manufacturer. A cosmetics industry veteran, she previously held several senior-level positions for beauty companies including Beautyfix by Dermstore.com, Fred Segal Beauty, and Procter & Gamble’s Reflect. She is also an accomplished musician and retired dancer who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two sons.
Amelia Eleiter: Co-founder, Debrand. In 2008 with a decade of marketing experience under their belts, Debrand co-founders Amelia Eleiter and Wes Baker identified an opportunity to help brands become more responsible with product waste. Not only was there an incredible risk associated with branded materials ending up in the wrong hands, but over the long term, there was a clear loss of value in the materials and goods they created. With a focus on brand protection and the highest best use, Debrand specializes in the secure second-life management of obsolete, damaged, or returned goods.
Lindsey Casella: Global Senior Marketing and E-Commerce Manager at Terracycle's Loop. As a committed advocate for circular consumption, Lindsey also serves as Social Media Manager for non-profit, Remake. Remake advances the sustainable and ethical fashion movement forward by empowering consumers with educational tools focused on how to best #wearyourvalues. This past year, Lindsey helped spearhead the viral #PayUp campaign which garnered +250K signatures and unlocked $15 billion of lost pay garment worker wages due to canceled orders. Prior to becoming "eco woke", Lindsey afforded 5+ years of digital marketing and strategy experience with quintessential, fashion-retail brands, including Victoria’s Secret PINK, Aerie, Anthropologie, Keds, Ralph Lauren, and Timberland.
Akilah Stewart: Founder and Cheif Curator at FATRA. Luxury sustainable fashion powerhouse, Fatra, is an expert in creative waste design. Touching all points of the globe from Hawaii, Bali to Italy to Haiti and throughout the states- the company’s chief curator, Akilah Stewart has used fashion as a catalyst for social and environmental activism for upward of 10 years. Akilah is an adjunct professor at Parsons University, product developer, and founder of FATRA. Her signature handbags embody ethical futurism - infusing repurposed plastic containers as the body of the bag, with intricacy accented with quality up-cycled leather, tassels, lace, and metal adornments. Although, Fatra has become an exponentially growing brand over the last three years - Akilah still manages to hand stitch all of her pieces with love and intention.
*30% of proceeds from tickets sold for ALL of our workshops are donated to the Sanitation Foundation.