Welcoming Randi Seiff of the ground breaking Treun House Atelier, Treun are working change along every touch point of their start up from manufacturing in their made to order approach, to the tech right to the next gen fibers and packaging that are applied over the collections.

It is always an honor to collaborate with Randi - and she sets the bar for the industry in her agile and lean approach.

‘’Enjoy what you are doing, Share what you have learned’’

Fascinating conversation with the great women at Contemporary Hempery.  We are working with them in one of our first 4 collaborative co-creation pods.

Working with localised Hemp fibre production, forging new paths to the future. The coming together of all communities around new systems, from the farm, to hand spinners to the business space. Realising this new future is very much in the space of collaboration in itself. 

Learn about the great qualities of growing hemp and processing of it.  Discussing bast fibers in general showcasing also nettle fibers and the great Nettle dress film WATCH IT .. 

Developing with old ways of growing hemp but adding in new modern ways that work In a regenerative, standing on the shoulders of the old hemp industry and stepping into a contemporary space.

JOIN US on the Harvest Retreat to help the next phase of this project, we are creating a micro festival to fund and to share the experience featuring not only the Hemp and the heroes of this story, but great music, locally grown food and fabulous fun.

In the Incubator we work always in collaboration finding unique ways to come together in business development for a regenerative future - To find out how the Incubator could be beneficial to your business or innovation - check out our website here

Jose Leal from Radical Purpose - talks about building business in collaboration, understanding human nature via neuroscience… he speaks of Antonio Damasio and his work in the space of feelings  - and how we work and build with them as a human centric level of co-creation.

Working from needs making meaning and sense of the world, the need to create, nurture, produce and organise, how we meet our ‘being’ needs  & finding people who we want to belong with , working with our scale of purpose. 

The ‘need’ is what binds us .. being vunerable enough to share our innate needs in being. That ideas themselves are ephemeral, agile and constantly fluid...

We discuss the new way of working as a collaborative - one of which we are working with inside The Ecosystem Incubator - at first in the fashion space in action.

Set the human context first - then set the content - work with connection.. using tools not rules. Coming away from force and control moving to working with needs of the collaborative.

Living in whole systems, very much Life-centric systems in understanding of the needs of re-connection in all our systems.

Welcome to series 2 of The Ecosystem Incubator – ‘’Into The Regenerative’’ where we are interviewing players from regenerative, new economic and new living systems approaches. The Ecosystem features a lot of the learnings from these bases, so we see it as a great way to showcase new ideas and ways of building in the new business landscape.

In this Episode we are talking with Okwudili Ogbu a philosopher who is author of ‘’ The Science of Expectation’’, he looks at the pursuit of happiness - and how that relates to reduction of over consumption and resources for the world – how that goes hand in hand.

The good life being materially detached, not connected to material things – In turn saving the planet, happiness and more equality. 

Lack brings in a drive for life, a meaning – so bringing and moving the lens to look at inadequacy improves drive and in turn happiness.  Abundance doesn’t always cause happiness, can create more depression. 

He looks at consumption itself and how that creates unhappiness over all and that simplifying our existence is key.  Such a resonance with similar thinking from Helena Norberg Hodge, Ancient futures book in terms of the lens that we are looking at abundance. 

Suffering comes with comparison and that everything boarders with expectation – the expectation of being something, balancing ecology, happiness and measuring new success on a different playing fields.

Welcome to series 2 of The Ecosystem Incubator – ‘’Into The Regenerative’’ where we are interviewing players from regenerative, new economic and new living systems approaches. The Ecosystem features a lot of the learnings from these bases, so we see it as a great way to showcase new ideas and ways of building in the new business landscape.

This podcast features Erinch Sahan who is the business lead for ‘The Doughnut Economics Action Lab ‘.. created by the great Kate Raworth.  A fascinating journey into new regenerative futures with Enrich, interesting talking with him about a future that doesn’t rely on competition but thrives on collaboration.  Exactly the approach that we have in The Incubator.  

How wonderful to hear him talk of the forest analogy, where no one tree in the forest can be a forest alone –the very words that we use to describe The Eco-systemic system that we grow our forest with.  So great to hear of so many existing models of business that we can utilise to work with, and that we are no longer stuck to one way of working.

 In a move away from GDP growth, where do we go? Enrich gives some great examples of companies already moving into this space of sharing and living with different principles.  

 A really inspiring and energetic journey into the world of ‘Doughnut Economics’ and how we can apply regenerative and distributive relationships within our businesses. 

Nicola talks of her experience in the fashion industry in the area of intimate apparel and her human/life centric way of working and consulting with brands.  Mindset shifts being a key part of building as well as an Intergenerational respect in how she creates.

Looking at the industry in new ways and taking on working with people where they are and working with new innovation and ideas.  Moving from old mindsets to new ones, how she is seeing supply and the industry work in so many agile different ways.

 Collaboration and how we action that building with The Ecosystem Incubator , sharing ideas and new industry experience, discussing conscious collaboration with a magical authentic quality. 

Inter industry connectedness and inspirations out of the fashion space that we can build with. 

Inner connection, ecstatic dance and meditation. Coming out of fear and scarcity into the choice to acting from a place of collaboration, emotional intelligence and be able to act in a truly sustainable.

For a considered, holistic life and human centric approach to the industry delve in here, the birth of a new industry space is upon us. 

I have known Belo throughout my journey as a sustainability leader, we already created a mutually beneficial collaboration together.. It is great to hear about Maria and Charlotte's journey.

We go into creation with the locality in mind - how to respect the bio-region that you are creating within - which is such a fundamental part of building towards the regenerative.

Of course its a journey and its great to hear that Belo are moving into thinking about the end life of the bags - even though they are already circulating  from waste such as seat belts and inner tubes from other industries - which makes their brand already on the journey of circularity.  When we move to the regenerative way of being with a product at least - the afterlife of the product is so important to build into.

This is no mean feat for small businesses such as Belo, which is why we will be looking at this as a collaborative arm inside The Ecosystem Incubator.

It is great to hear of the social change that Belo created with their partnerships with NGOs In Brazil.. and how that inspired Maria on the journey, as well as our connection and their connection through me to our first Member Circularity professional Ken Alston. 

If you want to learn even more about Ken - go to our first podcast and take a listen - he is a wealth of knowledge, it is an honour to have brilliant minds, brands and personalities like Ken and Maria start to join us. 

With gratitude we share the great Maria Elisa Costa

Building a small fashion business is not something to be taken on lightly, it is a journey of wonderful discovery, tenacity and grit.  Building it with heart is even more of a journey.

Our new member Rochelle from Roc Ethical takes us thought her journey of building a business out of industry waste from SriLanka.  Based in the UK, the journey has been challenging during cover times to keep going and takes constant communication to work the product and get It right.

She works with single women in SriLanka who stitch for her the items from what the industry would send to landfill or incinerate.

I always love to speak with Rochelle she is a breath of fresh air in  an industry than can so often be about ego.  

We take a deep dive with Katheline Vandal the creator of Vandal Kids.  A kids wear start up based around longevity and long wearing garments for children.

When creating a small business In fashion we run up against economies of scale, it is very difficult to create something that is reducing over production when the system itself is set to a large scale.  We discuss how in The Ecosystem Incubator we could as a collaborative network build with each other and work together on co-creation, hence reducing over production. 

Katheline has a background in marketing and very much sees the value in co-marketing with the members in the Ecosystem and as it grows this can become a space that is nurturing for young brand talent as well as lifting B2B operations.

She talks of her journey in building Vandal Kids and learning these things sometimes the hard way.  We also discuss the inner work needed to see the limiting beliefs that are holding us back from progressing in business and how we work with our respective coaches and business partners to move into a new space with it.

Our Founder Rachel Sheila Kan, worked with Katheline on the latter part of her brand development with her company Circular Earth.

In this episode we introduce Shan Elangovan who is a member and collaborator in The Ecosystem Incubator - with his business CEAE utilising factory floor textile waste into packaging and building with R&D in sustainable packaging ... and into the future of naturally dyed products in his new ventures.

We loved speaking with Shan, he has a real down to earth way of looking at sustainability In the design and development phase.. he rightly says that a lot of the answers are out there for a sustainable textile futures - what we need is the economic will to be able to make that work in our world.  That yes it does cost more to add sustainability to your fashion business, however it is those that don't that will suffer in the future.

What he says about The Ecosystem Incubator, was inspired.

'' The Incubator is limitless and a great initiative'

We will continue to build in the ecosystem with Shan and others as they join and understand and we love working with such passionate sustainability professionals like Shan

If you are looking for a sustainable  packaging solution - talk to Shan 

Emmaline Vaughan Ronson, founder of Source Lingerie talks of building with small businesses in her niche of Intimate apparel, covering lingerie, swimwear and sportswear.

After years of building with large and small brands she talks of her great experience with the great Katherine Hamnett and how her sustainability and political aspects influenced her career and path.

We speak of the highs and indeed lows of being in the industry bubble, as a designer you sometimes wear many hats, and it can be very high pressured.  Let alone adding in sustainability and regenerative processes.

We were so interested to hear that sometimes the sustainable options are not the best in terms of performance in the intimate niche and whilst the industry pivots itself and innovates in these arenas we need to be.

We will be introducing a niche meeting In November for anyone interested to build in sustainable development in the Lingerie or intimate apparel niche . .to join link here 

A wonderful conversation with Tine Bieber co-founder of EMMA textiles a collaborative network of factories and artisans, after speaking with her in September we resonated on the systemic change that's needed to create real sustainable and regenerative futures -  it is like I've known her for decades. 

Talking here in the podcast about building business both big and small in a new systems approach from here experience in big oil building with  to movement to the fashion industry . We talk on bottom up self management and a new systemic way of working.  Discussing that, that in itself comes with the need to do a lot of inner work, not just in leadership but in every section of the systems that we have in place.   We go into emotional Intelligence within business, being who we are and not wearing the metaphorical mask.

Setting up a structure doesn't change the mindsets of all within it .. working with people on a level will aid this transition.  

Lisa Matzi – Rebel Patch

Creating the new behaviours for the future, Using patches as a communication and pragmatic tool, to share digital art in a real way as patches to give the citizens a simple option in repairing clothing.

 Lisa was a UX designer very much in the virtual space, seeking a place to belong in the ‘real’ world.. found repair and mending and the realness of creating something physical. She Created rebel patch which is a business sharing bespoke art patches with curated collections of limited edition works for your clothing.

We love her story of converting a van during the pandemic as a metaphor for her business journey, the trials and tribulations of how that works in business. Very much how she has approached he business.

How much the business journey is such a part of this for all of us as we are really feeling into the journey.   How collaboration is woven In to all she does just as we do in the incubator – that the collaboration can shape the business as it goes along.

Art can be a real way to embellish what we do and create an emotional intelligence for people with their items.  

 Discussing how to create more collaboration with the eco-systemic way and creating collaborative benefits. 

 We look forward to her launch in April/ May 23 and the business she and we will create beyond this.  Lisa has been a member In The Ecosystem Incubator and also we have worked with her on our 'Mastermind' coaching.

The first designer In The Ecosystem Incubator space, welcome to the awe inspiring  Alicia Hardesty.  From humble small town roots, to the sparkle of TV, Alicia takes us through her journey through fashion, sustainability & adding in genderless / LGBT aspects to her designs when no one knew what that was.

Working both intrepenerially and entrepreneurially, there's room for both large and small brands to innovate systemically.  We just need apply the explorer within us all and go and work at new ideas.

Alicia talks of her love to  be hands on, create, up-cycle and work in circular ways.  We really resonate with her journey and are proud to have such an innovative mind join the hive.

Welcome to the world of AI,  Our partner and collaborator for the second stage of The Ecosystem Incubator Stephen Hill of Ethical AI shares about his journey into tech and building on how to apply ethics to data science.

Ethical AI is one of the tools that we will use to aid the growth of the collaboration platform over time as more members join the community space we will need this tech to aid the future of collaboration.

We go into many arenas with our conversations about AI but shaping a new system for us to all thrive in , in a bottom up intention is most exciting here.

Find Stephens book Homo Technica on the future of AI here 

Dive into looking at the way we do business by challenging not only how we create product but how we create social structures that work from the ground up,  join with Kishore Shah from  Khadi London discovering his journey into Regenerative fibres & hand weaving. 

Exploring the new social structures that have been around his work and life .. I love how he has woven his life around building from the community base - very much resonates with what we are creating with The Ecosystem Incubator. Create what people need and want in the world by engaging with de centralised systemic thinking. 

Kishore deeply shares a world where we are interconnected to each other and the environment, where circularisation is not a buzz word to be used for commercial effect but a way of life.  In a truly regenerative system there is no waste - The health of the society is the health of the land and all around it.   

It was an absolute honour to interview John Parkinson of Iinouiio .  He takes us through a social history, a passed down secret legacy of the 'shoddy' trade as it was referred to before circularity or cradle to cradle was even the spark of an idea.

200 years of history in the recycling trade that were never spoken of. Up until recent years it was seen as dirty and not common practice to speak of using the old for new.  He mentions Benjamin law and the original history of the trade dating back to 1807 which was clandestine in nature.

Part of the solutions to our problems can be found In the past, in experimentation, in merging the new with the old.  He also talks of locality and how important that is to the circular process - which resonates with our other speakers.

We love the story and how closely related economics really is to trade and innovation.  How it can help but also create its demise depending on its intention.  Johns journey shows how we should see our lives and business as a constant flow with what's so - and how we can fit in with that - making the things that we create commercially viable and have people resonate is one if the main points of his journey. 

He speaks of the intergenerational learning and respect and how we can speak with different generations and learn from both young and old.

This is a longer podcast yet we at The Ecosystem Incubator want to be able to hear the fullest of stories - so do stay with us through to the end for some amazing insight and intergenerational wisdom which is one of our key pillars.

Tena's work uses a Cultural Anthropology approach to the fashion space and focuses on how communication can transform the industry.  Working with businesses to really look at their audience holistically , really understanding from the customer level.

Speaking to the story of modern day slavery from Nasreen Sheikh  that exposed the hidden side of the industry to her and influenced her movement towards the fashion space. Nasreen is also the founder of Empowerment Collective ,  a non-profit dedicated to eradicating exploited labour, forced marriage, and extreme poverty.

Moving career paths and shifting skills towards a better fashion industry . . how you could have a voice and utilise what you have to be the change .. being with who you can be in sustainability and circularity.  Working in NGO, activism and how the Pandemic changed her focus and direction.

How working with small to medium companies - and that small is beautiful, working with localised smaller systems and local production hives that are scattered globally rather than situated in the western fashion centres.

She speaks of her collaborative partnership with Nahir Meüne. She's based in Paris and on a mission to create an ethical denim brand. Apart from sourcing transparently and as ethically as she can, she also uses her brand to promote and communicate about the indigenous embroidery techniques, coming from communities in Latin America. Writing a guide to fashion and mental health

Also the shared thought which  Ken also mentioned - that we have come out of the awareness / talking stage in sustainability and we are moving towards an action now . .and how The Ecosystem Incubator could be a space that this action can start to take shape.

Find Tena on her website - Thinking Threads

The first member of The Ecosystem Incubator is Ken Alston from Circularity edge who has been living breathing and practicing sustainability & circularity for over 40 years.  He talks of working with the originators of the cradle to cradle movement William McDonough & Michael Braungart, looking at Circularity in 4 dimensions, systemically and as a complex whole system.  As well as looking at accessing locality, the back and front end design for the system as a whole. 

We love how he relates circularity to a living natural system, looking at the blossom on the tree and how that never occurs as waste, nature is our finest teacher.

We dive into how he sees The Ecosystem Incubator and equated it to a project called The Circular Economy Forum of the Americas of which he was also a founding member.

Also mentioned our sustainable waste to wear friends in common From Belo and their work in utilising other waste streams and disrupting the linear economy.

Smaller actions with consistency create change.

Sara Collins is a fair trade consultant and works on her own organic and fair trade brand Sister and Kin. She loves working in the production process, implementing fair trade and ethics practice.

Love that she shared about the natural collaborative approach in the ethical space.  Discussing relationship building and how important that is in the new / old way. 

Future ways of working are based on these old ways of being, it is becoming more mainstream. Creating trust between supplier and buyer.

How these new old ways can be more transparent and open, sharing who you are working with, not having ownership of the supply chain. In turn leading to do things with excellence. 

Discussing how more and more small to medium brands are leading the way and have such a huge focus on fabrications and components - leading into transparency. 

Talking of the amazing women that she has worked with over the years in the social space, becoming independent and running their own businesses. 

Discussing the amazing collaborations, how one can come together with different skills to make win win collaborative ways.

Talking to Suzy Haber Wakefield of ''Suzy Wakefield Designs'' one of our great members inside The Ecosystem Incubator.  As an Intimate apparel designer bringing with her decades of experience in the design and development side of things.

The collaboration on how we are joining together, we have started to work and streamline what we are all working on in our ‘trees’.

Leaning on others for experience, knowledge as well as looking at monetary aspects.  It has been great to listen to her work within design having worked with many corporate brands lending her knowledge and experience into her work.

 Speaking about how in the corporate space there was one time where collaboration was incubated and it was such a great experience that spurred her on to be in this space with business. 

 Discussing localisation and decentralisation. Yet still finding camaraderie, finding new creativity in sustainability, and looking at design thinking. Getting the work done without ego or agenda.

 Working with the hive mind!

Suzy has such a brilliant way with words and sit back and enjoy

Talking about her background in business and launch into the regenerative space, which is as the case with many in the practice based on a shock or stop in life, just as our very own Ecosystem Architect’s journey.

Touching on what the regenerative actually means and going deep into what this could look like in the business setting, Life creates conditions conducive to life being the soul of the indicative yet what does that really mean?

Living life in questions – how do you create what you are creating with these principles at each point in your business / ecosystem .. how to increase the possibility for all to live to their highest potential … keeping life support systems alive, but also looking at the social structures.

Looking at how Human ill health and mental health have been degenerating over the time and it is completely correlational to the shifts that we saw towards disconnection.

We look at how important feeling a sense of Place is a scale at which the natural systems and human systems meet in a visceral way .. experiencing and working with change. Looking at biodiversity in your very back garden right to your whole bio region.  Starting with place ensures complex change can start at ground root level.

The story of separation has meant over many years we have lost our sense of place and connection with the world and each other. We try on here how we can re-connect in a regenerative way in a nested system. 

You can look at this as an individual, community, organisation, business or even as government. Looking at creating vibrancy, economic, ecological regeneration in place.

Uniqueness, looking at each company/organisation as a bespoke challenge .. looking at the energy for change within it, right through to How we can use collaborative approaches to have people start to experientially as a start, building the regenerative capacity without having to use the word at all.

 Touching on Cathedral thinking and knowing that what we are creating now is for a future that we may not see at all in our own lifetimes but doing it anyway.

 Jenny is one of our absolute heroes and one of the people who inspired The Ecosystem Incubator in its origination, and we loved having her on the podcast.

 Step out of your Business as usual, upgrade sustainability and try on the regenerative conversation with Jenny and I today. 

Jo has been a new product creator and the organic, regenerative & fairtrade space for many years, her passion came from seeing that things needed to change in the world, she left her corporate job and stood for a new way of building with the earth.

Learning from growing business is such an important part of the journey, when you are doing things in a very new way.

Jo speaks to the indigenous ways of growing cotton and other crops, building back into the locality and growing crops of heritage where they are supposed to grow.  Thinking about fabric in the context of the growing seasons and the natural rain like we do with things like wine.  She build her business and podcast 'Where does it come from' to share and build into this new / old way of working. 

Thinking about the amount that we are producing, reducing over production is such an important thing.  Create less and create with integrity, durability, and emotional durability.

Jos inspirational person was Anita Roddick creator of the body shop, made jo feel into a new business , Safia Minney with people tree and our very own Kishore shah , Sian Conway from ethical hour, Sarah Jordon from You underwear.

Bel Jacobs discusses her journey into Climate awareness in the fashion niche  - she discusses her catalyst for change being Rana Plaza.

We look at The Unintended consequences of creating in the industry.  We discuss Degrowth and new economic systems, revaluing what is important – looking at our values and systems. 

Greenwashing and how fashion communication and how the very industry that we are In is creating the focus on GDP growth.  

We don’t need any more new clothes – and how we might create in a new economy based on re-use, mending, and longevity.

Really sharing about the ecological emergency and the severity of what will happen.. we really love her matter of fact way of speaking.  We look at her Climate Centre based in Angel Islington in London and how grass roots face to face discussion can be so powerful.

It’s always lovely to see brands moving into the new economy.. as a part of the circular economy Menddie joins as a start up that focuses on systems, technology and encouraging mending, up-cycling and re-use. 

 The awareness of the new choice to care for your garment is key, The world has gotten so used to throwing away we move from a throw away society to a careful society.

We talk about the system and how it has indoctrinated us to be consumerist, how we have filled the void with newness – and how we might fill it with an evolutionary piece.

Talking of the past and how our ancestors were very used to mending and buying or making pieces that had longevity and how they covered them.

 Let’s facilitate a new way of living where we slow down and regenerate. We discussed emotional durability, personalisation and how to create that excitement with customers.

We Welcome Laura Zabo one of our new collaborators in The Ecosystem Incubator, she shares about her business working with inter industry waste.  Laura works with tyres and inner tubes that would otherwise go to landfill.

We discuss moving from mass production to heart production, moving towards our purpose.  Curiosity and creativity are a huge part of Laura’s way of being around her business and life. 

We can learn from everyone, and understanding the journey of others .. Comparison is rarely useful.  The true joy of life and work, keeping focus through collaboration. Connecting with people who want to do something for our Earth (Gaia) helping with energy connections.

Laura speaks of the joy she felt when she found the trye recycling purpose whilst living in Africa .. and how her joy of creation and innate entrepreneurship.