Hot Buttons is a show about the future of fashion and culture on a changing planet. Each week, Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker unwind the breaking news, industry moves, cultural trends, and tech breakthroughs that are shaping sustainable fashion. The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters. Can we change it?
Recently named the #1 podcast of the year (so far) by Cosmopolitan magazine!
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Hot Buttons is a show about the future of fashion and culture on a changing planet. Each week, Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker unwind the breaking news, industry moves, cultural trends, and tech breakthroughs that are shaping sustainable fashion. The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters. Can we change it?
This week we look at the role of biotech in the beauty industry. It promises the ability to program and design molecules that can be less toxic, more sustainable, and customizable in everything from moisturizer to perfume. Our guest this episode is Dr. Sunil Chandran, chief science officer and head of R&D at Amyris, a company using the tools of synthetic biology to build molecules for beauty products.
We ask Sunil about that pivot, dig in on business models for biotech in the beauty industry, and wonder what the future holds for fashion and beauty when ingredients and materials can be “designed” in a lab.
Have a question for Christina, Rachel and Shilla? Give us a call at (508) 622-5361. We might feature your voicemail in an upcoming episode.
Resources:
- WWD interview with Amyris CEO Jon Melo
- Oprah Daily on Clean Beauty
- Info on Bonsucro
- CNN covers Doja Cat on Schiaparelli’s latest runway show
- New York Times on the Schiaparelli’s controversial show
Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.
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Show Transcripts
Gisele Fetterman to the rescue! Mom, founder, firefighter and thrifter | Hot Buttons
We wanted a minute of Gisele Fetterman’s time to hear about her advocacy work, how she champions thrifting and vintage, and what she learned from last year’s bruising campaign on behalf of her husband, Senator John Fetterman. But we got so much more!
The truth about vegan leather, organic cotton, and cow farts
Tamar Haspel helps us think about vegan leather, organic textiles, fast fashion, GMO cotton, land and water use, and even sheep farming.
Charles Conn, Board Chair of Patagonia, on the company’s past and future | Hot Buttons
Charles Conn, Chair of the Board of Directors at Patagonia joins the podcast Hot Butons to share his story of how the company made the landmark decision to “make Earth its only shareholder.” This was news not just in the apparel industry, but everywhere. Patagonia had been private its entire existence, and as its founder Yvon Chouinard looked to step away, he opted for something entirely unique: give all the company to a 501(c)(4) and a perpetual purpose trust designed to put the profits to work exclusively for the planet.
DressX has its designs on Metaverse fashion | Hot Buttons
We talk with Natalia Modenova of DressX, a multi-brand retailer and innovator for Web3.