Behind The Seams of Sustainable Fashion (Eco Fashion Week Panel)

"HEY FASHION, We Need To Talk..." Let's talk about the unsustainable problem that is the fashion industry and hear from the incredible people trying to fix it. BTS PART 1 An Intimate chat with Clotheshorse Podcast founder Amanda Lee McCarty About Amanda Lee McCarty Amanda Lee McCarty (she/they) wanted to be an art teacher, but somehow ended up with a career in fashion that began as a seasonal part-time sales associate in the fitting rooms at a fast fashion retailer. She has worked in the buying departments of some of the most iconic (fast fashion) brands, where she saw the “fast fashion-ification” of the entire industry play out. Her employers bought stuff faster and faster. The product was cheaper and cheaper. And the quality/fit was worse and worse, year after year. Two weeks into the pandemic, Amanda lost her job working for a rental brand owned by a large fast fashion company. After crying and playing The Sims for a month, she realized her mission: to decode and demystify the fashion industry., in hopes of motivating others to change their own habits and relationship with clothing. BTS PART 2 Amanda Lee McCarty Interviews Bill McRaith & Christian Birky A powerful discussion on the future of supply chains, circular fashion, and the actions taking place to change the future of the fashion industry. Moderated by Amanda Lee McCarty. About Bill McRaith: Former Chief Supply Chain Officer of PVH, SVP Sourcing at Walmart, and EVP of Victoria’s Secret, CSO Intimates at L Brands. Committed to improving the apparel industry's overall profitability through Consumer responsive supply chains which Improve our environmental and Social impact. About Christian Birky Christian Birky has spent over a decade working at the intersection of domestic manufacturing, sustainable innovation and impact investing in the apparel industry. His start in fashion came as the founder of the sustainable luxury brand Lazlo, for which he was recognized as a leading global innovator by Ashoka. Christian is a co-founder and Board Vice-Chair of the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center in Detroit and the co-founder of Nimbly, a knitting supply chain startup. He is the founder of Because Capital, a new strategy and investment firm set up to build a vertically integrated apparel portfolio and he advises companies on innovation and the increasing importance of data-driven, globally-connected supply chains. Christian is an advisor to Variant3D, Katla, and Everywhere and a former Strategic Advisor on Domestic Manufacturing and Innovation at the Apparel Impact Institute. He is also a founding board member of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance, a graduate of Princeton University, and the co-founder of van der weij, a luxury menswear brand he designs with his sister Kathryn. Behind the Seams is a monthly educational and networking event at FABRIC Learn | Connect | Promote - For FREE A different industry professional is interviewed in front of a live audience. These interviews are filmed and shared below. They share their unique journey to becoming an industry pro or an expert while teaching us something about their trade. Network with other industry pros and fashion lovers before and after the event including designers, brand owners, consultants, stylists, models, photographers, manufacturers, FIDM AZ Alumni, students, and more. Apparel Entrepreneur Members get to introduce themselves and their business to the audience. Must be an officially registered AE Member of FABRIC FREE with suggested $5 donation