Podcasts / Stitching Tech and Transparency with Nobody’s Child and Fabacus

Stitching Tech and Transparency with Nobody’s Child and Fabacus

Source of Good Podcast

What if a quick scan of a QR code could answer every question you had about a product? At the women’s clothing brand Nobody’s Child, they’ve implemented that very technology. It’s all part of a revolution in the way consumers interact with products. At the helm is Andrew Xeni, founder & chairman of Nobody’s Child, founder & CEO of Fabacus, and our guest today.

February 26, 2025

Andrew Xeni: We come from very humble beginnings as a family. I tried everything and anything when I was younger, I was very keen to start earning money at a young age. I’m one of those that, you know, if I enjoy it and I apply myself to it and then I can generally have a good go.

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff: That’s Andrew Xeni, founder & chairman of the women’s clothing brand Nobody’s Child, and founder & CEO of Fabacus, a global technology company.

AX: Sort of the age of 25, me and my older brother agreed to work together and support him in building a family manufacturing business for the first time. My parents used to have a small CMT factory in North London, so we knew that we had somewhere to produce product. We were a women’s wear manufacturer, primarily jersey, woven, soft separates.

RLS: So how does a fashion entrepreneur go on to found a tech company set to revolutionize sustainability transparency for consumer products? Keep listening to find out.

Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform to hear how brands and manufacturers are tackling sustainability, one product at a time.

To learn more about Nobody’s Child visit nobodyschild.com

To learn more about Fabacus, visit fabacus.com

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Produced by Cascale and Hueman Group Media.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of Cascale or Hueman Group Media.

Podcasts / Stretch Goals: Yoga Pants Made From Corn with LYCRA®

Stretch Goals: Yoga Pants Made From Corn with LYCRA®

Source of Good Podcast

For more than 60 years, LYCRA® has kept us comfortable with its iconic stretch fabric. But now, the manufacturer is reinventing its material with an unexpected ingredient: corn. Yes, corn! In this episode, Jean Hegedus, Director Of Sustainability at The LYCRA Company, explains how using dent corn can yield a more sustainable, bio-derived version of their legendary material—without sacrificing performance or comfort.

February 11, 2025

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff: For millennia, humans have worn clothes that change or enhance their body shape. Think of the bronze Spartan breastplate with its fake six-pack or the Victorian whalebone corset and its painfully tiny waist. These items were worn for very different reasons, but what they did have in common was how incredibly uncomfortable they were.

Jean Hegedus: Back in the fifties, you know, women, when they would wear foundation garments at that time, they were made with rubber and so they were really hot and heavy and very uncomfortable.

RLS: That’s Jean Hegedus, sustainability specialist for the LYCRA Company.

JH: LYCRA® was actually invented as a replacement for rubber. That’s what the scientist, Joseph Shivers, was looking for, and so he invented this very lightweight fiber that could provide both stretch and support to garments and to make them a lot more comfortable. So the name actually came from like rubber.

RLS: That was in 1958. Suddenly, foundation garments – or as we now call them, shapewear – became far more comfortable than our ancestors could ever have dreamed. And it wasn’t long before LYCRA® — which is also referred to as Spandex and Elastane — was being used to make other clothing, too.

JH: LYCRA® is in almost everything, whether you’re talking about intimate apparel or swimwear or activewear, socks, hosiery, knit tops, t-shirts, jeans…

RLS: The material is ubiquitous – and it’s now being re-invented for the sake of sustainability, with the help of a truly unusual ingredient.

Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform to hear how brands and manufacturers are tackling sustainability, one product at a time.

To learn more about The LYCRA Company’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.lycra.com/sustainability

Check out a pair of Lululemon yoga pants made from LYCRA® at www.lululemon.com

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Produced by Cascale and Hueman Group Media.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of Cascale or Hueman Group Media.

Podcasts / A Circular Economy Sofa with Dunelm

A Circular Economy Sofa with Dunelm

Circularity
Source of Good Podcast

Would you throw away a whole sofa because of one stain? Sometimes, we have to, but those giant pieces of furniture wreak havoc on landfills. That’s why Dunelm designed its Full Circle Sofa with modular pieces that can be swapped out, repaired, and even recycled. Lisa Ly, Senior Sustainability Manager at Dunelm, one of the UK’s largest home furnishings retailers, explains this and other groundbreaking initiatives in its “Good and Circular” approach.

January 28, 2025

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff: 800 years ago, in the city of Leicester, England, a market opened just south of the clock town. It was the kind of place where you could buy almost anything—food, clothes, flowers, and, eventually, home goods.

Lisa Ly: Dunelm started in 1979 as a market store in Leicester Market and was founded by Bill and Jean Adlai. They invested in ready-made curtains and a seconds curtains, bedding, and slippers. So seconds is basically where it’s a run-off or the end of production products that others might not want to sell. And they bought them and sold them on the market.

RLS: That’s Lisa Ly, senior sustainability manager at Dunelm, which today is one of the UK’s most trusted brands for homeware and furniture.

LL: So, Dunelm is, in fact, the name of a house where Bill, Jean, and the family lived. We used to be called Dunelm Mill, and the “mill” comes from the history of textiles, but we dropped the “mill.” But you still hear our customers call us Dunelm Mill, which is quite unique.

RLS: Some old habits take a long time to break. And in fact, there’s a lot of value in longevity. In today’s episode, we’ll get an in-house look at how Dunelm prolongs their furniture’s lifespan through a groundbreaking approach to circularity…

To learn more about Dunelm, visit www.dunelm.com.

Check out Dunelm’s line of Full Circle Sofas here.

Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform to hear how brands and manufacturers are tackling sustainability, one product at a time.

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Produced by Cascale and Hueman Group Media.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of Cascale or Hueman Group Media.

Podcasts / How to Make Clothing From Wood with Lenzing and Reformation

How to Make Clothing From Wood with Lenzing and Reformation

Source of Good Podcast

Trees are more than just bark, branches, and leaves. They contain a secret ingredient that is critical to a more sustainable fashion industry. In this episode, Thomas Matiz, Product Sustainability Specialist at Lenzing Group, takes us into a fairy tale world where responsibly managed forests become fabric. Except, it’s not magic. It’s science.

December 04, 2024

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff: In the region of Upper Austria, there’s a town called Lenzing.

Thomas Matiz: It’s a rather little village but in a rather beautiful area surrounded with mountains and lakes and close to forests.

RLS: Picture a landscape straight out of a fantasy book, complete with castles.

TM: I’ve been here in this area now for only five years but I’m enjoying it very much. I’m glad to be this close to nature.

RLS: Thomas Matiz is the product sustainability specialist at Lenzing Group, a textile manufacturer that produces some of the most innovative and sustainable fabrics in the world. But here’s the thing: they’re made out of wood. How and why would a company want to make clothes out of wood? Stick around to find out…pun intended.

Listen below or click here to listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

To learn more about Lenzing, visit lenzing.com

Check out Reformation’s line of TENCEL-based clothing at thereformation.com/collections/tencel

Produced by Cascale and Hueman Group Media.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of Cascale or Hueman Group Media.

Podcasts / Can Sneakers Be Carbon-Neutral? with Brooks Running

Can Sneakers Be Carbon-Neutral? with Brooks Running

Source of Good Podcast

If you’re a runner, you probably know about Brooks Running’s legendary Ghost sneaker. In this episode, Gabriel Mens, Sustainability Manager at Brooks Running, walks – or should I say runs – us through the process of building a truly sustainable shoe.

November 13, 2024

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff: On the evening of August 6, 2024, Josh Kerr laced up his running shoes and walked into a stadium of roaring fans in Paris. He also had a few fans cheering him on thousands of miles away in Seattle, Washington.

Gabriel Mens: We actually all gathered in HQ to watch one of our athletes, Josh Kerr, participate in the 1500 in that final and win the silver medal, which is pretty awesome.

RLS: That’s Gabriel Mens, sustainability manager at Brooks Running. And, during the 2024 Olympics, they had quite a few athletes to watch.

GM: I think we have 11 athletes participating throughout the Olympics. Just the Olympics brings a lot of enthusiasm, and it does boost interest in the sport of track and field and running in general, so our HQ is buzzing.

RSL: In fact, the connection between the Olympics and Brooks goes back to 1972, when Frank Shorter won the gold medal for the marathon race in Germany in a pair of Brooks shoes. From then on, the company decided to focus solely — no pun intended — on running gear. Since then, the company has become a global leader in both manufacturing and sustainability.

Listen below or click here to listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

To learn more about Brooks Runnings, visit www.brooksrunning.com

Produced by Cascale and Hueman Group Media.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of Cascale or Hueman Group Media.

Podcasts / The Factory of the Future with CIEL Textile and Levi’s

The Factory of the Future with CIEL Textile and Levi’s

Source of Good Podcast

In this episode, we explore CIEL Textile’s AQUARELLE Samudra facility, a factory powered by renewable energy that minimizes water use and supports its community. CIEL Textile’s Sarbajit Ghose shares how their innovative approach shows that sustainable production is not only possible but already in practice.

October 15, 2024

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff: Imagine that I’m walking with you and my eyes are closed and you have to describe the factory to me. What does it look like?

Sarbajit Ghose: You know, the simplest answer is that it’s not easy to describe. You have to see it to believe it. It’s a very simple building. It’s very tastefully done, but it focuses on natural elements. It’s in the middle of nature, surrounded by trees. There’s a lot of use of natural light and cross ventilation.

RLS: That’s Sarbajit (or Serbie) Ghose, the Asia Executive Director of CIEL Textiles. And he’s describing AQUARELLE Sumudra, a factory located in a small village in India. This isn’t your typical manufacturing facility and there is a serious commitment to sustainability. How this place came to be and how it operates in today’s episode.

Listen now:

Produced by Cascale and Hueman Group Media.

Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of Cascale or Hueman Group Media.

Press Releases / Cascale Debuts “Source of Good” Podcast

Cascale Debuts “Source of Good” Podcast

Source of Good Podcast

Rick Ridgeway, outdoor adventurer, writer, and Cascale co-founder, is the first guest.

Rick Ridgeway on stage at the Cascale Annual Meeting 2024

October 01, 2024

Rick Ridgeway, outdoor adventurer, writer, and Cascale co-founder, is the first guest

Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Oakland (CA) – October 1, 2024: Cascale, the global nonprofit alliance formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, today launched its new podcast, “Source of Good,” featuring an exclusive interview with Rick Ridgeway—outdoor adventurer, writer, and Cascale co-founder. After dropping the podcast trailer in September, the organization will release its first season of 10 episodes bi-weekly through February 2025.

“Source of Good” spotlights inspiring stories and crucial decision points across the supply chain, exploring how consumer products can be made better for both people and the environment. Each episode features an interview with a manufacturer or brand that highlights how companies use data and insights from Cascale’s Higg Index—available exclusively on Worldly—to inform decisions that drive positive change. “Source of Good” reflects the organization’s vision of catalyzing impact at scale and giving back more than it takes to the planet and its people.

“As sustainability becomes more urgent, it’s vital for Cascale to engage audiences in new, dynamic ways,” said Lee Green, Cascale senior director of marketing and communications. “The ‘Source of Good’ podcast provides an opportunity to tell the real stories behind the data—showcasing how brands and suppliers are working together to make lasting, positive changes in the supply chain. This podcast allows us to connect with a diverse group of listeners and share insights that are transforming the industry. Our goal is to show that sustainability isn’t just an ideal but a practical, scalable reality.”

“I am proud to participate in Cascale’s new podcast, ‘Source of Good,’ which reflects the values that guided us when we first brought brands and manufacturers together over a decade ago to develop the Higg Index tools,” said Rick Ridgeway, Cascale co-founder. “This podcast provides rare insight into supply chain inflection points where more sustainable choices can and must be made.”

Among others, guests include:

Rick Ridgeway, Cascale co-founder
Sarbajit Ghose, Asia Executive Director, Ciel Textiles
Orsolya Janossy, Senior Sustainability Manager, Recover Fiber
Gabriel Mens, Sustainability Manager, Brooks Running
Thomas Matiz, Product Sustainability Specialist, Lenzing Group
Susan Scow, Sustainability Impact Specialist, Eileen Fisher

In 2023, Cascale piloted the three-episode “Drivers of Change” podcast. “Source of Good” is produced by Hueman Group Media, a woman- and BIPOC-led media company that inspires social change through impactful, high-caliber podcasts and digital content. The show is hosted by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Cascale’s communications director and a former journalist. “Source of Good” is available on multiple platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and more. Click here for more information and episodes.

ABOUT CASCALE

Cascale is the global nonprofit alliance empowering collaboration to drive equitable and restorative business practices in the consumer goods industry. Spanning over 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, and NGO/nonprofit affiliates around the globe, we are united by a singular vision: To catalyze impact at scale and give back more than we take to the planet and its people. Formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cascale owns and develops the Higg Index and a unified strategy for industry transformation.

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