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This Event is Co-Hosted by ImpactPHL, NEXUS, and Impact for Breakfast
Fashion is the second largest polluting industry after oil and there’s no denying that it has been a major contributor to climate change and biodiversity loss. With the industry emitting about the same quantity of greenhouse gases per year as the entire economies of France, Germany, and the UK combined, it’s clear that fashion’s sustainability efforts are critical to our planet’s health. The good news? Fashion is a $3B industry ripe for disruption. As the demand for sustainable products continues to rise, global preference and greater investment in sustainable business have an opportunity to meet that demand. Hear from three founders from the Greater Philadelphia region who are paving the way and proving that sustainability can actually result in more profit for investors.
Moderator
Steph Stephenson, Steph Stephenson is the VP of Marketing at ECOfashion Corp, a “greenhouse” of brands at the intersection of transparency, technology, sustainability and innovation. In addition, Steph is the co-chair of the Cordes Foundation, working to advance the Foundation’s ethical fashion and sustainable supply chain initiatives. Passionate about fashion and social impact, Steph serves on the board of directors for Indego Africa, a non-profit dedicated to lifting artisan women and their families out of poverty, and advisory boards of Remake, an advocacy group committed to building the conscious consumer movement, and Indigenous Designs, a fair trade fashion company.
Panelists
Dr. Kimberly McGlonn is an advocate for justice & environmentalism advocacy that informs her approach to leadership in the fashion industry. As Founder & CEO of the manufacturing start-up & BCorp, Grant Blvd, she oversees the creative direction & growth strategy of the brand. Ultimately, Grant Blvd’s mission is to construct stylish, sustainably sourced fashion by reducing waste to landfills and by creating living wage jobs for women, particularly those who are formerly incarcerated. Outside of these roles, Kimberly disrupts by guiding other social entrepreneurs in discovering their purpose, via her digital community, “Build It Boldly” and her podcast, "School for Disrupters". Her work has been funded by Beyonce & featured by Fast Company, Inc Magazine, WWD, and Shondaland.
Marci Zaroff coined the term “ECOfashion" in 1995 and is an internationally-recognized ECOlifestyle expert, educator, innovator, serial entrepreneur, and Author of ECOrenaissance: Co-Creating A Stylish, Sexy and Sustainable World. She is the Founder/CEO of ECOfashion Corp.—a “Greenhouse of Brands”—including B2B turnkey sustainable fashion and home manufacturer METAwear, regenerative/organic cotton farm project RESET, affordable, size-inclusive, QVC/mass market organic lifestyle brands Farm to Home and Seed to Style, and new D2C (e)co-creation retail platform YES AND. Marci is also the Founder of Under the Canopy, Producer of THREAD Documentary I Driving Fashion Forward, and Co-Founder of Good Catch, BeyondBrands, and The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Marci has been instrumental in driving authenticity, environmental leadership & social justice worldwide for over three decades.
Nina Farran, has a background in developing innovative opportunities for positive impact. She has been a leader in what she calls “impact fashion” since 2008: while at the University of Pennsylvania, she launched an on-campus extension of a humanitarian fashion brand that built schools in sub-Saharan Africa using the profits generated from the sale of branded apparel and accessories. After graduating from Penn, Nina initiated, built, and launched the impact investing program at a national investment and wealth management firm, which now represents at least $2b of the firm’s AUM. These experiences highlighted the opportunity to align social and environmental impact with luxury consumption, which ultimately led Nina to create Fashionkind with her co-founder actor and activist Sophia Bush. As touted by outlets like VOGUE, WWD, and Forbes, Fashionkind is the next-gen luxury platform for today and tomorrow’s consumers. Through on-demand production, exclusive content and curations, and positive impact, Fashionkind is setting the new standard for how we create and consume luxury fashion—and ultimately, fashion overall.
Who should attend?
High net worth individuals, family offices, endowment/foundation leadership, investment professionals, pension fund trustees, nonprofit leaders, and anyone interested in broadening their investment horizons.