EXPRESS SHIPPING WITH 365 DAYS RETURN POLICY
Louise Wennberg is not only a true Cali Fam but has also been around the last couple of years supporting on our events, not only as DJ but as event staff on for example our WayOutWest parties. Besides this she works with a forever burning topic - sustainability. So we sat down to learn more!
Tell us more about you and your background!
I’m born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden but have since I was in my early 20ies, spent almost as much time here as abroad living and working in different countries.
My career for the last 20 years has been within the textile and fashion industry, specializing in sustainability, circularity, sourcing, production, product development, project management and partnerships.
It’s been a great journey and process working towards where I am today in my career, from many years as an employee at one of the world’s largest fast fashion retailers, to doing shorter assignments and consultancy for small startups and mid-sized Swedish and international fashion brands, to today having my own business.
Apart from my career in fashion, I DJ’d a lot in the past and would say that music and the culture around music is my first love and has always been a big part of my life.
Has sustainability always been an interest of yours?
Not in a way where I would have called it sustainability, but I think it has always been a part of me, learning at an early age to respect and care for what you have and the things around you.
My zero-waste mindset today probably comes from my dad and the generation before my parents, who bought fewer things with better quality, how they took care of things, repaired, and wore things out, before investing in new or secondhand items.
At the time, when mass consumption was the norm, I thought my dad was cheap and stingy and I was a bit embarrassed about his out of fashion style and that the secondhand TV he bought had a semi broken screen.
I also think growing up with a twin brother, realizing at an early age that there were different expectations on us, as well as privileges given to us, only based on our gender, affected how I look at equality and fairness still today.
In my professional and personal life, awareness of sustainability as a concept probably started to grow on me, or rather becoming an itch like 10 years ago, having worked in the fashion industry for a long time, contributing daily to a non-sustainable consumption behavior, both privately but also in the way we did business back then.
And that’s when I decided that I wanted to change and do what I could to contribute.
So, I think it’s always been there in the back of my head, just nothing that I would have labeled as sustainability when growing up.
How can you incorporate sustainability in your shopping behavior?
First, I think it is about informing yourself.
We live in an information era, where we know what Kim Kardashian ate for breakfast, but not where the products we produce or buy come from, who made them and what effects they have on us, the people who made them or the planet. And this goes for consumers, businesses, and governments. What we don’t know or understand, we can’t change.
Secondly, following the 3 R’s below (from the waste management R’s) as a guide, is a great way to incorporate sustainability in your daily life.
Reduce - Reuse - Recycle
Basically meaning, buying less, buying better, taking care of/repairing or remaking what you buy and keeping stuff in circulation for longer, and when you’re done with your things, give it away or sell it and if it’s completely worn out, make sure you sort it for recycling. No matter the product.
So, kind of, living like my dad haha!
How is sustainability a part of your life today and what are your thoughts for the future?
I believe everyone can contribute to, impact, and collaborate for a better world, from an economic, social, and environmental aspect. As a private person, a business, and a government.
And with new legislations, regulations and demands coming, businesses are forced to change for the better, take responsibility and accountability, be transparent and find new innovative solutions to the problems we have created and report how they do business.
The demand for products will continue to grow as the population increases, but the resources will not be enough, in the way we operate today.
So, I do believe it’s possible to bend the curve if we all take responsibility and necessary actions to create a livable planet and future for coming generations.
Personally, I continue my sustainability journey now with my own company, building on what I started in the early 2000’s with the jewelry line I created, designed, and produced to the private label I started up at Afound, of the H&M group, with products made from deadstock and left over materials.
My company’s vision is to help brands and suppliers to do business in a more circular and responsible way, focusing on partnerships, collaborations, and a win-win for everyone throughout the value chain.
One example, once again using deadstock and left over materials to reduce waste while also challenging the process in how we design and create products.
I’m very excited for the journey I’m on right now and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
