Is Fashion Sustainability an Elitist Daydream? with Jesse Boga

Unless you have a career in fashion, we solely participate in fashion as consumers. Clothes and accessories are things that we buy. And that’s it. 

In this episode, I sit down with Jesse Boga, a journalism-trainer writer who has extensive work in news and lifestyle media, PR, and science communication. 

We talked about…

• What is sustainability in fashion, and how it differs in terms of shared realities across different countries 
• Our journey towards fashion as we change job situations, locations, budgets, and economic status
• How we process the emotional rewards of buying new items (dopamine) and the feeling of helping the environment (also dopamine!) 
• How we buy clothes to communicate status but how we should also navigate the fangs of conspicuous consumption 
• Surprising ways we can inculcate sustainable habits in our daily lives (hint: it’s MORE than just going to Goodwill and buying second hand clothes!)

I really enjoyed this conversation because it tackled fashion in a different light. 

As entrepreneurs who dabble in fashion merely as consumers, we were able to discuss angles that would never come  up in our day-to-day lives. 

After this episode, I mindfully donated a few of my clothes and chose to be more intentional with the things I buy. :) [Don’t worry! This is not a podcast about minimalism! Haha!]

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Jesse is a 2023 fellow of the Next Gen Assembly, an advocacy program led by non‑profit organization Global Fashion Agenda and Fashion Values, a sustainability education program developed by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the UAL-London College of Fashion. He convenes voices from fashion, sustainability and beyond in the Unstitch: Sustainable Fashion Forum. 

As a member of the WEF Global Shapers Community, Jesse takes leadership roles in convening youths and communities for inclusive conversations about sustainability. He believes in the power of writing and creating storytelling-centered platforms to achieve global goals.

He is @thegamejay on Instagram.

Check out his works on:

• Fashion Revolution
• Fashion Values
• Unstitch: Sustainable Fashion Forum