Hot Buttons is a show about the future of fashion and culture on a changing planet. Each week, Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker unwind the breaking news, industry moves, cultural trends, and tech breakthroughs that are shaping sustainable fashion. The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters. Can we change it?
Latest episodes
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53 min
Synthetic biology, clean chemistry, and beauty, oh my!
This week we look at the role of biotech in the beauty industry. It promises the ability to program and design molecules that can be less toxic, more sustainable, and customizable…
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44 min
Gisele Fetterman to the rescue! Mom, founder, firefighter and thrifter
We wanted a minute of Gisele Fetterman’s time to hear about her advocacy work, how she champions thrifting and vintage, and what she learned from last year’s bruising campaign on b…
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1 h 02
The truth about vegan leather, organic cotton, and cow farts
This week, we’ve decided the best way to understand claims of sustainable textiles and leather is to step outside the fashion universe and go straight to someone who lives at the s…
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55 min
Finding hope for sustainable fashion in 2023
Happy New Year! We’re back with our review of 2022, and predictions for 2023. But first, we have to say goodbye to Dame Vivienne Westwood, and take a few more shots at Balenciaga f…
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49 min
It’s beginning to look a lot like over-consumption season; the predatory side of women’s fashion; and… compost…
It’s the end of the year, and our listeners have been asking questions: What does it mean that menswear is often made with better materials than womenswear? How do we kick the over…
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47 min
Charles Conn, Board Chair of Patagonia, on the company’s past and future
This week, Charles Conn, Chair of the Board of Directors at Patagonia joins us to share his story of how the company made the landmark decision to “make Earth its only shareholder.…
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55 min
DressX has designs on fashion's digital future
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card.This week, we’re setting our news feeds aside and spending our time with Natalia…
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58 min
Balenciaga makes a bad move worse, Raf ends his label’s run, and COP27 mostly disappoints
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card.First, we have to talk about Balenciaga. If you type “Balenciaga child porn” into…
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39 min
Fashion’s having a metaverse moment
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card.Join us on November 30 for a live, virtual episode of Climavores. Come ask a ques…
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45 min
“Fast furniture” is clogging up landfills, Leo likes vegan shoes, and fashion is a bummer at COP27
It’s COP27 week, so we look at how well the fashion industry is doing keeping its promise to dramatically reduce emissions. A recent report from Stand.earth gives most major brands…
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51 min
The latest food group is the micro plastics we’re wearing — and digesting
This week, we’re talking about microplastics and what they’re doing to the environment and our bodies. We’ve heard plenty about the giant plastic trash island out in the Pacific an…
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1 h 06
Made In the USA: American Giant’s Immortal Hoodies; Canceling Ye; Amazon Does Resale
This week, we’re talking with Bayard Winthrop, CEO of American Giant. Bayard’s journey as the founder of an apparel company obsessively committed to sourcing domestically has reson…
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46 min
Treet CEO Jake Disraeli joins to talk Shein Exchange; and Shein's labor practices exposed
It was a busy news week in sustainable fashion, and Shein once again sucked all the oxygen out of the room. From being fined for a data breach to suffering a damaging investigation…
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1 h 03
Walmart is getting serious about apparel made in USA
We don’t always talk about haute couture; this week we’re taking a look at the new deal between Classic Fashion and Walmart, which will exclusively supply Walmart with cut-and-sewn…
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51 min
Is sustainability in menswear any different?
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.This week we’r…
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1 h 04
Ultra-luxury resale is part investment, part sustainability
This week, Secondhand September takes us all the way to the top of the fashion resale market: ultra-luxury. And we have questions. Is it a sustainability play? Is it an investment…
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53 min
Patagonia’s radical business move for climate
Secondhand September is going strong here on Hot Buttons. And this week, we’re talking with social media activist and slow-fashion advocate, Venetia La Manna. She’s a prominent voi…
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47 min
Big brands are entering the resale market with “pre-loved” merchandise
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism. It’s Secondha…
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37 min
Can fashion weeks ever be sustainable?
In this episode, we’re loving on fashion weeks. And not just the Fab Four of New York, London, Paris and Milan. Before these even kick off, Copenhagen fashion week had everyone tal…
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33 min
How we got so addicted to fast fashion
Gen Z is driving the fast fashion machine. Seventy-two percent of college students say they have shopped fast fashion in the past year, and 40% say they scroll fast fashion sites a…