- Ami Eckard-Lee: When you're shopping for clothing, what are some things you look for to know something is or isn't sustainable? 
- Leslie Schroeder: Yeah, so we know that there's tags inside the back of the clothing, and usually you just sort of look at the brand or the size. But if we take a look down farther in the seam, so we'll just take this dress out, for example. We can see the brand and the size here, but down the side seam here, this is where the real meaty and important information is. 
- Okay. 
- And so, this is what's gonna tell us our material content. And this dress, of course, is made out of linen. It has a silk trim on it. And so, those are natural materials. The lining, however, is a synthetic in this one. So, I've got to think about, well, you know, what are the implications of this full garment for me? 
- Yeah, okay. 
- Leslie: So, that's hard, but do read the labels and at least be, like, very, you know, intentional about what the material content is. And you can also do some research about the brand. And so, this is something that brands are, you know, increasingly understanding that people have that expectation that they are doing their due diligence, that they're not, you know, greenwashing where they got their products from. 
- What exactly is the term greenwashing? 'Cause I'd never heard it before. 
- Oh, yeah, it's that... [sighs] expression or ads that are communicating something that's not quite true. Or it's partly true. Or, you know, like, for example, the mention of bamboo being a man-made cellulastic fiber. That bamboo sounds good. So, you can kind of make this narrative around, well, it's a plant, without talking about all of the processes that they had to go through to be a wearable garment. 
- So, making something sound more eco-friendly than it is. 
- Leslie: Exactly. And that is part of that environmental responsibility, is accountability within the supply chain. I don't want anybody to feel bad about what they're wearing. 
- Yeah. 
- I want people to feel great about what they're wearing. And it's not about me telling anybody to go home and, like, get rid of all your entire wardrobe, because that just means more consumption. It's one of the most sustainable fashion choices that we can make is to buy less. 
- Yeah. 
- And I think within that, you can be really, really creative and really build that wardrobe that speaks about you.