Sahara Rose · 361: How To Make Your Clothing More Conscious with Kiran Jade

TRANSCRIPTION

Episode 361: How To Make Your Clothing More Conscious with Kiran Jade
By Sahara Rose

[00:12]
Namaste. It’s Sahara Rose and welcome back to The Highest Self Podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you, Your Soul’s Highest Evolvement.

[00:19]
I have been reminiscing, recently, on the days that I really began my own dharmic journey. The word Dharma means your soul’s purpose, the big reason why you are here and I recently came out with a book called “Discover Your Dharma”, all about how you can find your soul’s purpose. So, the link for that is in the show notes, “Discover Your Dharma”, it’s available wherever books are sold.

[00:41]
And as I was reminiscing on those days, I remembered when I started a clothing line called Saraswati Couture. So, essentially how it began was, I graduated from college and I knew I did not want to work in Human Rights Law, which is what I studied. I studied International Development and I thought I was going to be an International Human Rights Lawyer but because of my health issues that I experienced in college, my interest shifted from Law to more about Health and healing myself. And I also realized how much bureaucracy was happening in these major global NGOs that we think are supporting people but actually aren’t. And I felt really lost and confused and wanting to be of service but not knowing how and not knowing how to align it with my purpose, with my gifts, with my passion.

[01:31]
So, at this time of my life, I had gone back to India to study Ayurveda and I knew I wanted to write a book on Ayurveda, to share this healing wisdom, that had helped me so much; helped me get back my period, after not having it for over two years, and a whole host of other health issues; gone into perimenopause when I was 21; and really hitting a rock bottom with my physical health. Doctors told me that by the time I would be in my 50s I wouldn’t be able to walk because of the osteoporosis and I would never be able to have kids.
So, my life became focused on healing, and in India, as I was studying Ayurveda, I was on the beach and I came across this young girl who was selling pants on the beach with her mother. And I began talking to this young girl and I learned that they would buy these leftover fabrics from different factories, that were sari material, that people would not use, and they would put together (assemble) these pants made out of these unused sari fabrics. So, a lot of these fabrics were extremely beautiful – gold thread, silk – if you don’t know, the sari is, it’s a beautiful Indian attire. So, they were these really eclectic pants because they were just made out of whatever scraps happen to be left over and I fell in love with the pants and fell in love with this girl and her mother and their story of – you know, in Goa, in south India, there is a lot of sex trafficking, that unfortunately happens. After Thailand, it’s the second largest hub and so many young women are forced into sex trafficking because there aren’t other options for them.

[03:13]
So, it hit me at this time, at this moment, to support this girl and her mother by buying pants from her and their family and working with these recycled sari fabrics to create these epic pants and the name came through – Saraswati Couture.

[03:33]
So, I had obviously never worked in clothing at all and I would just literally be there, in the factory, with them, day after day. It took a couple months for all of this to be done and finally we made all of the pants and shipped it to LA, which in itself was very hard feet, and finally I got all of these pants to LA. At that time I was living with (staying) with my grandmother, I didn’t even have a place to live and I knew I needed to sell these pants now but I didn’t know how it would be done. And I called my friend Kiran, who is the guest on today’s Episode, and she had a clothing line too that was made out of recycled water bottles. And she’s also Indian (half Indian, half Pakistani) and she was vending at different yoga festivals at the time (Wunderlust and also just small conscious festivals), so she was like “Why don’t you come and vend with me at my booth this Friday?” And I had just come back from India on Monday, I was like “Okay!” I went to Staples, I went on some website, made some business cards, made a banner, got everything I could to be prepared to vend and we went to this yoga festival and we had a great time. Actually, I remember at that specific one, David Wolf was speaking there which was so cool because at that time I was really into all the raw vegan stuff and learning, so I was vend girl and overseeing David, and that was my first experience vending. And we started to really take off, vending at all these different festivals every single weekend, driving all over, sleeping at friend’s, friend’s floors so we could just have a place to sleep and then wake up at 5:00am and go to this yoga festival that we would be there till 10, 11 o’clock at night, on our feet, just vending. And they were really exciting times because it was my first business; it was my first time completely having ownership of something that I created from literal start to finding the fabrics and putting the clothing together; and the story behind it and knowing it was supporting these women in India; and aligned with my creativity; and then selling it and then eventually I made a website. I was the person doing all of the things, I was the Customer Service, I was the Vendor, I was the Shipper, all of the things, which, if any of you are small business owners, you know what that’s like. And we did that for two years. And I remember hitting this point, realizing (and I share this in today’s conversation), but realizing that it wasn’t my dharma. And I remember asking Kiran “Do you like doing this?” Because sometimes we would go to a festival and we would have an epic weekend and make $1000 in one day, which was insane for us at the time. And other days we would go and make nothing and we would lose money on the vending fee that we had to pay for the festival, and it was just, for me, not in alignment with my dharma. I knew, when I tuned into what my soul really wanted, I wanted to write a book; I wanted to share Ayurveda; I wanted to connect with people and talk with people and use my wisdom in a way, in a more communicating way, whereas in vending you’re repeating yourself again and again. It’s sales so it’s quite different than coaching or working with someone and I had gone health coaching school so I knew I wanted to make that my career and it was getting to this point that I wasn’t finding the excitement and the passion and joy of vending, so I decided that when I ran out of my inventory that I had for the most part, that I would put my focus on writing my book even though I had no idea how I would make money doing it, I didn’t have a book deal, I had never met an author but I knew that if I had one year left to live, that’s what I would want to do.

[07:48]
Kiran, on the other hand, loved to vend and she wanted to continue doing it. And she knew that Wolven, which is her company, would continue to grow and when she looked at her future, that is everything that she wanted. Whereas when I looked at mine, I knew I wanted to be sharing with people, communicating with them, activating my throat chakra and helping raise consciousness vs. being in a product-based business. We can raise consciousness in so many different ways, but I knew my highest gifts were around me sharing.

[08:21]
So, I stopped vending and decided I would give a percentage of proceeds of everything in my business, which I do this day, to help victims of sex trafficking in India and I am so glad to say that we have personally helped many women get out of sex trafficking, and we sponsor many women and we work with many different organizations now. And I am actually able to support in a much, much, much bigger way than I was when I was vending because I’m in alignment with my dharma. And with Kiran, she is in alignment with her dharma of taking Wolven and growing it into being this incredible business that she’s going to tell us more about, but always honoring her truth of making it sustainable and putting her art, that she hand draws, onto each and every piece of clothing.
So, I’m really excited to share this conversation because she has been a friend of mine since the beginning of the journey, 8 years ago now, when we started this and it’s been incredible to witness her and her growth and to have her witness me and my growth.

[09:29]
And I think a really missing piece of the whole conscious space is clothing. We don’t really think about it. We do the meditation and buy all of the crystals, and buy more things, but we actually don’t need more, there’s already so much clothing that’s out there, that even with all the clothing out there, it wouldn’t even be able to fit into the landfills that exist today. It’s actually horrifying when you really tap into it. So, in this conversation, we speak about how to make your clothing more conscious; how to make the right choices as a consumer, and what to do when you do want to maybe stay up with the latest fashion trends or you don’t feel your best in your same quarantine outfit, you want to mix things up; what are the things to look out for: what is green-washing and how people are doing that in different companies so you think it’s sustainable but it’s actually not; and more about her own process in creating Wolven.
We also have an incredible discount for you which is 25% OFF any Wolven product. If you’ve seen my “Yogic Journal” cover shoot, which came out last year, I’m so proud of it, even to this day, but I was actually wearing a Wolven outfit. When you open up the magazine it’s me in this really cool yoga pose, this kind of Goddess squat, and I’m wearing this mandala black and gold yoga outfit, and that is a Wolven outfit. You’ve probably seen me on my Instagram, all the time, in my different dances, in my TikToks and reels, I’m always wearing Wolven stuff. So, you can check out their website at wolventhreads.com and use coupon code “SAHARA” for 25% OFF and you can find that link in the show notes.

[11:13]
So, without further ado, let’s welcome Kiran to The Highest Self Podcast.
_____________________________________________

[11:18] Sahara
Welcome Kiran to The Highest Self Podcast, it’s so great to have you here.

[11:22] Kiran
Thank you so much for having me.

[11:24] Sahara
The first question I’d love to ask you is what makes you your highest self?

[11:29] Kiran
So, for me, being my highest self is really connected to feeling like I’m living my purpose and living my truth.

[11:36] Sahara
I love that! And you have been doing it and I’ve even mentioned a little bit about when we started our journey 7 years ago, vending at the music festivals when I was doing Saraswati Couture, and you were, and still are, doing Wolven. And I just remember those times of driving down to San Diego and staying at your random friend’s house who we’ve never met and sleeping on their floor and getting up at 5:00am to set up our booth. And it was really fun and exciting because we were making our dreams happen and some days we were like “We made $1000! Best day of our whole entire lives!” And then other times we would lose money because we didn’t sell anything and would pay for the booth and we were just like “shit, we lost $150 today and are in San Diego for no reason!”
So, the difference is, and I remember this conversation which I just told you of – I had this realization in doing that, we were vending so many different places and I was like “Kiren, do you like doing this?” And you were like “Of course, it’s long days and it’s not always fun but yeah, I love doing this, it’s what I want to continue doing”, and your vision was to continue to scale it, that was your vision always. Whereas for me, when I really tuned into it, I was like “I don’t love doing this and it’s not really my long-term vision”. It was such a great reminder for me to see what does it look like for someone to be living their purpose, which was you in doing that, because even though it was tough it was still expansive for you. Whereas for me, it felt exciting but when I really sunk into “Is this going to be it for the rest of my life”, that wasn’t the vision for me and I realized the one thing that I want to keep doing is sharing information, writing books and that really was the pinnacle moment. So, thank you for being that reflection of what living your dharma looked like so I could be like “If I don’t feel that excited about it, then it’s not right for me”.

[13:30] Kiran
Yeah, absolutely. I think back to those days often and I think that in those initial moments, for Wolven, that was when we really started to learn about who are community was and I think what was so exciting for me is that, as an artist, I got to connect with people who were experiencing my art for the first time, and that was what was rejuvenating and giving me the energy. Because in those moments where somebody would see our leggings and get excited about the prints, for me, that it is my art work and I was able to share it with people in a way that they felt connected to it but also had a function for their day-to-day life, which for me, at that time, coming out of art school was very different from a traditional gallery context of showing your art on white walls where, such a few, select, privileged group of people get to experience it.

[14:24] Sahara
I love that so much! So, you began by basically drawing these sketches and then share with me how the download came through to create a sustainable clothing line with your sketches?

[14:35] Kiran
Absolutely! So for me, I feel that I fully realized what I wanted to do with Wolven when I was thinking about all of the different things I’m passionate about – so wanting to really marry – “Okay, I’m interested in sustainability, I’m interested in yoga”, I was in yoga teacher training at the time, I was in school for fine art painting and I was realizing that all of these different interests that I had were a little bit siloed and they weren’t connected to one another and they weren’t merging in my life and I didn’t want to have to choose between one or the other, I wanted to combine all of my interests into something that would really be sustainable for me and that it would be living all of the things I enjoy doing.

[15:21] Sahara
I love that so much! And that’s really what your dharma is, it’s that integration of all the different parts of you that feel disconnected or how are they going to fit into the picture, but to be able to really marry them and create something – and Wolven is just such a beautiful expression of that.
So, I want to talk specifically about fast fashion because this is something that so many of us; we’re buying into because high-end clothing is really expensive and styles and fashions are always changing. So, what is the problem with these major stores like H&M etc. who are putting out a lot of clothing for an affordable price – what is the downside of these companies?

[16:06] Kiran
Yeah, absolutely. I think there are so many problems with fast fashion. But to start, one of them being that there is a tremendous amount of clothing and fabric waste and that waste goes into to landfill. And when that waste goes into landfill a lot of these materials do not biodegrade at all, so what ends up happening is the fabrics break down and the chemicals that are in the fabrics can contaminate our soil and the water table, which becomes a very big environmental problem. Beyond that, there is also an ethical problem of slow wages and awful workers’ conditions which is not worth paying the inexpensive price of a fast fashion garment. There’s also a tremendous amount of water and pesticide usage in the production in a lot of these fibers. So, you might go into H&M and think “Oh, this is a cotton t-shirt, it’s cotton so it’s good and it’s only $11”, but just that one t-shirt might be using up to 700 gallons of water.

[17:06] Sahara
Oh my God! Wait, how does it use so much water?

[17:10] Kiran
If you think about cotton fields just growing in all of the irrigation systems that are required to maintain that crop, as well as the pesticides that are required to make sure the crop is growing quickly, avoiding being damaged – there’s an entire agricultural process that is connected to the production of these natural fibers that go into your clothing.

[17:32] Sahara
And I remember asking you because I saw H&M created this box that you could give your old clothes from H&M into this box and then you shared with me that this was green-washing. Can you explain a little more about what that was and what the term green-washing means?

[17:49] Kiran
To me, green-washing is when a large corporation tries to profit off of sustainability as a trend, in the fashion space, by implementing one-off sustainable practices and projects that aren’t really connected to their overall business mission. So, they’re identifying “Oh, okay, all these little brands are really trendy right now because they’re sustainable and Gemzi and millennials are interested and buying things that are value-aligned. So, we’re going to make this project that is value-aligned, but we are still a giant corporation. And so, even though we have this one project that is sustainable fabrics, we still have this entire range of things that are not conscious at all”.

[18:37] Sahara
So, what was this box even doing?

[18:40] Kiran
So, I’m not sure exactly, in H&M’s context what that box was doing, but I imagine they are probably up-cycling the fabric. So, creating new garments out of it, which there are many companies that do that in a successful way. I would say the most admirable example is Patagonia’s Worn-Wear project. So, at Patagonia, they have a number of initiatives that help with the longevity of the clothing that you buy. So, say you buy a jacket, you can take it back to Patagonia, they will fix it before they make you buy a new jacket. They even have these (I don’t remember the name) but it’s a little truck they drive around and you can actually go to this pop-up truck and have them fix your garments, which is really cool. But if, at the very end of the life of your jacket, you do want to give it back to Patagonia, their Worn-Wear project takes those garments, fixes them, makes them into patchwork type of jackets and then they sell them again. So, they are really expanding that life cycle of the garment.

[19:45] Sahara
I love that so much because here’s the thing, I feel like – I had this realization when I was in college because I was always trying to keep up with the fashion trends, and I was like “Wait, they keep changing them every single year and I keep having to buy new things” and I had this realization “Wait, this is a marketing tactic that everything I bought last year is now not cool to wear anymore so I have to buy all new things and all new things and then once they run out of things they bring back the things from two decades ago!”

[20:10] Kiran
Right, and I feel like we’re at that age now where the things that were cool when we were younger are sort of coming back for the first time in our lives, so I’m seeing “Oh, okay, that juicy couture sweatsuit that I really didn’t want to wear for 15 years, I kind of want to wear it again”.

[20:28] Sahara
Totally, yeah, the 90s, it’s like what the 80s were for us growing up, now it’s 90s, even with the make-up and the lip-liner and all of that. But the thing is, it’s really dangerous if we are continuously buying new clothes and new clothes and new clothes because the world can’t sustain this. It can’t sustain us continuing to shop and wanting to stay trendy and then feeling like we’re irrelevant if we’re wearing something from 3 years ago.
So, how can we, as consumers, who, we want to look good, as women especially, we want to look good, we want to be trendy. Especially after quarantine too, I feel like so many of us are like “Okay, I want to get out of my skinny pajamas, I’ve been wearing them for a really long time”, but how can we make this more conscious?

[21:13] Kiran
I think that’s a huge challenge for me personally. Something that I try to do is thrift as much as I can and buy clothing that, it already exists, it’s already out in the world, it’s been around forever and I’m bringing it home; and it wasn’t just recently produced or a trend. So, that’s something that I try to do in my own wardrobe. But that being said, there are always, inevitably, going to be trends where they just really resonate with you and you just have to have it. And I think, in that context, really looking to brands that are doing the right thing, whether it’s from a materiality perspectives or from how they’re taking their proceeds, are they investing in carbon off-sets, are they investing in giving back, do the things that the companies that you’re buying from, really align with your values. I think those are the questions I ask myself before buying something.

[22:10] Sahara
Totally! And I think that sometimes we turn the blind eye. I see some of these fast fashion companies that (Chien) I didn’t even know what it was but then I saw they were making these really offensive and crazy things but they basically just see (it’s like an algorithm), they just see what people are Google searching and then they create items specific to those Google searches. So it’s literally responding to what we want as consumers and making things for us, so it’s like this never-ending cycle of “We want – they create; we want – they create” and I’ve even heard that there’s already so much clothing that’s out there that it wouldn’t even fit in the landfills that we have. Have you heard about this and what can we do with the clothing that’s already out, that’s just shipped to India and all of these places and ends up in massive cities that are dumpsters?

[23:06] Kiran
Yeah, it’s pretty mind-blowing. And there are numbers of things that we can do with that fabric waste. For example, creating up-cycled things like up-cycled carpets, but I think the bigger problem is getting that average consumer who is saying “Oh, okay, I saw this celebrity wearing this cute crop-top, I want to buy one, let me google Kendall Jenner, orange crop-top” and the first thing that comes up is Boo-hoo or Chien, and it’s $7. So, that’s a really easy path for your average person to take because it’s exactly what they saw on the person whose style they want to emulate and it’s at a price that they can afford without even having to think about it.
So, I think a lot of what has to happen is almost as systemic shift where the consumer is demanding from these companies, that they change what their values are, right? So, if what we’re valuing is speed and instant gratification “Hey, I saw that, I’m googling it, I’m buying it, it’s here tomorrow because it came because it came in Amazon Prime”, then that inherently is not sustainable for our planet. So, I think, what I’m seeing is that, as people become more educated, they begin to demand more from brands. So, I do think that there is a huge opportunity for a shift and I believe that it’s beginning to happen, but it’s really about separating that instant gratification from what your fashion practice is.

[24:43] Sahara
That is so true and it’s interesting because sometimes when we look at people that we find the most stylish. I always find these older ladies on social media and they’re so eclectic in the way that they’re dressing and it’s just this like, truly authentic way of styling yourself that’s timeless, and that doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be all basics. I feel like when we think of timeless fashion we think of basics, Audrey Hepburn, and I think that it is really great to have our go-to leggings, our go-to sports bra, or whatever those things that are a staple for us that we continuously restyle with a new scarf or a new shirt or whatever, but also to not shy away from things that we love. I feel like leopard print was something that growing up, is tacky or trashy and now it’s such a thing, but then maybe next year it won’t be. Why give that up if it’ something you love? Or tie-dye, it’s such a thing right now, whereas, I think growing up, we consider tie-dye to be for kids and now it’s thins trending thing. I feel like we, as consumers, need to say “No, I’m going to choose my style regardless of what Kendall Jenner or whoever is wearing, and if I love doing something I’m going to keep on doing it”, and then also have those things in our closet that we know work for us because, I’ve definitely bought things from fast fashion before, in my life, and they break. I wear it one time and the string is coming out and then you keep needing to buy more and more and more.
And another thing that I love are these brands that they have a monthly subscription and you’re kind of renting the clothes. So, like every month, you can rent a series of fine articles of clothing and then other people are wearing the same thing, so I’m thinking that it’s probably the stuff that the store never sold so they’re able to reuse that. Because, let’s say, Anthropologie has a new line, all the things that didn’t sell, where does all that go? It just gets sent to another country and it becomes their problem and now these countries are having the dyes go into their soil and it’s going into their agriculture. What’s crazy too is we don’t realize that fashion is a bigger (I’ve heard) waste than any other type of industry out there. Is that true?

[27:10] Kiran
I think fashion accounts for about 10% of global emissions so it’s definitely a huge polluter behind, for example, big oil, which I think is number one. And going back to what you were saying earlier, I think, really, the difference between personal style is that personal style is about who you are and a trend is about a moment in time which has nothing to do with who you are in the long-term. So those fast fashion pieces, it doesn’t matter if it breaks because you’re buying it to wear one time in an Instagram photo and then it’s not cool anymore. And so, when we are living in this world that is so powered by social media, I think it makes it really easy for people to see content and then think “Okay, I want to recreate that moment. I’m going to buy this top, take that photo and then I don’t really need this top, I didn’t really even like it that much and it’s made terribly, it wasn’t even comfortable but I wore it for the cute photo and now I’m throwing it away.” And that is something where I think people really do need to follow certain trends or really feel that “Okay, I want to have that experience”, then something like this subscription-based service or a rental type of program could be valuable because then at least you’re taking that one style and having maybe hundreds of people wear the same article of clothing, instead of saying “We are going to produce hundreds of this article of clothing and every single one of these people who wants to have that moment where they just wear it one time, for a weekend, is going to buy it and then never wear it again”.

[28:48] Sahara
Yeah, I remember in high school, there were prom and formal, all these different dances, and it was Rental Runway, I think came out and we were like “You can rent a dress and just wear it for your prom and that’s it!?” It felt illegal because you were like “What, I thought I had to buy this thing and just have it in my closet for the rest of my life and never have another occasion to wear it for”. So, I think that is so helpful, to have different renting services, so that thing can go on and you can have your moment in time. And, with quarantine happening, I think, probably we’ve seen a reduction of that because we’re not going out to as many events so we don’t need – I know I have bought way less clothing this year because I’ve just been wearing my same things every day.
So, what is your suggestion for someone who is in quarantine, they want to be comfortable, but they’re wanting to look cute? What are the cute, comfy looks we can do?

[29:44] Kiran
So, personally, I love joggers; I love, love, love joggers, I think that they’re really to dress up or dress down. I think they’re a pant that you can do anything in. So, my go-to is Wolven’s Chai joggers, and those joggers are – it’s a dark brown so it’s really on trend right now because I feel like people are really into neutrals but for me that also resonates with my personal style because being more tanned I do think that those desert tones look really nice on my complexion. So, it’s sort of a benefit of both worlds where yes, it’s trendy but also it’s something I know I’ll wear for the rest of my life; it’s just also in line with my actual personal style. So, with those pants because I can throw on a pair of sneakers and wear them to a dance class or wear them grocery shopping, but I can also put on a blazer and put on cute heels and dress them up and wear them somewhere nice while being super-comfortable, which for me personally – I’m not going back to wearing tight pants after this last year. I have no need to wear skinny jeans ever again in my life, ever, even if they’re trendy again, I couldn’t care less. I think that that’s a way that for me, my personal style has – I’ve always valued being comfortable and now that it’s acceptable, I’m never going back.

[31:14] Sahara
One hundred percent! And I was posting in Rose Gold Goddesses and I was like “Do you remember wearing leggings was considered the most comfortable thing and now wearing leggings feels the equivalent of wearing jeans was for me”, which jeans, I will just never touch again, I can’t, I can’t put anything with a button on, but even leggings, my vagina needs some space, I need a little breathing room honey! So, I feel like joggers are – what is the difference, by the way, between joggers and sweatpants? Is there a difference or is it just a word?

[31:46] Kiran
So, our joggers are not a sweatpant fabric but I do believe there’s a slight difference in silhouette, where joggers are slightly more tailored, tapered sweatpant. So, where sweatpants are more, really intended to be that baggy, super-comfy fit, a jogger is a little more tailored to your leg but certainly not a legging, it’s not tight.

[32:09] Sahara
Yeah, and the number one thing is it has to have pockets. A jogger or sweatpant without pockets, what is the point?

[32:15] Kiran
It has to have pockets – 100%. I cannot believe that so much women’s clothing lacks pockets, it’s mind-blowing! It’s actually huge part of our design philosophy. We put pockets on everything because you need them, men have them, why shouldn’t we have them?

[32:33] Sahara
I know! That’s probably why we have these giant ass bags, because we just never have pockets, we have nowhere to put our shit, so, pockets are so necessary.
So, I wanted to talk a little bit about Wolven. So, you guys basically use recycled water bottles to create your clothing. Can you explain a little bit more about that?

[32:51] Kiran
Yeah, absolutely. So, we use BPA-free recycled PT to create our clothing. And that is a fabric that’s made from close consumer recycled plastic, and it creates a second life for those bottles. So, for us, something that we’re really passionate about is plastic pollution and keeping our oceans clean. So, that’s really part of what led us to this fiber. It’s a great fabric because it is moisture regain, quick-drying, anti-microbial, four-way stretch, all things you’d want out of athletic fabric, but it’s also creating a second life for plastic bottles.
For us, it’s pretty crazy – 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away every hour in the US, so, by creating this second life for these bottles, that might otherwise go to landfill, we are extending that lifecycle of that material.

[33:48] Sahara
That is so important because it is insane how much plastic is in the oceans. I was free-diving, I was at mermaid school in Bali, because I’m a mermaid, and we free-dive in mermaid tails, and I was in Bali with these giant manta rays, 20 different 30ft sized manta rays, and we were so excited, we took a boat all day to get there, it wasn’t even in Bali, it was basically one small Indonesian island, and we got into the water and all I could see was plastic – plastic bags, diaper bags, toothpaste things, all forms of plastic that are consumer goods, that I’m like “No one lives here, it’s the middle of the ocean”, but what happens is, people use them, they throw them into the river because for generations you ate out of banana leaves and things that were biodegradable so you could put them into the river whereas now, it’s plastic that never dies. You put them to the river, it ends up going into these currents and the ocean and ending up in these tide poles which is where these giant manta rays feed. And manta rays, they always have their mouths open, so all of the plastic is going right into their mouths and that’s why they are on the endangered species list and may even become extinct which is just so horrific because they’re the ocean’s angels and so important for biodiversity. And I feel like, we know about the plastic issue but not enough people are doing something with it, so I love that you guys are taking the plastic that’s already there and kind of solving two problems of getting rid of the plastics out of the ocean and how can we allow women to feel good and buy things that are trendy or new for them while not taking more resources from the earth.

[35:32] Kiran
Absolutely! And we actually go a step further. For each sale we remove one pound of ocean-bound for waste. So, we are partnered with this organization called One Earth One Ocean, and they’ve developed some incredible ocean clean-up machinery. So, for example, they have this boat that’s called The Sea Hamster and it kind of operates similarly to the way that a mouth of a manta ray would operate. It is a boat that has this net that goes into the ocean and collects all of the plastic that is there. And by supporting projects like that, not only are we creating second life for existing plastics with our garments, but we’re also helping to eliminate some of this plastic from going into the oceans.

[36:21] Sahara
I love that so much, it’s such an important cause – one of my main causes, for sure. And I also want to talk about the sacred geometry and also the different colors that you guys have – chai, turmeric, all of our spices, you create clothing with. So, tell me a little bit about the sacred geometry?

[36:39] Kiran
Yeah, absolutely. So, for me, sacred geometry around the art work is something that’s connected to my childhood. My dad is Hindu and my mom is Muslim, so between seeing beautiful mandalas and rangoli, to seeing incredible Islamic architectures, sacred geometry is always something that has been around me and that I found really inspiring. And mandalas are this beautiful sacred pattern that is meant to represent the harmony of the Universe and I feel can be really empowering. So when you’re wearing a shape like that, it’s energetically uplifting, making you feel better. And I think that that’s something people don’t really often think about with the clothes they’re wearing. You’re wearing a work of art that is intended to be uplifting, which I think is really special.
And, as far as the colors go for our basics, the colors are also inspired by my heritage. So these spices like turmeric and chai are also kind of a nod to where the birthplace of yoga is and also where I’m from.

[37:48] Sahara
I love that so much and they’re so beautiful. I actually wore a Wolven outfit in my “Yogic Journal” cover shoot, in the middle – if you guys have seen the issue, it’s the one of me on the beach doing that really cool yoga pose and I’m wearing – what was that one called, if anyone wants to get that one?

[38:06] Kiran
So, that’s the Noor print and it’s actually named after my niece (Noor).

[38:14] Sahara
I love that! And the word Noor means light.

[38:17] Kiran
Noor means light, yes, and in Arabic it means the divine light.

[38:22] Sahara
I love it so much! It’s all so beautiful. I’ve just loved watching you blossom into your dharma and just the ripple effects it has for so many people. I know so many listeners, they are wanting to make a change in the world but also let it come from a place and joy and creativity and inspiration. And I love that you have embodied that. You’re a female, lady boss, while doing something that’s conscious and creating a better future and sharing it with others. So thank you for living your dharma!
And, we have a really special offer! So, Kiren is generously gifting all listeners 25% OFF any Wolven order. So, you can head over to wolventhreads.com the link is in the show notes, use the coupon code “SAHARA” and you will get 25% OFF. What are the new looks right now that people could kind of look for and also what are the ones that you feel like will have a long longevity for people?

[39:22] Kiran
I think a go-to are Onyx Crossover Pocket Leggings. It’s a simple block legging with two pockets, which are essential. It also has a really cute crossover waist band which is really flattering.
I also love our turmeric jogger and our chai jogger which are nice neutral tone joggers.
And as far as our prints go, I think Noor, which you wore in your “Yogic Journal” shoot is a print that we’ve had for many years now and still just continues to do so well for us and you know, it’s a beautiful mandala, you get to wear and support artists. And I think that’s really special.

[40:02] Sahara
I love it all so much! So, guys, you can head over to wolventhreads.com use coupon code ‘SAHARA’ for 25% OFF and that link is in the show notes.
Well thank you Kiren so much for sharing your dharma and your wisdom with us, and for also making the world a more sustainable place.

[40:18] Kiran
Thank you so much for having me.

[40:20] End of Interview
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[40:20] Sahara
I hope you enjoyed that conversation! It is so eye-opening when we really tune into how wasteful our fashion industry is and to really make choices for new articles of clothing that we really need and also to be able to support the Earth using recycled material, things that are already out there and turning them into something beautiful. I think there’s just something so poetic about taking something like a recycled water bottle, something that ends up in our ocean, that is so harmful for our planet and turning it into something as beautiful as yoga and fitness clothing.

[40:57] Sahara
So, again, you can head over to wolventhreads.com and use coupon code ‘SAHARA’ for 25% OFF, that link is also in the show notes.

[41:06] Sahara
Thank you so much for tuning in.

[41:09]
If you loved this episode, I would love to send you a free gift which is the first half of my unreleased book “Eat Right for Your Mind-Body Type“. This is a different book than “Eat Feel Fresh“. My first book ever which is not released anywhere, and I am gifting it exclusively to those who leave a review of my podcast in the iTunes store. So all you’ve got to do is head over to iTunes where you’re maybe listening to this podcast and leave a review, take a screenshot that you’ve left it and email it over to me at [email protected] and I will send you back the first half of my unreleased book “Eat Right for Your Mind Body Type“, which goes all into Ayurveda, Doshas, Plant-Based Nutrition, Body Types – all of the things in a really fun and engaging way. So this is my gift to you for free for supporting the podcast. Every single review I personally read. It really helps the podcast be listened to by more people so we can raise the vibration of the planet together, and I am soul grateful to have you on this journey.

Thank you so much for listening and I’ll see you on the next episode. Namaste.

Episode #361: How To Make Your Clothing More Conscious with Kiran Jade
By Sahara Rose