Sustainability in the fashion industry is uncommon but highly necessary.

In this episode, we speak with an incredible product-preneur who is changing the fashion industry with innovative and sustainable ideas. 

Kristi Soomer is a former management consultant turned fashion entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Encircled, a B-corp-certified fashion company based in Toronto, Canada, offering a Canadian-made line of versatile, sustainably made clothing that helps women streamline their wardrobes.

We chat about: 

  • Her journey to starting her sustainable fashion brand
  • The process of launching and designing garments
  • The different levels of sustainability 
  • The slim percentage of sustainable manufacturers 
  • How to shop sustainably
  • And more!

Enjoy the show – you are going to be so inspired!

About Kristi Soomer:

Kristi Soomer is the founder and CEO of Encircled, a Canadian-made line of versatile, sustainably made clothing that helps women streamline their wardrobes.

Inspired by her love of travel and dislike for checking a bag, she started Encircled in 2012 as a side gig while she was working as a management consultant. Her first design for Encircled was a multi-way design – The Chrysalis Cardi – which was made on the kitchen floor of her condo using a sewing machine she found on Craigslist. Over the next two years, she immersed herself in fabric research and courses in illustrating and sewing to create a capsule collection of sustainably made basics. In 2014, she took the plunge and left her corporate job to open our first studio space in Toronto.

Since then, Encircled has grown into a multi-million dollar direct to consumer slow fashion brand while staying committed to high ethical and sustainable standards in all aspects of the company, from using fabrics that honour the environment to providing good working conditions and fair wages for our sewers. We’re proudly one of only a handful of brands in Canada that are a certified B Corporation.

Links mentioned on the show:

Encircled Website: https://www.encircled.co

Encircled Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/encircled_

Kristi’s Website: https://www.kristisoomer.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Kristisoomer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-fox-b7522579/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristisoomer

Podcast: https://www.kristisoomer.com/pages/the-brave-and-boss-podcast

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