Bandana Tewari: Slow Fashion and Mindful Consumption

On episode 3, we’re joined by the fabulous Bandana Tewari, a lifestyle journalist, sustainability activist & TEDx speaker originally from India and now based in Bali. So real talk — how did a former editor at large of Vogue India end up on the island of Gods?

We cover this and much more in this vastly rich conversation about her transition from a world of luxury and fashion shows to an advocate for sustainability, mindful consumption and slow fashion. In a world where $460B in value is thrown away from clothes only worn between 7-10 years, the fashion industry and its consumers all can (and must) do better.

In this conversation, we explore:

• 5000 fashion shows and 13 years later, what she saw as the biggest challenge facing fashion worldwide

• Pearls of wisdom gleaned from her TEDx talk in 2019, “What Gandhi Can Teach Us About Slow Fashion,” and how these principles apply during 2020 COVID times

• Her personal philosophy and practical advice when it comes to shopping as a slow consumer in the age of COVID-19

• How to transition from a fast fashion mindset to one that is slower, less wasteful, and ultimately more mindful

• What it means to be a sustainability activist in 2020

• The role VR technology can play in fashion to inject much needed empathy in the supply chain and transform the uglier aspects of the industry

• The ways in which culture needs to shift to support a sustainable mindset in fashion and beyond, embracing authentic representation as a critical stepping stone

• How Bali has helped her do the important work of building activism within herself, the community and planet at large