This is a little story about Kristin Glenn and what inspired her to create Seamly.co., the Denver-based sustainable apparel company. 

First, a little history on the garment industry.  A long time ago America abolished slavery at home and the world changed.

Companies wanted cheap labor so they looked overseas.  And they found it in places with no minimum wage, no labor laws, no environmental oversight.  They found modern-day slavery in countries most people had never heard of.

So the garment industry moved overseas to capitalize on cheap labor and zero regulation.  Here in the U.S. our clothes became cheaper and Americans were happy.

Over time, however, we learned about sweat shops, environmental disasters, chemically toxic waterways, and unbelievable working conditions.  All of this, so that we could get cheaper clothes, faster.

So Seamly.co was envisioned because Kristin believes it is possible to do things better.  She and her team set about investigating producing apparel in America.  But in order to really understand what was happening in the world of clothing manufacturing Kristin needed to learn everything she could…  from professors, designers, CEO’s, people who were deeply involved in apparel manufacturing and the sustainable clothing movement. 

Justin Dillon, CEO of Made in A Free World, encouraged Kristin to create a transparent business plan – and enable consumers to “see the thing they are buying.”  Justin spent most of his life as a singer-songwriter.  In 2008, he made CALL+RESPONSE a documentary made to support Made In A Free World’s projects, aimed at disrupting the business of human trafficking, particularly child slavery and forced labor.  The film received international recognition, becoming one of the most important devices in spurring the modern-day abolitionist movement.   The film included commentary by Cornel West, Madeleine Albright, and Nicholas Kristof, with musical performances by Moby, Natasha Bedingfield, Cold War Kids, and Matisyahu.

In 2011, Dillon founded the website Slavery Footprint. Partnering with the U.S. State Department, they launched a website that guides consumers through a short, interactive graphic that guesstimates—based on purchase patterns—how many slaves work to support the respondent’s quality of life.  Can you answer the question: “How Many Slaves Work For You?”

Another inspiration came in the form of ecological spirit, Kate Fletcher.  Fletcher’s work is rooted in nature’s principles and engaged with the cultural and creative forces of fashion and design. Over the last two decades, her original thinking and progressive outlook has infused the field of fashion, textiles and sustainability with design thinking, and in many ways, come to define it.

Kate’s pioneering work in the field, which ranges from developing ‘slow fashion’ ideas and practice to directional sustainability projects, including Local Wisdom which has engaged thousands of people worldwide with the ‘craft of use’ and ‘post-growth’ fashion.  She is founder of the design for sustainability consultancy Slow Fashion where she works with companies, educational establishments and non-governmental organizations to foster change towards sustainability.

After a summer of traveling and research Seamly.co was created.  Their goal is to inspire and encourage young people to create and learn the craft of sewing making manufacturing cool again.  Kristin dreams of a world where young people understand where clothes come from, and are encouraged to get curious about how things are made, where shoppers weigh the environmental and economic benefits of buying USA-made before they purchase. 

Right now, Seamly.co is a little bitty company, using deadstock fabrics to produce clothing in Denver.  But no matter the size, says Kristin “this is a super-thrilling time for Seamly.co,” but she still aspires to create large-scale impact.  I think Kristin is right, perhaps this is just the beginning…