ESG Outlook: Ladianne Henderson of WoolTribe on Why Sustainability is Everyone’s Problem

ESG Outlook is Sourcing Journal’s discussion series with industry executives to get their take on their company’s latest environmental, social and governance initiatives and their own personal efforts toward sustainability. Here, Ladianne Henderson, co-founder and creative director of WoolTribe, discusses rethinking the word “need.”

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Name: Ladianne Henderson
Title: Co-Founder & Creative Director
Company: WoolTribe

What do you consider your company’s best ESG-related achievement over the last 5 years?

WoolTribe makes hand-dyed fashion accessories using Shaniko wool, the same wool being used in Ralph Lauren’s USA Olympic uniforms. Additionally, we make fashion accessories using carefully curated, sustainable fabrics, and American Organic cotton.

Five years ago, when we started hand dyeing yarn for knitters, crocheters and other crafters, we wanted to use American yarns but didn’t find yarn we thought would resonate with our customers. When a representative from Meridian Mill House came to the shop, we told her that if they started making undyed yarn, using 100 percent USA merino wool that was worsted spun (for smoothness), we would buy it. Several months later we became their first customers for Shaniko wool, which is dual certified under the Responsible Wool Standard and the Nativa-Regen certification program run by Chargeurs.

By making our products completely in the U.S. from partners we know are audited for ESG compliance under the two certification programs, we know we are offering our customers the highest quality products from beginning to end.

We also help cut down on carbon emissions by eliminating international shipping—global shipping is such a huge contributor to many environmental issues. Also, only 2 percent of clothing is made in the United States and more than 85 percent of all clothing manufactured ends up in landfills. We also focus on using deadstock materials whenever possible, in our bags and bucket hats.

Because I’m a Tory Burch Fellow, we work with several amazing companies including Public Thread, founded by Tory Burch Fellow Janay Brower. They are our partners in the manufacture of our CML Totes. They worked with us to develop a scalable process for manufacturing the bags, which we then use a canvas, making one-of-a-kind, luxury works of art you carry with you!

What is your company’s latest ESG-related initiative?

Recently we began making products from reclaimed materials. We learned that it would take one person 10 years to drink the amount of water it takes to make just one pair of jeans. Unfathomable! This led us to begin making products from reclaimed denim. We have worked with Public Thread, a cut-and-sew/pattern development organization that pays its workers a living wage and uses reclaimed fabrics. Our bags use deadstock fabrics from a huge interiors and furnishing company, and deadstock webbing from a major shoe manufacturer.

In addition, we started exploring ways to create symbiosis between supply chains/processes. There are many food waste items that are fantastic dyestuff, and we worked with our local grocer to get their onion skins every couple of weeks. Some of the most sustainable innovations in manufacturing can come from pairings of seemingly disparate industries and local businesses.

What is the biggest misconception consumers have about sustainability in fashion/accessories?

That sustainability is someone else’s problem, and that it’s ok to buy whatever you want regardless of how or where the items are made. But sustainability is everyone’s problem. Either we all realize that now, or we’ll come to understand it in much more painful ways in the near future.

What was your company’s biggest takeaway from the Covid crisis that is still relevant today?

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I think one of the biggest takeaways is that people always seem to think of fair treatment of worker conditions as applying to huge manufacturing facilities, like knitting and spinning mills. But for many small businesses like ours, we do have contract employees much of the time. My co-owner Sheri [Osborne] and I are also workers—not just owners—and taking care of your workers also means taking care of yourself.

As consumers become more aware of worker conditions and how clothing is produced, how can the industry best spread the word on progress?

I really believe we need celebrities, influencers, trendsetters to not only make it cool to wear well-researched clothing purchases, and really talk about things like sustainability and worker treatment, but also to make it cool to share humble brags about such purchases, shouting out to the companies and workers. It needs to become supremely uncool to purchase things that are made by abused workers in horrible conditions.

What do you consider to be the apparel/accessories industry’s biggest missed opportunity related to securing meaningful change?

I’d prefer to look at this as the biggest opportunity because I don’t think the boat has been missed on this—yet. As changes continue to happen across the apparel and accessories industry larger companies are going to have to find ways to be more nimble. One is to collaborate with smaller companies like ours. MOQs can make certain manufacturing jobs unappealing to certain manufacturers. While economies of scale are certainly top of mind for large clothing brands, incorporating dynamic collaborations into the company’s overall product horizon can yield amazing things and also make for incredible content for the brand’s storytellers.

What is your personal philosophy on shopping for your clothes and industry waste?

My personal approach really shifted in 2018 when I was co-hosting a show on YouTube. My co-host, one of our shop workers, and I dared each other to stop buying clothes for three months. Then six months, a year and beyond. From there I decided everything had to fall into one of the following categories: I could make it, mend something I had, receive clothes as a gift, or buy clothing through thrifting. The new things I’ve bought have been few and far between since then. And that only happens when I cannot find what I need through a resale site. The true shift has to do with “need.” I recently made a beautiful V-neck sleeveless top from a linen tablecloth.  Sounds funny, but the tablecloth is just fabric.

How much do you look into a brand’s social or environmental practices before shopping?

It’s important to have a basic understanding of your personal decision tree before you shop—what matters to you, how you will make choices and based on what values. Sheri and I make every effort to buy American-made whenever possible. We went into a Red Wing shoe store because she wanted to buy their work boots (she’d purchased several pairs in the past—made-in-America and long-lasting). When the boots were brought out in the Red Wing shop for her to try, I flipped over the tag inside the boot to find they were made in China. She ultimately decided not to get them because of that.

Anything new you are doing to boost sustainability beyond the fashion industry ?

At work: When it comes to water management, Sheri is a rockstar.  We use low-water techniques for dyeing to limit the amount of water we use.  When we have water that has food-grade citric acid added to it, we often dispose of it by pouring it at the base of acid-loving plants like holly bushes. And recycling, upcycling and creative reuse are all part of who we are so those approaches make their way into our company as well.

At home: We have been learning how air conditioning hurts the environment and the ways in which dehumidification can actually make for a comfortable home.  So, we run the dehumidifier in the summer, and Sheri sets up fans. Much of our furniture came from our families—much from my grandparents. It’s very antiquey, not necessarily “in style” now, but it is far more fashionable to take care of the planet than to buy new stuff every time you want a change. We have been looking into reupholstering existing couches. We also use homemade cleaners—vinegar and baking soda are two of the greatest things you can use around the house! Low-chemical, low environmental impact is our jam.

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