In With the New

Are you looking for a way to find trusted vegan and cruelty free products? In this episode, Avril interviews Vikas Garg, the founder and CEO of the abillion app. They discuss Vikas' personal journey to veganism and how it inspired him to create the abillion app. After his parents fell ill, Vikas started thinking more seriously about the role food plays in his life. He decided to go vegan, which really instilled a sense of purpose in his life. This led to the creation of the abillion app, which is a social commerce platform for the global vegan movement. Be one of the abillion people who go vegan with the abillion app! Take a listen. Check out the show notes here! Resources: Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Contact

Genia Mineeva is the founder of BEEN London, a sustainable, handmade accessories brand that British Vogue named one of the most innovative fashion companies in the world. Genia started her career as a political journalist in the BBC newsroom, where her inquisitive nature led her to question why so many reusable or recyclable materials end up as waste. What she discovered led her down the path to launching BEEN London, to give new life to innovative materials rescued from landfill. Designed and manufactured in East London, BEEN London has had a real, measurable impact on the fashion industry by proving that waste can become beautiful, inside and out. Listen to hear Genia's story! Learn more here, in the show notes. Resources: Website Instagram LinkedIn Contact

In this episode, Avril speaks with Jeremy Lang, founder and VP of Sustainability at Pela. The company is best known for their biodegradable phone cases as well as their countertop composter, Lomi. We live in a world where the food system is broken. So much food is either lost or spoiled. What makes Lomi incredible is that in just 3-5 hours, it breaks down food scraps into nutrient-rich plant food. This leads to easier waste disposal and reduced food waste being sent to the landfill. Listen in! Check out the show notes here. Resources: Website Instagram LinkedIn Contact

Dr. Lara Ramdin is the Chief Innovation and Science Officer at Upcycled Foods Inc., which powers the B2B upcycled food economy with product development expertise, cutting-edge technology, and a growing portfolio of ingredient solutions. The company’s patented food upcycling technology creates proprietary ingredients that are delicious, versatile, clean-label, and nutritious from food that would have otherwise gone to waste. Upcycled Foods’ flagship product, ReGrained SuperGrain+®, is the industry-leading upcycled ingredient made from rescued brewer’s “spent” grain (BSG) that has already been cultivated, harvested, and used once but still has more to offer.

Keri Andriana is the Founder of Amschela, a UK-based luxury accessory brand that focuses on encapsulating the intrinsic charm of the modern-day contemporary woman with on-the-go sustainably made pieces for life. Amschela is PETA-approved and strives to use high-quality, environmentally friendly certified materials that are sustainable, serve to reduce our carbon footprint, and are not harmful to animals. The brand is also a champion of social mobility impact, providing opportunities to young people who wish to work in the fashion industry.

Craig McIntosh and Carissa Campeotto are the Co-founders of Trendi, a Vancouver-based tech company reducing food waste by using robotics and automation to upcycle it into valuable products. Trendi’s BioTrim units go direct to the source — farms, fisheries, distributors — to convert surplus or unsalable (visually nonconforming) foods into shelf-stable, nutrient-dense single commodity ingredients. Because these products are processed on-site at optimal freshness, they retain a “straight from the farm” flavor but in a compact form that can be stored and transported for a fraction of the cost of fresh produce. Trendi uses the resulting freeze-dried or pureed products in its smoothie machines and also distributes them to manufacturers.

Ani Wells is a sustainable fashion consultant, impact communications specialist, and the co-founder of Simply Suzette, a storytelling platform and consultancy exploring the juxtaposition of sustainable fashion with a focus on denim. Ani works closely with market leaders in the denim world, advising them on sustainably focused campaigns and communications to create global impact. She has had the honor of leading the Conscious Fashion Campaign in collaboration with the United Nations and Transformers Foundation due to her depth of knowledge in sustainable production and the denim supply chain. She is passionate about telling the stories of the people behind the supply chain, championing sustainable innovations, helping brands use their businesses as a force for good, and helping consumers navigate the blurry world of sustainable fashion.

Kimberly Chamberland is the Founder and CEO of Big Mountain Foods, an award-winning plant-based food company established in 1987. Going back to her vegetarian roots, she has established herself as a true culinary expert and pioneer in her own right. Today Big Mountain Foods remains a family-owned business with distribution across North America. They are committed to sourcing local, cruelty-free, sustainable, plant-based ingredients and developing food that not only tastes great but is good for you.

Jessica Malach is the VP of Marketing and Insights at Social Nature, a product discovery and trial platform powered by almost 1 million natural shoppers. She leads their United States and Canadian consumer insights and brand partner programs. Jessica began her career in the natural health industry in 2004, leading company growth strategies with senior roles at Alive Publishing Group, Vega marketing team prior to a $550 million USD exit, Bullfrog Power renewable energy company, and Pinto product data and personalization tech provider recently acquired by SPINS. She is passionate about sharing knowledge with the industry and has been a contributing speaker on marketing and consumer health trends to Strategy Magazine, Natural Foods Merchandiser, Whole Foods Magazine, Nosh, Plant Based Foods Association, Canadian Health Food Association, and the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Graham Stewart is the founder and EVP of Fibre52, a cost-effective, eco-conscious processing technology which massively decreases the environmental impact of cotton dyeing. Graham has decades of experience as a textile and apparel production fiber to brand specialist in the textile industry in production, marketing and leadership roles. For the past two years, Graham has been developing Fibre52’s patent-pending technology which retains cotton’s natural properties, resulting in stronger, kinder fabric that offers moisture-management performance and strength properties that rival petrochemical-based textiles.

Sasha Bricel is the Director of Marketing at Nature’s Path Foods, a pioneer in the organic food movement, and a leader in sustainable food design and development. Sasha is responsible for bringing Nature’s Path brands to the world, growing the Nature’s Path Organic Leadership legacy, and driving leadership effectiveness. Sasha is a Cannes and D&AD award-winning marketer and leader with over 10 years of experience working with some of Canada’s biggest companies to manage and build purpose-led brands that aim to change the way the world works.

Lindsay O’Donnell is the Founder and Marketing Director of Piquant Marketing, a creative and strategic marketing agency that has worked with over 100 vegan and vegetarian food and wellness brands. Lindsay’s passion for growing and supporting "foodpreneurs" and food brands started at Whole Foods Market and led her to found Piquant in 2016. Lindsay is also the co-owner and marketing partner of Planted Expo, Canada’s largest plant-based event.

Emma Smith is the Founder of Zimt Chocolates, handmade artisanal chocolates that are vegan and certified organic. Zimt was founded in 2011 with the aim of supporting those who are most vulnerable through sales of chocolate and by spreading knowledge and opening hearts. Zimt is an ethical vegan company at heart and makes decisions consciously for environmental and human rights reasons. Their ingredients are certified organic, they use coconut sugar and nectar to sweeten their products, and they were an early adopter of biodegradable packaging. Zimt is committed to donating a portion of its sales to support animal rescues and organizations doing life-changing work to improve the lives of people vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

After working in the fashion industry for over fifteen years as a brand manager for top international brands, Silvia Jeane Gallo founded jeane & jax in 2014 with the vision of combining her fashion expertise with her compassion for nature. Today, jeane & jax designs and produces stylish and luxurious vegan handbags, with the mission of providing consumers with ethical and sustainable alternatives to animal-based leather goods. jeane & jax uses only sustainable premium recycled vegan materials and/or plant-based fabrics. Their commitment to creating ethical products extends to every level of their supply chain, including manufacturing. jeane & jax works only with factories that offer employees a safe, healthy and equitable work environment, and have been audited and certified to meet these standards.

Originally from just outside of north London England, Joey's career as a fashion designer has taken him across five continents. It was in 2019 that Joey decided to switch from designer to factory owner and start Veshin factory in Guangzhou, China. Veshin (pronounced V-shin) is built on a philosophy centred on sustainability, transparency & environmentally progressive values, and is an original equipment & design manufacturer (OEM/ODM) specializing in luxury bags & accessories made from leather alternatives. Veshin works with brands during the product design and manufacturing stages to help them switch to cruelty-free leather alternatives. By sourcing next-gen materials and chemical-free dyes, Veshin helps brands replicate the look, feel, and performance of leather without the environmentally harmful practices. Currently Joey resides in Colombia where he is piloting Veshin's second factory, located in Latin America.

Brent Baker is the Lead of New Business Development for MIRUM®, Natural Fiber Welding's (NFW) categorically new, plant-based, and plastic-free leather alternative material. Brent supports designers and makers around the world to reduce reliance on plastics and animal products to shrink their footprints and expand their creative palettes. In an industry awash with incremental solutions, NFW is driving a systems-level shift away from petroleum-derived products and toxic chemistries with their family of plastic-free materials. Outside of MIRUM®, NFW is bringing to scale CLARUS®, a novel yarn treatment technology that imbues natural fibers with the performance of synthetics without the plastic, PLIANT® a 100% bio-based, recyclable, and moldable outsole for footwear, and TUNERA®, a 100% bio-based foam to replace plastic composites for internal components for consumer products.

Kelly Drennan is the Founding Executive Director of Fashion Takes Action (FTA), Canada’s only non-profit organization dedicated to advancing sustainability in the fashion industry. Her role at FTA is to remove the barriers to sustainability that exist for the entire fashion system, through initiatives such as the annual World Ethical Apparel Roundtable conference (WEAR), Sustainable Fashion Toolkit, and My Clothes My World, FTA’s youth education program. In 2017, Kelly was the recipient of the prestigious Clean 50 award given to Canada’s climate leaders, where she was recognized for Education & Thought Leadership, and was the first recipient of the award for the fashion industry. In 2022 Kelly won the Sustainability Award given out by the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA).

Sandra Nomoto is a content writer, editor, and marketing consultant for cruelty-free businesses. Sandra’s communications career began in the public relations industry in 2005, and in 2012 she founded Conscious Public Relations, Inc., a B-Corporation certified PR agency for socially and environmentally responsible companies. Sandra authored The Only Public Relations Guide You’ll Ever Need and Vegan Marketing Success Stories, the world’s first vegan marketing book. She also co-hosts VEG Networking Canada, where plant-based and vegan companies connect and collaborate.

Amelia Eleiter is the Co-founder and CEO of Debrand, a leading textile recycling solutions provider in North America. Amelia and co-founder Wes Baker launched Debrand to help the world’s leading apparel brands achieve their product sustainability goals. The company specializes in the secure reverse logistics of obsolete, damaged, or returned goods, with a focus on extracting as much value as possible from our planet’s finite resources.

Steven Bethell is the Co-founder of Beyond Retro, a line of unique, reworked items handcrafted from carefully selected vintage fabrics. Beyond Retro has been the leader in vintage clothing in Europe for over 15 years and was featured on the cover of Vogue, in the Huffington Post, and worn by Adele. Steven is also the co-founder of Bank & Vogue Ltd., which works with over 250 charities and private collectors to maximize the value hierarchy of textiles, based on the belief that everything has the potential to not only avoid landfills, but generate profit.