Sustainable Shoemaking with Suggies Co-Founder Mary Sue Papale

Fashion insider and co-founder of sustainable footwear brand Suggies, Mary Sue Papale, shares footwear industry secrets from her years working at Esprit and Bebe, and talks about what it takes to make shoes with an end-to-end ethical and eco-conscious manufacturing process. Mary Sue explains how American companies outsourcing to China in the 70s and 80s changed the fashion landscape, how ready-to-wear helped create a shift in consumer behavior, how the rise of fast fashion took us from 4 seasons to 52 micro-collections a year, and how fashion brands get away with stealing designs. She also talks about the challenges of manufacturing in the USA and her commitment to paying a living wage.  For show notes visit: https://www.swapsociety.co/pages/podcast