We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacqueline Schumann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jacqueline, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I’m very lucky, in that I have the privilege to decide only to work with fashion brands that conduct business with higher ethics and values than the industry norm, so for me, all of the projects I do feel extremely meaningful and fulfilling. Whether I’m working with a newbie startup brand helping them to understand the impacts of typical denim production or helping with CADs in a design department- it’s all fulfilling. I very much enjoy my work :)
Jacqueline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hello :)
My name is Jacqueline and I’m a freelance denim designer.
Working in this sector came through unexpected curveballs in life, not unlike many people, and to fully share how exactly I got here would require much of your time. With the intention in mind of this interview going beyond one’s origin, an in-depth article about my background can be read on Voyage Utah: https://voyageutah.com/
To provide your readers with some sort of brief context though, after my graduation from FIDM – The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising,- various professional and personal experiences made way for some crucial lessons….and heartaches, successes, and failures. Those led me to decide that whatever work I was going to do in the fashion industry would be done with integrity, transparency, and respect. Many people are aware that the apparel industry is built on cheap labor, cheap materials, and blatant disrespect for our planet. But there are those who don’t know or are fully unaware of these sad realities. The lessons and heartaches seem to be unrelated, but many times existed in the same space. Exposure to wastefulness, my research into the industry, and the devastating loss of my father, led me to decide that my passion still lies in design and apparel, but that my values had changed. I decided how I was going to interact with clothing moving forward but more so what kind of part I was going to play in regards to working in the field. I had been stopped before by not living in a fashion hub, but after finding Sew Heidi, an industry professional who teaches freelancing in fashion, I left my non-apparel job and took the leap of freelancing.
I now work with two different types of denim brands. Those that have shown initiative to pivot to better systems, (but need help getting there). And those that already are:
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More Sustainable
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Ethical
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Responsible
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Fair
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Circular
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Slow
Or better yet Conscious. The industry has let the word sustainability lead the conversation but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. For me, “conscious” is a great way to articulate an all-encompassing topic. We can’t just consider if a brand is using a “sustainable material”- this doesn’t speak to the people who are making the products, the impact of offshoring secondhand clothes, overproduction, or exploited labor.
My current services fall into design and consultation. Designing is, unsurprisingly my favorite part :) But before any sketching or silhouette ideas come into play, the work beings in education. I first help brands understand how denim can be made in less harmful ways. Whether they are a denim-centered brand or want to add denim as a new assortment- either way, circularity is at the forefront.
Denim is a very thirsty, labor and chemically-intensive business. It takes about 1,800 gallons of water to produce 1 pair of jeans. That’s just one statistic, one factor to take into account. What exactly does that mean? Well, since denim is made from cotton, it takes quite a lot of water to grow that crop- that’s the bulk of it. The other water usage falls into the washing and dying process. And because cotton isn’t a crop that’s ingested, there are not nearly as many regulations around the chemicals used to grow the cotton. This puts farmers’ health at risk, as they are surrounded by harmful or toxic chemicals day in and day out. And this is where organic cotton comes into play. Have you ever seen marketing for “organic styles” or “organic fashion?” Many outside the industry get a good laugh at this, as the first thing that comes to mind is, “My pants don’t eat food! :) Although “organic” is an overused buzzword, and it still takes a lot of water to grow organic cotton, sourcing this crop without the use of pesticides and chemicals is a good step that brands can take.
Nowadays, denim is hardly made with just cotton, (rigid, loose fits with 100% cotton have been trending :). But it’s safe to say that most of us love our denim with some stretch. The skinny jean paved the way for that comfort and give. But sadly, that stretch comes at a cost. Spandex and polyester are manmade materials that come at an even higher cost than cotton; chemicals galore, and petroleum all around.
Material choice, of course, isn’t the only concern that denim brands have when it comes to better practices and higher ethics. They need help with circularity, design, brand outreach, communication, and ideation- some of these being traditional industry skills, but circularity not so much. Going against the industry norm is no easy feat.
The problems I help solve depend on the size of the brand. For startups and small businesses, my work revolves around their foundations: DNA, values, purpose, goals, etc. From there I can map out an assortment or collection. (Inspiration, CADs, washes, signature looks, and trims- all revolving around conscious design). Many medium – large-size brands already have teams or departments dedicated to this with systems in place. My work with them is more streamlined by alleviating design work through fast and accurate technical sketches.
Other avenues I help with are outreach, transparency, and validation. Brands big and small want their name known while establishing trust. It’s challenging for them to not only reach that trust but take the time to flesh out processes. I love being a liaison between them and platforms that can speak to their efforts and verify claims. Good On You- a digital platform that has become the gold standard for brand transparency, is the main company I urge brands to work with. Being vetted by them goes a long way; customers can quickly and easily verify their values while shopping which allows trust to be established early on. Another notable company is Retraced- its software enables traceability within supply chains. This answers questions from consumers quickly, with a simple QR code scan, they can see every touch point in the making of a product, from where the materials came from to who it was made by.
What sets me apart from other industry professionals is first, that I don’t work in a traditional office setting full-time, but instead, freelance. And among the fashion freelancers out there, I feel what sets me apart is my push for education and long-term game plan. Knowing what I know now and how important I feel it is to better the industry, I love sharing bite-size pieces of information on my Instagram page that speak to everyone, not just industry professionals, with content that stems from curiosity, not guilt or shame.
As far as my game plan? I intend to freelance for the foreseeable future, but I also have big, big ambitions. I’m a particularly passionate person and have never quite been satisfied with just doing a job well. I want to see the job done well into the next step, the next chapter, and the next best thing that can serve a company and its customers. I’ve recently realized that I’ve always subconsciously been very concerned with what “should be,” “what is best,” and “what is right.” It makes total sense that I do what I do now. I’m dedicated to helping brands become better through freelancing but long term, I want to change the industry in other scalable ways. And for me, that means something around textile recycling, elementary education programs, non-profits, and government regulation involvement. As far as I’m concerned, fashion’s problems don’t just concern fashionistas. They concern everyone because everyone wears clothes.
What am I most proud of? Right now, I’m most proud of how resilient I’ve become. It’s a strange thing to notice about yourself but after looking back, I’ve felt the personal growth in regard to how I react and move forward when life doesn’t go as planned. Those who know me well wouldn’t say I have a thick skin. I’ve always been very sensitive and conscientious. I now let these attributes be a champion for me, not a hindrance.
To speak only to denim brands- I want to be a reminder that kindness can coexist with creativity, scalability, and innovation. I don’t have 20 years under my belt, but I have a fresh perspective, tenacity, and enough experience and skills to help you make a difference.
Turning the megaphone to everyone else- I’d like to say that conscious fashion doesn’t have to be about perfectionism, guilt, ignorance, or status. Some would argue that point but spending a few minutes here and there educating yourself on this topic goes a long way. It’s a total cliche but turns out to be true: “The more you know.” The more you know, the more empowered you can feel about the buying choices you make. This industry has a long way to go but we all have to start somewhere.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
There is no one story about resilience that would be beneficial to share, as the word resilient is defined as: “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” Conditions- plural. No one gets deemed as being resilient when they get back on their feet from being pushed down one time. I’ve become resilient after countless no’s, not right now’s, maybe later’s, and next time’s. This happened with job interviews, family health issues, dreams, and pivots. Everyone gets knocked down, it’s the ones that continually, time after time stand back up and stay in the arena that can wear the badge of resilience.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I won’t sit here and say that you should watch this or read that. The truth is that most people just don’t care about the issues of fast fashion. There are other, more pressing things in people’s lives and clothing takes a backseat and that’s reality. We can’t expect everyone to care as much about the fashion industry as we [in the industry] do; there are many worthy causes in the world to become involved in. However, we all get up and get dressed every day. Somebody made those clothes, someone designed them. Someone had to pick the cotton. Someone had to sell it. Someone has to take it to the dump when you’ve thrown it out. It’s woven into our lives just as much as anything else, (pun intended :) So for those who couldn’t care less about it- I’d say, at least consider what you’ve got, why you’ve got it, and why you continue to buy what you buy. Being mindful of these things is a great place to simply start becoming more aware.
To those who have an interest in learning about this sector of fashion, I have an exhaustive list of resources for you to consume via one of my blog posts: https://www.jacquelinediane.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jacquelinediane.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacqueline_consciousfashion/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelineschumann/