For the third installment of Art.coop’s “Art Worlds We Want” at CTHQ, we’ll be talking to organizers and activists in the world of fashion who were not only resisting tendencies in these fields – from supply chains which claim “sustainability” but continue to exploit labor, to the environmental effects of textile waste and overconsumption – but actively building fairer systems throughout the supply chain. We’ll learn about each person’s story of how they got on this path, go into the very real challenges of building cooperative structures amidst late stage capitalism’s last gasps, and share how cooperative models can support workers and producers in fashion.

What lies beyond the status quo in fashion?

Panelists (1 – 3 pm)

Peter Dupont, Co-Founder of ANDEL Cooperative

ANDEL is a clothing brand cooperative established in 2021 by Oscar Miles, Peter Dupont and Weronika Banas. Coming from different areas of the industry, they have established a creative alliance which aims to produce collectable pieces which have minimal environmental impact, in keeping with our ethos. “Sustainability” and “ethical” are ubiquitous words right now. But at ANDEL, they are putting these words into practice.

Anh-Thu Nguyễn, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Democracy at Work Institute

Democracy at Work Institute advances the worker cooperative field in order to create a fairer economy and better jobs. As a think-and-do-tank, the Institute brings on-the-ground experience with cooperative business to a birds-eye view of the national stage. We develop standards and leaders, gather models and best practices, coordinate existing resources, and advocate for worker cooperatives as a community economic development strategy.

Anh Thư Nguyễn is Director of Strategic Partnerships at Democracy at Work Institute. She currently leads partnership and project development with the Rapid Response Cooperative project and DAWI’s NYC programming.  Anh Thư’s career trajectory has encompassed conscious fashion/beauty–including being on the founding team of indie beauty brand MAKE Beauty– after a pivot from international humanitarian law.  She currently serves on the governing board of the NYC Fashion Workforce Development Coalition, is on the policy council for the NYC Employment and Training Coalition and was named a 2022-23 Coro New York Immigrant Civic Leadership Fellow.

Laura Sansone, Textile designer and founder of Carbon Farm Network

New York Carbon Farm Network is an interdependent group of small brands and independent designers who want to source Climate Beneficial™ fibers from farms that are implementing Carbon Farm Practices on their lands. The Carbon Farm Network is organized as a purchasing cooperative, where designers work collaboratively to source fibers and make yarns for the commercial production of textile products.

Laura Sansone is a textile designer, activist, and consultant. She is the creator of NY Textile Lab, a design and consulting company that supports environmentally responsible textile methods, and regional systems of production. Laura is currently a Part-Time Assistant Professor of Textiles at Parsons School of Design. She has developed initiatives that bring NY designers and farmers together with the goal of creating a decentralized, regenerative textile supply network.

Textile Lab’s NYS Regional Yarn Sourcebook is a collection of locally sourced and produced yarns that are intended to link apparel, product and interior designers to the regional network of farms and fiber processing mills. She is the founder of the Carbon Farm Network, a purchasing cooperative that connects designers to Climate Beneficial™ fibers that are grown on NYS farms practicing Carbon Farming on their lands. In addition, she has designed woven textiles for the following companies: Maharam, New York, NY, American Silk Mills, New York, NY and Burlington House Fabrics, New York, NY.

Clothing Swap with The Free Store Project (3 – 4pm)

Guidelines: please do not bring any items that you wouldn’t deem as wearable. Make sure items are washed with no stains and gently used. 

The Free Store Project: Kindness, care, and pride are restored – one community shelf at a time. Formed during the recent pandemic, The Free Store Project is a community-centered initiative aimed to solve economic inequality while addressing climate change. We set out to restore hope and neighborhoods with freestanding alt-markets. Sharing hubs that are open and accessible to the public 24/7. Free Stores provide resources in a dignified “shopping” experience to all who visit. Through our many events, engagement, and community outreach- we strive to make a positive impact with all of our pursuits.

Myles Smutney is an activist & multi-disciplinary artist who crafts things and environs meant to empower others. Founding The Free Store Project in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she has built a network of free-standing sharing hubs. Creating a community infrastructure in areas often neglected, these Free Store kiosks help bridge the economic gap and lessen our carbon footprint. Each location is designed for strangers to become neighbors when they share resources. Limiting the amount of usable goods in our landfills and encouraging people to nurture, help and carry each other through dark times. She implores you to be the change you want to see in the world and reminds you; that if you build it, they will come.