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Charles Ross talks to Catherine Weetman about Performance Sportswear Design & sustainable matters for outdoor gear and clothing.
Charles has worked alongside some of the better thinkers of the industry, like Sarah Howcroft (co-founder of Rohan), & the sustainability team at the European Outdoor Group trade association his passion for more responsible product development grew. However he kept returning to the concern from his students: How is selling more Product going to Save the World?
We talk about fibres, including petrochemicals and bioplastics, why microplastics are not the biggest problem, we discuss trends for rental, reuse and repair. We discuss false solutions, and why emotional durability is the key to reducing our clothing footprint.
Podcast host Catherine Weetman helps businesses use circular, regenerative and fair solutions to do better, with less.
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Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.
Links we mention in the episode:
- Charles Ross on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-ross-1464714/
- Email Charles@email.com
About Charles Ross
Charles Ross is just a lucky guy – he keeps on being at the right place & the right time. Whilst adventuring around the world he ended up in the US & joined the staff at Outward Bound. On returning to this country the cold, wet, windy & dark location of work did not appeal so much, so he diverted into the apparel side of the Outdoor Industry just as Goretex & fleece were taking hold.
He completed his education just as the new MA in Performance Sportswear Design was started, so was ‘volunteered’ to deliver some of the modules & has been associated with the graduates of it ever since.
Working alongside some of the better thinkers of the industry, like Sarah Howcroft (co-founder of Rohan), & the sustainability team at the European Outdoor Group trade association his passion for more responsible product development grew. However he kept returning to the concern from his students: How is selling more Product going to Save the World? The advantage of having some of the best graduates has always raised the bar!
Issues like the Forever Chemicals (highlighted by the movie Dark Waters), the Plastics-in-the-Ocean, ReGenerative Agriculture, and the such like always seem to be on his desk. He teaches all over the world (mainly by Zoom), has been recruited to the Royal College of Art to lead on Performance Sportswear Design, lobbies on textiles via UK Government APPGs (All-Party Parliamentary Groups) & Select Committee appearances, but is most proud of being one of The Do Lecture team. His most visible role is as the moderator of the presentations at the Ingredient trade fairs of Performance Days & the Functional Fabric Fair
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