Summary: As an environmental scientist and head of sustainability at fashion brand Rothy’s, Saskia van Gendt works to develop strategies that minimize the environmental impact of the company’s supply chain through innovations in materials, production, fulfillment, and beyond. In March of 2021, she led an initiative committed to achieving circular production by 2023, pioneering a closed-loop footwear system and recycling over 20,000 pairs of shoes by the end of 2021 alone. But before Rothy’s and before she began working with consumer goods altogether, she worked on a very different side of sustainability in her seven-year career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. On this episode of Second Life, find out how van Gendt was able to transition her expertise into a consumer-facing role and foster real growth and change within an industry that needs it the most.
