How to Start Your Fashion Activism Journey with Emily Stochl
Community Feature: Emily Stochl & The Preloved Podcast
“The secondhand industry is so much more than a single story. It is as complex and varied as the mainstream retail fashion industry. There’s so much to love about it, but also to know about it, and to improve about it. I want to explore and share it all. ”
Hi, Emily! Thank you so much for joining us today. We have loved getting to know you through your amazing PreLoved Podcast and your activism work with Remake and Sunrise Movement! Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and how you’ve blended all these interests together?
I’m Emily, a writer and activist living in Cedar, Rapids, Iowa. I’m the creator and host of Pre-Loved Podcast, which is a weekly show about the vintage and second-hand fashion industry. Thrifting, and then Pre-Loved Podcast, is what brought me along on this whole journey so I have to start there. It’s what got me interested into sustainable and ethical faction, and then later on, climate activism. It was one of those things where once you start learning about it you can’t stop! For me, social sustainability, climate action, and ethical fashion are all closely tied and intersected.
I know you’d had a long held passion for writing and reading, as well as thrift. Can you share more about your previous work or volunteer experience and how it plays into your life and activism work today?
I’ve always loved reading and writing, and wanted to work in book publishing for pretty much my whole life. I moved to New York, worked some entry-level jobs and internships, but then I decided, when I was about twenty-two, to not to live in New York City and to put down permanent roots in the Midwest instead. Because most publishing jobs were in New York -- and even with remote work, many remain there -- my career path changed. But I’ve always worked in communications. I spent some time in the museum industry, and then now I do social media consulting, I podcast, and write.
Where did your passion for the planet and nature come from? At what point did you decide to start sharing your insights and learnings with others?
I love nature and the outdoors, but my climate activism has always been driven by the people side of things, really. I think it’s because my activism started with ethical fashion and labor, which is always about the human story. From there I started to see that what harms people harms our planet, and that the climate emergency is actually a justice issue in so many ways.
When did you launch Pre Loved Podcast? And how do you see your love and interest in secondhand, thrift and reuse playing a critical role over the next ten years?
I launched Pre-Loved Podcast in the summer of 2018. I was really interested in ethical and sustainable fashion, but hadn’t found a podcast focused solely on the thrift and vintage side of things, which was really my entry point to that whole world. So I decided to make the show I would want to exist!
Over the next several years I hope to continue telling stories about the secondhand and thrift space. I hope that will still include a podcast, but also writing -- maybe a book or a documentary one day! The secondhand industry is so much more than a single story. It is as complex and varied as the mainstream retail fashion industry. There’s so much to love about it, but also to know about it, and to improve about it. I want to explore and share it all.
“Being held accountable is a good thing. So even if it is hard to not know something, or to get something wrong — and this will happen over and over again! — it’s so important to keep showing up and learning.”
When thinking about your current volunteer work with Sunrise Movement and as a Remake Ambassador, what have been the most impactful experience you’ve had that has allowed you to challenge the way you participate in fashion?
It was powerful to be a part of the collective activism that went into Remake’s #PayUp campaign in 2020. Here is some information about that campaign from Remake:
“On March 30th, 2020, Remake launched a petition demanding brands #PayUp as a response to reports coming in from suppliers that brands had cancelled in-production orders as a result of retail constriction following the outbreak of coronavirus.
To date, 21 brands have committed to pay in full for orders completed and in production. It is estimated that the #PayUp campaign has unlocked an estimated $1 billion for suppliers in Bangladesh and $22 billion globally.”
It is powerful to be a part of something that is so large and effective. It shows that action can bring about real, tangible results. And that is something that has really made an impact on me, and that I want others to feel, as well.
We’ve all been bombarded from all sides with conversations on the climate crisis, racial justice, and human rights violations -- how do you see their intersection in fashion and in your community?
These issues can’t be separated, they are the same problem, take for example, that the climate crisis is an issue disproportionately impacting BIPOC communities, or that the majority of garment workers who make our clothes are women of color. You cannot solve the climate emergency, or reform the fashion industry, without justice for racial and human rights damages done.
I know that racial justice is intrinsically linked to everything we are fighting for in the climate crisis work and yet it’s so often that we “see” white women leading the sustainable fashion space. As we are growing and learning, how can we center the voices of others, show up continually to the conversation and participate with our actions?
I think this begins with becoming accustomed to not knowing, learning, connecting and improving. Some people feel a lot of discomfort in not knowing something -- I know it’s something I struggle with. As white women, we are not the center of these racial justice conversations, nor the experts. Marie Beech (@mariebeech) said this perfectly and I’ve saved some of her quotes on my phone, like: “When you center yourself, constructive criticism feels like a very personal attack. But when BIPOC experiences are at the center of your anti-racism work, constructive criticism feels like an opportunity to learn and do better.”
Being held accountable is a good thing. So even if it is hard to not know something, or to get something wrong -- and this will happen over and over again! -- it’s so important to keep showing up and learning.
“Getting plugged in to a community is important because you feel connected to others who are doing this work — it’s like how you might feel more inspired to go to the gym, or attend an event, if you have a friend to go with you. ”
What advice do you give to someone who is just starting on their journey to becoming more active in climate action and human rights work? Any tips on how more individuals can use their passion for sustainable fashion and channel it into direct action?
Yes! If you’re already passionate about an issue like climate action, or human rights work, that is a great place to start because there are already a lot of organizations who can help you get plugged into actions. For climate action, I highly recommend you connect with your local Sunrise Movement hub, and if you’re interested in fashion and justice for garment workers, check out the work Remake is doing! Getting plugged in to a community is important because you feel connected to others who are doing this work -- it’s like how you might feel more inspired to go to the gym, or attend an event, if you have a friend to go with you.
These groups can help you get plugged into direct actions, but some of those actions might look like: phone or text banking for political campaigns, canvassing, protest, service work. There’s so much variety in local community based work, from tutoring for English language learning, to helping people study for the citizenship test, to working at a food bank, to volunteer hours on a regenerative farm -- just a couple examples I’ve done from my small Midwest community.
Many organizations will also have social media actions, and if they are circulating a petition on an issue, for example, might provide you with a toolkit of graphics to share. This is great, too! But I urge you not to stop there and to see if there is community work you can try. Because getting connected to others is key in making this something sustainable that you stick with.
I know the current times are emotionally draining and more challenging than ever before to continue to show up. How do you stay motivated and hopeful when participating in the work?
It’s especially hard with the election so close. I’ve actually removed Facebook, Twitter and news apps from my phone for the time being. I’m focusing on community work, and talking with people in real life whenever possible. And I’m putting down my phone to read more.
“Secondhand style gives me a chance to light up a creative part of my brain, and I just love that. Also, the people in this community are very kind and supporting of one another! ”
As an avid reader, what are you reading or listening to right now that you would recommend around climate, justice, and fashion? Are you following anyone that we should know about?
I just finished a book Politics is for Power, which is about how to transition from “political hobbyism” -- news consumption, sharing social media articles, etc. -- into direct political action in your community.
I love Naomi Klein, and really think everyone should read On Fire and This Changes Everything. I recommend The Future We Choose for those looking for some positive inspiration within the climate action space. Braiding Sweetgrass is an amazing book about the indigenous wisdom, the environment, and regeneration.
Podcast I’m loving on these subjects include: Conscious Chatter (especially The Root series with Dominique Drakeford), Eco Chic, Extinction Rebellion Podcast, Generation Green New Deal, Green Dreamer, Heated, Hot Take, Remember Who Made Them, and How to Save a Planet.
On Instagram, I recommend the following storytellers, educators and activists: @elizabethcline, @cerowastecindy, @tolmeia, @theorispresent, @greengirlleah, @diandramarizet, @poppyokotcha, @katieboue, @taltakingpics, @farmerrishi, @ajabarber, and @coconut_cracked, just to name a few!
It’s clear beyond just using your platform to educate about issues you care about, that you also have a lot of fun by bringing in your love of thrift and reading. What do you love most about the thrift community and what thoughts do you have about secondhand that you wish more people knew about?
Just how fun and exciting it is! Secondhand style gives me a chance to light up a creative part of my brain, and I just love that. Also the people in this community are very kind and supporting of one another!
When you aren’t volunteering, reading or writing (for the Huffington Post, mind you!), what can we find you doing? Are there any places in Cedar Rapids you love to spend your time?
Found+Formed vintage shop
Moss plant shop
Nature trails and parks
Next Page Books
Analog Vinyl
The Farmers Market
Thank you so much for all of your incredible work in sharing resources and leaders in the movement we should know, as well as connecting us in the world of preloved style! We encourage you all to tune into the great content Emily leads both in her podcast and on her blog.
Listen and subscribe to Pre-Loved Podcast on: iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | or wherever you get your podcasts!
THE VINTAGE & SECOND-HAND GLOBAL DIRECTORY!
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You can follow the work of Emily over at @emilymstochl. Check out the rollout of her past podcast episodes online and learn her tips on getting active on this post.