202030 Podcast

What will be Berlin’s legacy? A mecca for upstarts and start-ups, not to mention international creatives of every discipline, the capital of Germany is positioned to be a global cultural leader in the decades to come. For Sascha Wolf, that vision includes Berlin becoming the global impact capital. In this episode, studio MM04’s Lou Croff Blake talks with Sascha about his vision for Berlin’s future, and the path that led him to a revolutionary approach to networking. Sascha founded AusserGewöhnlich Berlin in 2009, transitioning from a long career in the world of diplomats. He and co-founder Giada Armani wanted to build an alternative network, one based on impact instead of personal gain. Impact alludes to sustainable development, but takes an action-based, multidisciplinary approach. As per the 4-pillar model of sustainability, it means creating environmental, social, cultural and economic positive change. Now, the concept of AusserGewöhnlich Berlin has expanded into GICA, the Global Impact Capital Alliance, which unites different cities with their own established impact networks. And to top it all off, Sacha and colleagues have founded the 17Academy – referencing SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – to train participants on how to become an impact networker. To learn more about AusserGewöhnlich Berlin, visit https://aussergewoehnlich-berlin.de/ To join the 17Academy, visit https://17academy.org/ To see how your city can get involved in GICA, visit https://gica.community/ At the 202030 Podcast, we have exciting news: our next live event, 202030 Pop-up: Culture & Communication will take place on 06/02/2024 in Berlin. To RSVP, visit our website: https://202030summit.com/. Learn more about studio MM04 or book us for a consultation on our website at https://www.studiomm04.com/

Who is studio MM04? If you follow this podcast, you’ll recognize hosts Max Gilgenmann and Magdalena Schaffrin. But this week, we’re excited to share with you their origin stories, and put our hosts in the spotlight. Organizers of 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, co-founders of Fashion Revolution Germany, board and jury members for many environmental foundations and awards… the list goes on. Max and Magdalena have astounding career paths that led to the creation of studio MM04, where they now consult brands, start-ups, and the public sector on the sustainable transformation of the fashion industry. The heart and values that drive studio MM04’s work are manifest in our day-to-day work environment and in the passion with which we approach every project. We decided to take this special episode to look behind the curtain so you can really get to know us. Studio MM04’s most recent team member, Lou Croff Blake, interviews Max and Magdalena about their inspiring journeys that led them here. Learn more about studio MM04 or book us for a consultation on our website at https://www.studiomm04.com/ Stay up to date with 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit at https://202030summit.com/ Are you looking for ways to become a fashion activist? Join Fashion Revolution in Germany at https://fashionrevolutiongermany.de/ or globally at https://www.fashionrevolution.org/

Where do fashion giants stand on sustainability? In this arena of multinational brands, H&M is leading the transformation with its innovative pilots of circularity and new business models. Hendrik Heuermann, the Public Affairs Manager at H&M (Central European Region), sits down with 202030 Podcast host Max Gilgenmann in an honest and engaging talk about how the industry’s major players are tackling sustainable development. In this conversation, Hendrik and Max touch on different ways that H&M is leading industry sustainability, as well as the greatest challenges. Looking at both sustainable work culture and sustainable consumption culture, what is feasible when influencing consumer change? H&M has tested product passports, rental models, innovative materials, and alternative communication strategies regarding sustainability. In the new wave of EU sustainability regulations, the two also muse on how large scale apparel corporations can meet ever-rising standards for production and communication. This reality check lends a window to the future vision of fashion at scale. Learn more about Hendrik Heuermann’s work in the biopic: https://de.fashionnetwork.com/news/H-m-hendrik-heuermann-wird-public-affairs-manager,1405224.html Learn more about the H&M’s sustainable development: https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/ Max references the Anders Levermann book Die Faltung Der Welt. Learn more here: http://www.foldingtheworld.net/ For more information about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, including updates about our next edition, visit https://202030summit.com/, and follow us on social media @202030summit. Organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute.

#connectingprogressiveminds means bringing the right people together – and letting a spark grow! When Dawn Denim and Auf Augenhöhe met at the 202030 Summit: Denim Pop-up last July, they noticed a real alignment in their ideologies for a better fashion industry. Auf Augenhöhe is a brand, agency, and social movement for fashion for people of short stature, producing and raising awareness on adaptive fashion. Dawn Denim, meanwhile, is leading the wave of transparent, ethically produced, environmentally ambitious jeans. Together, they discuss the possibility of creating body-inclusive denim. This episode brings the two companies into live conversation, moderated by studio MM04’s Lou Croff Blake, a writer and researcher on cultural sustainability. We’re joined by Marian von Rappard, the founder and owner of Dawn Denim, Sema Gedik, the founder and CEO of Auf Augenhöhe, and actor and model Mick Mehnert, a brand ambassador for Auf Augenhöhe. Together, our guests share their own journeys through the fashion industry, and how they each came to realise the need for positive systems change. In this discussion, it’s clear that each person’s unique experiences enrich the power and possibility of collaboration. For denim heads who believe that this sector can be a leader of cultural innovation, this interview provides an inspiring spin on expanding body inclusivity while producing with radical transparency. Learn about Auf Augenhöhe: https://www.aufaugenhoehe.design/en Learn about Dawn Denim: https://dawndenim.com/pages/about-us Read more about adaptive fashion: https://everyhuman.com.au/blogs/blog/what-is-adaptive-fashion For more information about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, including updates about our next edition, visit https://202030summit.com/, and follow us on social media @202030summit. 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit is organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute. It is funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and warmly thanks its partners of Edition #6: Premium Group and Berlin Fashion Week.

Welcome to the third season of the 202030 Podcast! This season premiere dives deeper into one topic from last July’s program at 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit: Denim Pop-up. The Green Deal on Circular Denim, also known as the “Dutch Denim Deal,” is a 50+ stakeholder-driven project to align on implementing sustainable, traceable denim for the Dutch market. The aim of the Denim Deal is to bring 3 million denim jeans to the Dutch market with 20% post consumer textiles. The project, planned to run from 2020 to 2023, is wrapping up and taking stock of its learnings and data, and we ask, what’s next? We invited two experts who were a part of the Denim Deal’s initiation for a live interview, to walk us through the project’s dynamic journey. Roosmarie Ruigrok, who spoke on the panel “From Dirty Denim to Sustainability Leadership”, is the coordinator of the Denim Deal, and brings her wealth of industry experience to the conversation. She is joined by Arnoud Passenier, who is one of the initiators of the Denim Deal. Arnoud currently works in the Department Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management, and has been a long-time changemaker for sustainable development in the political sector. In conversation with Magdalena Schaffrin, our two guests walk us through all you need to know about the Denim Deal, its context, and what it means for the future of denim in Europe. Learn more about the Denim Deal here: https://smartfibersorting.com/denim-deal/ For more information about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, including updates about our next edition, visit https://202030summit.com/, and follow us on social media @202030summit. 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit is organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute. It is funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and warmly thanks its partners of Edition #6: Premium Group and Berlin Fashion Week.

We just finished an exciting mid-season edition of 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit! On July 11, The Denim Pop-up and Community Gathering brought together our international sustainable fashion community at the Premium and SEEK trade shows, for new connections, knowledge sharing, and eye-level conversations. This episode, we’re live on the ground as we recap the day's highlights with our hosts, Max and Magdalena. "Denim is known in the industry as an environmentally damaging material, which is treated with a lot of chemicals and has a huge water consumption. Precisely because these problems exist, affecting not only the environment but also the people who work in the value chain, the denim industry has developed cleaner solutions and brought them to market, which can now act as a good example to the entire fashion industry. We were especially happy about the exciting inputs from different perspectives and discussions on stage and especially about the lively questions from the audience." – Magdalena Schaffrin Co-Ceo studio MM04, 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit In addition, we hear voices from the Community Gathering, starting with 202030 Summit speakers Tony Tonnaer, Roosmarie Ruigrok, Tanvir Kabir, and studio MM04’s Lavinia Muth, as well as impressions from our guests. Our team wishes our listeners a fun summer break. We can’t wait to return in the fall to bring you more exclusive live interviews with sustainable fashion changemakers, as well as content from the Denim Pop-up program. The Community Gathering was generously provided with beverages by BRLO: https://en.brlo.de/ Lemonaid/Charitea: https://lemon-aid.de/ Preussen Quelle: https://www.preussenquelle.de/ Learn more about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit: Denim Pop-up on our website: https://202030summit.com/, where you can subscribe to our newsletter Follow us on Instagram: @202030summit Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/202030-the-berlin-fashion-summit/ Work with studio MM04, producers of this podcast: https://studiomm04.com/ 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit is organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute. It is funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and warmly thanks its partners of Edition #6: Premium Group and Berlin Fashion Week.

Driving the global trend of circular economy and sustainable practices is a wealth of talented consultants and strategists. These changemakers are the ones who are not always in the limelight, but who work with widely known brands to evolve towards future-proof systems change. Pentatonic is one such consultancy, based between Germany and the United Kingdom. Johann Bödecker, the co-founder and CEO, and product director Lauren Greenwood join Magdalena Schaffrin live in the studio to talk about their experiences in transforming fashion and product design. Some of Pentatonic’s most noteworthy projects in implementing circular strategies includes Melt Down, a project with Burger King to turn non-recyclable plastic toys into cafeteria trays, and the Hey Fashion! campaign with the Eileen Fisher Foundations, aimed at raising awareness about the environmental impact of fashion on a large scale, in terms that everyone can understand. With an ‘intervention mindset,’ Pentatonic seeks different angles from which to put circularity into play; while their slogan is “making circularity easy for the world's leading brands,” their approach looks at multi-pronged solutions for complex problems. Johann, Lauren, and the rest of the Pentatonic team are leaders in making circularity a reality – both from the product and the communications perspective – especially in the context of the ever-evolving EU sustainability regulations. To learn more about Pentatonic’s projects, visit https://pentatonic.com/ Find Johann Bödecker’s book “Circular Economy 7. Industrielle Revolution: Der Weg zu mehr Nachhaltigkeit durch Kreislaufwirtschaft” at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-41311-8 Work with studio MM04, producers of this podcast: https://studiomm04.com/ For more information about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, including updates about our next edition, visit https://202030summit.com/, and follow us on social media @202030summit. 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit is organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute. It is funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and warmly thanks its partners of Edition #6: Premium Group and Berlin Fashion Week.

What does it really mean when a garment is marketed as sustainable? Green is the buzz-color in fashion, but until now, brands have been left to their own devices in how to communicate the impact of their products. Starting with the EU’s Green New Deal, a wave of sustainability legislation is passing, touching on everything from circularity, to product passports, to due diligence, and – our focus for this episode – green claims. Now is the time to get up to speed as we enter a new era of laws that govern how we can or cannot market sustainability. In this episode, Magdalena Schaffrin invites long term collaborator Lavinia Muth to the studio, to break down this complex new legal framework into bite-size pieces. They discuss not only the current status of legal requirements, but how fashion industry stakeholders can work within them to amplify their positive social and environmental impact. Lavinia is a business economist, specializing in fashion and sustainability, with years of diverse experience in the industry. On behalf of studio MM04, she co-hosted the workshop “How to avoid greenwashing – now, and in the future” at the January 2023 edition of 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit with Ingo Strube of the BMUV. Join Lavinia once more on July 12, 2023 at Premium and SEEK, where she will host the next iteration of the studio MM04 workshop on the Green Claims Directive. Register for the workshop, as well as for 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit: Denim Pop-up and Community Gathering at https://202030summit.com/tickets. Learn more about Lavinia Muth’s work: https://www.laviniamuth.com/ Learn more about the EU Textile Strategy: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/textiles-strategy_en Work with studio MM04, producers of this podcast: https://studiomm04.com/ For more information about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, including updates about our next edition, visit https://202030summit.com/, and follow us on social media @202030summit. 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit is organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute. It is funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and would like to warmly thank its partners of Edition #6: Premium Group and Berlin Fashion Week.

It’s time to talk about materials: From new fibers to digitized production processes, the intersections of innovation, sustainability, and design are evolving at breakneck speed. Current technology and chemistry are opening new doors for how we produce textiles to meet market needs while reducing impact. But where exactly are we on the journey to implementation? The opportunities are astonishingly bright – can they outshine the barriers to scaling transformative materials? This episode, we share two inspiring material initiatives, giving both the supplier and the research perspective. Revisiting the stage of 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit Edition #5, we hear from Essi Glomb of The Textile Prototyping Lab (TPL) and Matthias Fuchs of OceanSafe. In Season 1, we heard from OceanSafe at our Edition #4 of the 202030 Summit. Now, Matthias walks us through the material innovators’ exciting latest developments and products, taking a focus on the need for biodegradable polyester. Their research and design of Cradle To Cradle-certified synthetic materials offers a positive alternative to one of the least sustainable materials on the market. And through their model of licensing our their technology to production facilities, OceanSafe had huge potential for scalability. Next, In a live interview, our host Max Gilgenmann meets with the co-founders of the Textile Prototyping Lab, Essi Glomb and Karina Wirth. After hearing Essi’s presentation from the 202030 Summit, we take a deeper dive on the vision and work of TPL. This Berlin-Based materials lab is a unique initiative, whose model holds key lessons for how cutting edge innovation can be brought to life in practical applications. Essi and Karina noted the problem that designers are traditionally siloed from material researchers; but, by bringing design and science into a collaborative setting, new solutions and applications are born. This bridge-building is at the heart of TPL’s work, where the exchange of expertise happens on site with sample production and experimentation facilities. They point to ‘open innovation’ as the boldest – and most impactful – framework for progress. To learn more about OceanSafe, visit: https://www.oceansafe.co/home To lean more about the Textile Prototyping Lab, visit: https://www.textileprototypinglab.com/ In the episode, Max mentions ITMA and Heimtextil. Learn more here: https://itma.com/ https://heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en.html For more information about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, including updates about our next edition, visit https://202030summit.com/, and follow us on social media @202030summit. 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit is organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute. Edition #5 was a Partner of Berlin Fashion Week, funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises Berlin in cooperation with Fashion Council Germany.

In recent years, the market for virtual fashion has boomed, raising debates about its relevance and possibilities. As fashion migrates into the digital realm, it reaches far beyond NFT’s and digital wardrobes – digital innovations and AI have the power to impact the industry from the design and traceability of physical garments, to social critique, to education and open-source tools. Three experts join us with unique touchpoints to working on the pioneering edge of critical digital transformation. Anna Franziska Michel is the founder and CEO of Yoona.ai, a fashion tech company that offers AI-powered design solutions with the goal of reducing material impact. Beata Wilczek founded Unfolding Strategies to bring critical education and training to the sustainable digital transformation of fashion, underscoring its entanglements with social and environmental power structures. Finally, Marte Hentschel, the co-founder of VORN – The Berlin Fashion Hub, shares the results of the VORN Academy’s first cohort. In this community-sourced program, nine local designers collaborated on a phygital fashion collection and immersive experience, tackling topics of circularity, over-consumption, and the internal contradictions of sustainable fashion. Both Anna Franziska Michel and Beata Wilczek supported the VORN Academy as trainers, to help the designers hone their digital approach. Our hosts Max and Magdalena reflect on how all three speakers circle around a core question: can digital fashion and design processes truly imagine a new status quo? Or does digitization merely replicate the dysfunctions of the global fashion system as it currently stands? To learn more about our guests: Follow Yoona.ai at https://www.yoona.ai/ Follow Unfolding Strategies at https://www.unfoldingstrategies.com/ And for more critical listening, check out Beata Wilczek’s podcast Fashion Knowledge at https://www.unfoldingstrategies.com/podcast/ Finally, you can check out the final project of the VORN Academy at https://academy.vorn-hub.com/ For more information about 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit, including updates about our next edition, visit https://202030summit.com/, and follow us on social media @202030summit. 202030 – The Berlin Fashion Summit is organized by studio MM04, in cooperation with the Beneficial Design Institute. Edition #5 was a Partner of Berlin Fashion Week, funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises Berlin in cooperation with Fashion Council Germany.