073. Manufactured x Transformers Foundation: Marzia Lanfranchi & Elizabeth Cline on Misinformation, Cotton, and the Need for Nuanced Stories (Part 1)

This is part one of a conversation with Marzia Lanfranchi and Elizabeth Cline, co-authors of the new report: Cotton: A Case Study in Misinformation.  The chat is co-hosted by Sarah Mock, a freelance rural and agricultural writer and researcher. She’s also author of the book Farm (and Other F Words) and the newsletter Big Team Farms.

Marzia Lanfranchi is the Intelligence Director of Transformers Foundation, an independent sustainable fashion consultant, and the founder of Cotton Diaries, a solution-based platform for cotton sustainability.

Elizabeth L. Cline is a freelance journalist who writes about environmental and labor issues in the global fashion industry.  She’s author of the critically acclaimed book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion and The Conscious Closet: A Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good. She’s also played a big role in the PayUp campaign, and now the PayUpFashion campaign which we’ve referred to often on the show for its important work on purchasing practices. And she’s the Advocacy & Policy Director at Remake.

In this episode Marzia and Elizabeth explain a bit about their report, Cotton: A Case Study in Misinformation and why it was a project they wanted to take on. We then get into one of the myths about cotton that they debunk in the report, and their take on how this myth came to be so widely circulated in the first place. This takes us into some bigger questions like: what would make someone inclined to believe that the myth was true in the first place? What are the biases within information itself? How do we tell better, more nuanced stories? And who should be telling these stories?   

Want to dig deeper ?

Read the full report: Cotton: A Case Study in Misinformation. 

Transformers Foundation is the unified voice representing the denim industry and its ideas for positive change. It was founded to provide a thus-far missing platform to the jeans and denim supply chain, and a central point of contact for consumers, brands, NGOs, and media who want to learn more about ethics and sustainable innovation in the industry.  For more on Transformers Foundation’s work follow along on LinkedIn or Instagram or tune into this episode with their founder (and Marzia!). 

Highly recommend checking out Sarah Mock, freelance rural and agricultural writer and researcher. She’s also the author of the book Farm (and Other F Words) and the newsletter Big Team Farms. Reading it is the highlight of my week – informative AND funny