Meet the Team: Angelina Richardson~ The Sustainable Fashion Guru

Bette Tie Front Top, Corin Pinstriped Trousers 

“Sustainable fashion means fair wages and benefits, fair laws for everyone involved, the supply company and the way that it gets there is all in ecoenergy and eco-transportation”  

Angelina, one of our awesome design team members, currently is majoring in fashion design with a minor in sustainability at MassArt and has had a passion for sustainable fashion for most of her life.

During her junior year of high school, Angelina watched “The True Cost”, a Netflix documentary

“From there, I started my journey in sustainable fashion which led me to competitions and thrift flipping”

Bette Tie Front Top, Corin Pinstriped Trousers

Anglina competed in sustainable fashion competitions where she had the opportunity to show her artwork and talk about sustainable fashion. 

“You set up the day before and then you have a panel of 5 to, depending on where you go, 18 judges in front of you and your artwork. You then present a 5 minute speech about your work and what you created. They stop and ask you questions after the 5 minutes term and then after an intermission, you get your results. If you go further, you end up going to another region” 

In her success, Angelina ended up going from the state competition all the way to California for the regional. 

Elizabeth Wrap Dress, Crystal Drop Necklace

In her experience creating and competing with her sustainable fashion works, Angelina tells us that she is most proud to simply use her voice. 

“I’m most proud of just being a representation for sustainable fashion because a lot of people don’t know about it. I get to be the face that tells, people who don’t know what sustainable fashion is.” 

Elizabeth Wrap Dress, Crystal Drop Necklace

In her everyday life and design process, Angelina practices her passion for sustainable fashion through reducing and reusing. 

“I reduce and reuse by finding fabrics that are either second hand, given to me or ethically sourced, farmed, spun correctly, without pesticide treatments etc. and taking pieces that already exist to create a new fabric or a new garment” 

Bette Tie Front Top, Corin Pinstriped Trousers

Angelina explains that you can do this too! Even if you are not an aspiring young fashion professional like Angelina, there are simple ways to practice sustainable fashion such as thrifting and knowing where your clothes are coming from. 

Who doesn’t love thrifting? It’s cheap and turns out, environmentally friendly too. 

There is even the option of online thrifting. You can thrift shop from the comfort of your own home. 

Angelina’s favorite online thrift store is thredUP. Check it out! 

Elizabeth Wrap Dress, Crystal Drop Necklace

Other good sustainable fashion practices include donations. There are tons of awesome charities where your old clothes can help the environment and others in need. 

“Don’t throw away any clothes. Recycle them or give them away to charities, shelters or good will. In fact, thredUP actually has a place where you can donate as well.” 

There are also the options of second hand clothes, clothing swaps and making your own, if you can. If a family member wants to give you some hand-me-downs, take them. If a sibling or a friend wants to swap clothes, try it out. If you can make your own clothes, let the creativity happen.

Bette Tie Front Top, Corin Pinstriped Trousers

Angelina’s creative and strong passion for sustainable fashion made her who she is and the Ash & Rose team is so thankful for her talent and inspiring spirit. 

Take it from the sustainable fashion guru, being eco-friendly with your fashion choices is simple and easy and can make a huge difference.