Who made my clothes?

Alumni in Action

Back in June we shared a post about Environmental Voices Rising – Women at the Mic, a new podcast and blog series by MASD alumni Michal Crawford-Zimring about the work that women environmentalists are doing in their community [see Amplifying their Voices].

Michal’s latest interview was with MASD alumni Ellie Cotlar.  Ellie is a fashion designer and sustainability consultant based in Los Angeles who advocates for clarity and transparency in the fashion industry. Her MASD thesis project was Defining Sustainability in Fashion – a daunting task!

“I don’t think the average person understands it only takes an added ten cents to the final price of a garment to ensure the garment worker gets a living wage. I believe if more people both knew and let retailers know they were ok with this tiny upcharge, retailers would implement this increase in a living wage.” 

~ Ellie Cotlar


Michal invites you to listen to Season 2: Episode 3 – Sustainable Fashion – Who Made My Clothes? – Getting to Transparency.

Sustainable Fashion – Who Made My Clothes? – Getting to Transparency


Thank you Michal and Ellie for sharing your insights with us!

Denise DeLuca / Former Director

Denise DeLuca is the Director of MCAD’s Sustainable Design program. She was co-founder of BCI: Biomimicry Creative for Innovation, a network of creative professional change agents driving ecological thinking for radical transformation. Denise is author of the book Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation, which was illustrated by MASD alum Stephanie Koehler. She also teaches with the Amani Institute.

Denise’s previous roles include Education Director for the International Living Future Institute, Project Manager for Swedish Biomimetics 3000, and Outreach Director for The Biomimicry Institute. Denise is a licensed civil engineer (PE) and holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering with a focus on modeling landscape-scale surface and groundwater interactions.  In addition, Denise is a Biomimicry Fellow and a member of the Advisory Council of The Biomimicry InstituteBoard Member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), on the editorial board of the Journal of Bionic Engineering, and an Expert with Katerva. Denise is based in Oregon.

contact:  [email protected]