With Christina Dean of Redress
At the heart of Sham Shui Po, the reinvigorated neighbourhood in Hong Kong, stands the environmental NGO Redress. Through passion and persistence, Founder Christina Dean has dedicated herself to transforming textile waste and inspiring positive change in the fashion industry since 2007.
We spoke to Christina on her journey building Redress, how she overcame biases and her message to young women.
Why do you think it is important to have more female leaders in the space of sustainability?
I think having more business leaders who are female across all parts of our world economy is really important. Having more voices, particularly those from women in the sustainability field, brings different colour palettes and different sets of criteria and considerations to many challenges.
Can you tell us how you started Redress and why and how has that journey been throughoutthe whole process?
I founded Redress after a career in dentistry and journalism. It was through those two previouscareers that I got the belly. The passion for my work in sustainable fashion came from the researchand writing about fashion's negative environmental impacts on the planet and on people's health.
The connection between those two careers really gave me the drive to start Redress, which has a mission to reduce waste in the fashion industry. My journey through Redress has been a roller coaster, as all journeys in one's career tend to be. Starting with a belly full of passion and the belly full of fury, I had to learn everything on the job and become an expert in both fashion and in sustainability.
Now, I can never say that I'm an expert because I’m still perplexed and learning every day even after doing this for 16 years. When I look back at my career at Redress, I could tell you this is one story that got lost.
That's why when I meet women today and they have the fire in their belly and their eyes are sort of listening with delight around their chosen dreams and ambitions, I always take that very, very seriously because I think I'm living proof that you can get somewhere even without professional qualifications and experience, though really just learning on the job.
Which woman or female entrepreneurs do you admire the most?
I admire so many female entrepreneurs working within sustainability, fashion, tech, you name it. There's one particular woman that I'd love to be around, and her name is Kresse from the sustainable accessories brand Elvis & Kresse. It's a brand that rescues materials, including firehoses from the fire brigade in the UK.
I really respect her for she's very, very honest. She's an amazingly busy woman and a very successfulentrepreneur. But she has always helped other people around her and has been incrediblysupportive. And it's that spirit of collaboration which makes me admire her so much.
This year’s theme for IWD is “#BreakTheBias”. Have you faced any bias in your career due tobeing a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?
Throughout my career, I have experienced some bias, but surprisingly, I have not experienced thatfrom being a female. The bias I've actually experienced has been a cultural one - entering thefashion industry in the APAC region as a Westerner with very little prior fashion experience.
I had to break the fundamental bias of being the woman who knew nothing about fashion, whodidn't speak any of the Asian languages, and didn't really understand the supply chain coming towork in sustainability in fashion.
I understand those biases are natural judgments that the industry would have had of me manyyears ago. I had to battle against that to prove my understanding and ability to drive change.
How do you overcome cultural biases?
With cultural biases, I think the way forward is to be highly respectful of different cultures. I thinkthat is ingrained in being in business. But there also needs to be persistence in proving that youmean business. Taking yourself seriously is really important. So many of us have self-doubts andhesitations, but you have to believe in yourself.
One of the greatest pieces of advice that I was given and I didn't believe it at the time, but I do believe it now, is that whatever you're going to do, it's going to take a very long time. And that persistence, respect, honesty and authenticity always shines through.
What message would you like to send out to young women ?
I would love to inspire younger women to have a go, to be brave, to be courageous, to pull your socks up, to have fun and really to dream big.Most of all, to find female mentors.
I could never, ever have reached where I am today, which is a very humble place, without manyfemale leaders who took me under their wing, gave me a shoulder to cry on, gave me advice andinspiration. As one becomes older and more mature in both our careers and in our personal lives,there’s also a responsibility of women to guide, inspire the younger female leaders and to showthem that there is a way and it is the best way.
What do you hope to see change your progress for women in the next five years?
I would love to see more women on more boards and senior leadership positions. And I think that'sa very likely outcome in the short term because already we're seeing the drive towards that.
At the same time, we also need to see women fight for those positions. It's not just a one way street, it's a two way street where the women have to go for it.
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About the series
To celebrate International Women's Day 2022, we sat down with seven female trailblazers in the fashion and sustainability industry to talk about their struggles and challenges, career learnings and advice to young women.
