Innovation

This initiative really started to take shape in 2019, when Co-founder Aras Baskauskas teamed up with Oshadi Collective, a seed-to-sow supply chain in India, which enabled Christy Dawn to start growing cotton on depleted land.

Since then, those original 20 acres of land blossomed into a completely new regenerative cotton farm, allowing Christy Dawn to have its own ecosystem within the fashion world. In 2021, Christy Dawn launched its first collection made entirely from this regeneratively sourced cotton and still maintains that standard to this day.

However, not only does Christy Dawn uphold a standard on their external environmental responsibilities, but they pride themselves on running a company internally with a human-first approach. Within the manufacturing process, each piece of clothing is made within a couple of miles radius of where it was harvested, prioritizing the use of local artisans for block printing, dyeing, and other specialties. Similarly, within their Los Angeles headquarters, Christy Dawn employs locals within the area to help sew and package their products, promoting economic sustainability within their community. Christy Dawn also provides a healthy array of benefits to make sure their employees can contribute to the world around them by first taking care of themselves.

Senior Manager, Katie Lyon, touched on these values of the brand, stating, "We try to give as much visibility into the farm and into the working standards that our farmers have, our sowers have, our marketing team has. It’s definitely a lot bigger picture than a lot of people might think.” 

Inspiration

Aras Baskauskas was inspired to start a regenerative initiative because he questioned the effectiveness of sustainability and especially valued human connection with the earth. Baskauskas explains that sustainability isn't nearly enough to actively heal the planet, as it's just holding us in place.

With the regenerative system Christy Dawn has created for itself, it's given them a platform to influence other brands to follow suit and really examine if their sustainable businesses are helping push the needle in the other direction. Katie Lyon spoke upon Aras and Christy Baskauskas' curiosity towards starting a different initiative, stating, "They both had been living in LA and in that fashion world for some time, and they both, based on their own personal morals and beliefs, really wanted to see something better out there."

Lyon also spoke to how their time within the fashion world has shaped their unique perspectives as leaders within their brand, stating, "I think that’s something very unique about Christy and Aras and the brand is that they are able to bring that element of empathy and humanness to the workplace, which can be rare sometimes." Recalling her first introduction to working with the brand, Katie mentioned that Aras stated there was a "no pointing fingers" policy, which laid a foundation for the empathy-driven ecosystem of Christy Dawn. Katie stated, “If something failed, we moved on. I think that’s such a healthy way to build a team; it makes people not scared to try new things, not scared to talk about things. You can take that and put it in the real world—that’s how humans should be, we should all feel like we have a place to thrive.”

Overall impact

Their innovation has had a heavy impact not just in a measurable environmental way, but in relation to flipping the perspectives of a lot of businesses within the fashion industry. Environmentally, since their partnership with the Oshadi Collective started, they've regenerated over 220 acres of cotton farmland in Erode, India. Because of this replantation on the land, revitalizing the soil has increased biodiversity within the ecosystems, and their efforts have successfully pulled over 2 million pounds of carbon from the atmosphere.

Socially, Christy Dawn's innovation has sent ripples within the fashion industry. Often criticized for its negative involvement within environmental sustainability, Christy Dawn has influenced brands to start with an earth-centered goal and reassess their impact. Companies like Patagonia, The North Face, and Outerknown have all followed suit in regenerative agriculture within the industry.

Business benefit

This innovation has benefited the business in a multitude of different ways. Firstly, it sets Christy Dawn apart from all its competitors, especially within the media. Because of the massive impact Christy Dawn is having environmentally, they are able to take a stand and call out larger brands that aren't leaving a positive impact on the world, but are claiming to. Katie Lyon, Senior Manager at Christy Dawn, states, "Sustainable shopping has really been a buzzword; there's a lot of greenwashing that can go into that."

Within the company itself, this innovation has also allowed Christy Dawn to experiment with programs that allow consumers to get involved with the regeneration progress. In 2021, Christy Dawn started a program called the "Land Stewardship Program" in which customers can purchase a piece of land being regenerated in India and will be given back the amount of cotton their acreage produces in store credit, most often yielding a much higher amount than the initial cost. Because of their innovation, Christy Dawn is in a position to give consumers a platform to contribute in a simple and easy way that is helping drive the industry in a more regenerative direction.

Social and environmental benefit

This innovation benefits society and the environment in many ways. Not only has Christy Dawn helped regenerate over 220 acres of previously depleted land within India, but it has also inspired a shift in the industry, where people will actually question the impact brands are leaving and start to vote for a better future using their money.

Additionally, this innovation greatly helps the local communities within India, as all of the manufacturing is kept within a small radius and local artists, sewers, and sellers are hired to create economic sustainability in the community as well.

Interview

Katie Lyon, Senior Manager