Globally, our love of fashion generates one garbage truck full of textile waste every second. But we have the power to change this and disrupt how we think about buying, using, and reusing the clothes we wear. To do so, we need to get out of our comfort zones, embrace innovation, and not be afraid to try a bit of sustainable glitter now and then. Leslie Johnston joined C&A Foundation as its first Executive Director in August 2013 and brings over 20 years of management experience across multiple sectors, including smallholder agribusiness, entrepreneurship and corporate philanthropy. At C&A Foundation, Leslie led the development of the foundation’s first global vision, mission, and strategy, anchored on making fashion a force for good.

Leslie currently serves on the boards of COFRA Foundation (Switzerland), GoodWeave International (US), CottonConnect (UK), and the Organic Cotton Accelerator (NL) as well as the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ Executive Committee.

Leslie is the proud mother to two boys (ages 10 and 12) and wife to a Scottish writer. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx