{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Cate Havstad-Casad of Range Revolution on building a leather supply chain that centers traceability and regenerative practices for the land, people & community","description":"In Episode 333, Kestrel welcomes Cate Havstad-Casad, a designer, entrepreneur, and first-generation regenerative rancher, to the show. Cate\u2019s work as a designer and land steward has evolved a great deal since she founded Havstad Hat Company in 2014. Today she manages Casad Family Farms with her husband, while building Range Revolution, a luxury leather goods brand focused on using 100% American, regeneratively sourced hides. \u201cI love the idea of having things forever. I love the idea of a great leather boot being resoled again and again. My work in hats, I'm like the anti-growth capitalist. I'm like, you should have two hats, maybe three and that should be it for your whole life and you send it back to me and I will re-block it and clean it up and reshape it for you. That is the world of craft that I come from and so I bring that ethos to this work with Range Revolution and leathers.\u201d -Cate AUGUST THEME \u2014 WELCOMING THE IN-BETWEENS IN LIFE, SUSTAINABILITY & FASHION This week\u2019s episode touches on a discourse that often fuels a lot of really intense reactions. I remember moderating a panel discussion about it in Berlin during fashion week that got very heated, and even recently, I hosted an Earth Day event in San Francisco, where the conversation suddenly got intense when this topic arose.  If you guessed it \u2013 I\u2019m talking about the oh-so-familiar LEATHER debate.  There\u2019s a recurring dispute in the sustainability and fashion space that pins animal-based leather against vegan leather. It\u2019s often very this vs that oriented, and focuses on claiming which is quote unquote more \u201csustainable\u201d than the other.  A lot of the time, things get heated because leather is intrinsically linked to peoples\u2019 belief systems and values, which can leave very little space for the in-between. And I totally get where that passion stems from. At the same time, if you\u2019ve been listening to Conscious Chatter over the years, you know there are no simple answers when it comes to the complexities of making products. And I don\u2019t think there is ever only one solution \u2013 we need to discover multifaceted approaches, considering the challenges we face with the climate crisis.  From her lens as a craftsperson, designer and regenerative rancher, this week\u2019s guest is dedicated to rethinking waste in the animal agriculture space. One significant stat we learn from her is that \u2013 almost 5 million hides are wasted or thrown away annually in the United States alone. *source: Agriculture Utilization Research Institute With a mindset that \u201cthe most radical fibers are the ones that already exist\u201d \u2013 she is pushing to disrupt the leather industry. For her, it\u2019s all about centering traceability, rethinking waste, and expanding the meaning of regenerative to not only include the land health, but also the health and wellbeing of the surrounding community.  \u201cWe don\u2019t have regenerative outcomes on land if the people working within the systems. whether it be the land stewards or the people within the community that support those land stewards \u2014 if the community dynamics, if the economic dynamics are not also regenerative.\u201d (15:40) Range Revolution Website Follow Cate on Instagram Follow Range Revolution on Instagram This week\u2019s episode is brought to you by Range Revolution. Enjoy 15% off at RangeRevolution.com with code CHATTER. ","author_name":"Conscious Chatter","author_url":"http:\/\/consciouschatter.com\/","html":"