At the end of (nearly) every changemaker interview, I ask the same question: “If you could travel back in time and give your teenage self a piece of advice, what would that be? Is that the same advice you’d give me now?” The answers have been both inspiring and instructive. Below are some of the responses from my most recent interview subjects. (You can read responses from earlier posts in Advice from Changemakers - Part 1 . Katharine Mieszkowski - Investigative Journalist I would tell you (and my younger self) that a career trajectory is very rarely a straight line. Even very successful people often meander professionally. In a long career, at least some setbacks are all but inevitable. I know extremely accomplished people who have been abruptly fired or laid off from their dream jobs. No matter how hard you work or how talented you are, you can’t insulate yourself completely from some bad times, even if they’re just a function of the overall state of the economy. That being said...
Do you ever wonder about where your clothes came from? Were the women who stitched them paid a living wage? What was the environmental impact of the manufacturing and shipping process? Will your clothes fill up landfills or pollute the ocean? If you are a fashion lover who cares about the environment and believes workers should be paid fairly, you need to know about Remake . Founded by Ayesha Barenblat, Remake is a movement to hold fashion brands and policymakers accountable when it comes to both sustainability and human rights. Ayesha Barenblat is an educator, activist, and social entrepreneur. She has worked across the public, private, and society sectors; Prior to founding Remake, Ayesha led brand engagement at Better Work, a World Bank and United Nations partnership working to ensure safe and fair working conditions in garment factories around the globe. Ayesha previously served as head of consumer products at BSR, advising brands such as H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., Marks...