Blue Cast: Oak & Acorn’s Miko Underwood on Moving Manufacturing & Meditation
Denim can be a dirty business, with harsh chemicals and resource-heavy processes, but sustainable champions are working to make blue jeans greener.
For the first episode of Lenzing’s Solutionist podcast series with the Fashion Impact Fund, Tricia Carey spoke with one of these sustainability creators: Miko Underwood, the founder of genderless denim brand Oak & Acorn – Only for the Rebelles. As the first sustainable Harlem-based denim brand, Oak & Acorn focuses on not only environmental action, but also social and cultural responsibility. For instance, 20 percent of profits from Oak & Acorn’s Signature Collection go to We Got Us Now, an organization that supports youth who are impacted by parental incarceration.
Oak & Acorn’s name was inspired by Miko’s upbringing in the New York suburbs and her current home of Manhattan, both places where oak trees are prevalent. Oaks release a lot of acorns, but only a few are destined to become trees, which Miko likens to the few brands that stand out and remain. The agricultural metaphor also represents the brand’s “seeds of intention” as it looks to spread awareness.
The impetus for Oak & Acorn came from Miko’s first trip to an overseas factory. She saw firsthand the impact of denim manufacturing on a community, as children played near toxic pools of used indigo. “From that point on, I’ve always been a champion of pursuing what we now know as more sustainable fibers and fabrications and just sustainable practices in denim development, just as my role as a design director over the years,” explained Miko.
Oak & Acorn has collaborated with eco-minded mills like Pakistan’s Soorty, but it is focused on moving more of its production closer to home. Some production happens in Harlem and New York’s fashion district, however the challenge in New York is a limited number of wash houses. As the brand eyes more onshoring, it is expanding manufacturing to the West Coast.
“We believe in being close to home. We believe in being able to have American-made goods. We believe in…supporting American manufacturing,” said Miko. “We believe in trade coming back to the United States. We believe in the makers in America, from the farmers all the way to the craftsmen.”
Miko’s company is about feel-good denim, but she herself is also focused on healing people. Following an injury, she turned to sound healing and meditation for introspection and inside-out healing. This led to a Reiki practice.
This spring, Oak & Acorn will be launching the Meditation Collection, taking inspiration from this significant part of Miko’s personal life.
“We always talk to any of our partners about meditation and practice,” said Miko. “Just operating from that space always, because it’s very much a part of how we show up to community.”
Listen to the full episode here.
BLUE CAST by TENCEL™, a podcast series created on Carved in Blue by the TENCEL™ denim team sharing in-depth talks to the denim community at large, and the Fashion Impact Fund, a charitable fund supporting women entrepreneurs to accelerate the fashion industry’s transition to an ecosystem that values people and planet, have collaborated on a special edition five-part podcast series named ‘Solutionist’ in honor of Women’s History Month.