Looking Back on Blue Cast’s First Year

Looking Back on Blue Cast’s First Year

One of Carved in Blue’s highlights of 2021 has been the launch of Blue Cast, our podcast. With the reduction in social gatherings and in-person face-to-face meetings over the past two years, we welcomed the chance to virtually sit down with friends old and new to discuss denim topics.

In the first 13 episodes, hosts Tricia Carey and Michael Kininmonth had the pleasure of inviting on experts and entrepreneurs both in the industry and on the periphery of denim. And we’ve discussed everything from contemporary sustainability initiatives to fashion history. To look back on Blue Cast’s first year, Tricia sat down with Daren Abney, senior business development manager Americas at Lenzing, for a recap episode.

“Blue Cast, which is this new endeavor from Carved in Blue, I think really was an interesting and fun way to keep the denim community together during this crazy year,” said Daren.

On the denim insider side, Tricia chatted with industry veteran Tom Leonard, who spent four decades in the business. He shared his reflections on how manufacturing has evolved. In a different episode, Levi’s historian Tracey Panek caught up with Michael to detail her work preserving the brand’s archives.

Denim makers also pointed out what needs to change in the industry. Salli Deighton reminisced on her early days in denim, but she also discussed her new “experiment” to make denim less dirty. And Scott Morrison, the founder behind denim ventures including 3×1, shared his thoughts on being “better citizens” in denim.

Sustainability was a recurring theme. We kicked off the podcast with documentary filmmaker Roger Williams as a guest, who spoke to Michael about his film “RiverBlue.” The film dives into the impact the fashion industry is having on water around the world. Tricia also discussed recycling with Accelerating Circularity’s Karla Magruder, who noted why sustainability is about progress rather than perfection.

Listen to the highlight episode here.

We’re looking forward to more conversations in the coming year. Stay tuned and subscribe so you don’t miss our new episodes in 2022.