May 31, 2022

What’s in Your Garment? With Peter Gorse (Episode 18)

Audio/Podcast Link: https://anchor.fm/hempfoundation/episodes/Whats-In-Your-Garment–with-Peter-Gorse-Episode-18-e1j98fq

We wear clothing daily and it touches our largest organ of our bodies, our skin. In addition, our worn clothing goes through the wash almost weekly, and microfibers leak into our water supply.

If you could know more about your clothes and what ingredients they contain, would that change your purchasing decision?  Do you think there should be more transparency for the Fashion Industry to share the fabric ingredients and include labor costs, etc?   

Tune in as we speak with Peter Gorse, who created a “Garment Label” prototype akin to our Food’s “Nutritional Label”. 

About Peter Gorse

Peter Gorse trained as a product designer at Coventry University in the UK. One of his designs won an Audi Design Foundation Award.

Afterwards, he set up his own brand to design products, which included a small clothing collection. These products and clothing were sold via a number of wholesale accounts from Dockers Europe, Paul Smith Shops, Selfridges, plus numerous independents. Peter has also gained experience of marketing by filming a promotional video with MTV and appearing on an early morning breakfast TV show called Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast.

More recently, Peter has had the opportunity to conduct textile research on regenerated cellulose fibres at Cranfield University in the UK.

During Covid, when laboratories were closed, Peter created the Garment Facts label. Which he is now trying to progress after receiving significant interest.

Speaker Tags/Social Media: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergorse/

Vishal Vivek is the Founder and CEO of Ukhi, a pioneering bio-materials company dedicated to ending plastic pollution by converting agricultural waste into high-performance compostable polymers. With a background in sustainable entrepreneurship and over a decade of technology experience, he leads Ukhi’s vision to create scalable, planet-positive material solutions. Previously, Vishal founded the Hemp Foundation, where he empowered more than 1,000 farmers and advanced sustainable livelihood initiatives. His work has been recognized through awards such as the HDFC Parivartan Grant and featured in leading publications like Forbes and Entrepreneur. Times Group recognized him as a legendary entrepreneur and published his biography in “I Did IT- Vol 2” alongside social pioneers like Bindeshwar Pathak (Sulabh International) and Anshu Gupta (Goonj). Vishal has authored more than 200 articles on sustainability and hemp, reflecting his deep expertise and advocacy for regenerative solutions. His commitment to grassroots impact led him to live in the remote mountains of Uttarakhand, where he immersed himself in the lives of marginal farmers, understanding their challenges and co-creating economic opportunities through hemp-based initiatives. A deeply passionate innovator, Vishal often draws inspiration from seemingly impossible achievements: “If Elon Musk can make rockets reusable, or Dashrath Manjhi can carve a path through a mountain with rudimentary tools, why can’t we eliminate the demon of single-use plastic while uplifting struggling farmers? We will make it happen—whatever it takes.” Ukhi is proud to be supported by premier institutions including IIT Guwahati, NSRCEL-IIM Bangalore, Indian School of Business (Hyderabad), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR Pusa), and the Indian Institute of Packaging. Vishal is committed to demonstrating that business can be a powerful catalyst for global environmental and social good. Connect with Vishal Vivek