Inna Korobkina joins Ted Flanigan to discuss the nexus between her work in the fashion industry, and his work as a sustainability consultant. They discuss the impacts of fashion on oneself and on the planet. What you wear affects your own wellbeing and at times your health. From a societal perspective, one-tenth of global CO2 emissions are related to textiles... more than all air transportation emissions and maritime emissions combined. Textiles are a big deal, and a whole lot of clothing ends up prematurely in landfills, wasted and with a large ecological footprint. Born in Siberia, Inna's family moved to Canada when she was ten years old. In her 20s she moved to Los Angeles where she excelled in her modeling and acting career. In the movies she often played roles as an Eastern European enchantress... in one movie giving birth to a zombie baby! Toronto is her home base today. For Inna, fashion is about feeling good, dressing up, working with a positive image, and putting out good vibes that come around. Inna explains that fashion is multi-sensory: It's visual and it's touch. Why not deliberately adorn yourself with purposeful colors, shapes, textures, and lengths that define you? She explains that you can use different clothes to play out different archetypes. She often uses two... the rebel and the athlete. Inna explains that what you wear is symbolic of who you are, what aspect of your personality that you are expressing. You are sending signals to your tribe. It's about presenting your authentic self. The nexus between Inna and Ted's work is both the impact to one's self and one's own wellness, and the wellness of the planet. Fast fashion, in particular, is harmful to the planet. It is marred by poor labor conditions, toxins, and synthetic materials unhealthy to our bodies. Inna discusses alternatives like linens, wools, and organic cottons... creating what she calls a biodiverse wardrobe. She helps clients break out of old patterns, expressing themselves differently through clothing to purposefully lead a fulfilling and adventurous life. Inna defines ethical fashion. It's fashion that takes working conditions into consideration, that avoids trendy styles that are short-lived, and that quickly end up in landfills. Slow fashion is thoughtful, it is ethical. It has the end of life in mind, considers who makes it, what it's made of, takes stock of its impact on the planet. She discusses the peaceful closet... orderly and an expression of different moods and styles to be worn and celebrated. Inna is a believer in doing with less and alleviating clutter. She draws principles from nature in color, balance, proportions, in works of art. She admires forms found in nature and takes design lessons from sea shells, pine cones, and sunflowers. She discusses colors, for instance greens that tend to ground the wearer and those around him or her. Green, she explains, reminds us of a deep and quiet forest... peaceful, hopeful, and rich in possibilities. She leads workshops on colors, green, purple, and more. Colors trigger different feelings and convey different meaning. Ted asks about her business through Jewel Branding Studios... her consultations, workshops, guide, and how to get past the typical situation where 15% of the clothes in your closet are worn 85% of the time. Working with her clients, they uncover reasons, mostly subconscious, for routines and ruts. Then she guides clients to be creative with what's already in the closet, to express themselves through varieties and combinations of clothing. She helps them bring their outfits to their consciousness. And clients love it, she reports. Their eyes light up! They're finding their true fashions. She's helping them feel good which in turn creates enviable good vibes for us all while nurturing and respecting a healthy planet. Flanigan's Eco-Logic PodcastEpisode 290, 9/28/2026 🖥️ Watch: https://ecomotion.us/flanigans-eco-logic-podcast/2026-episodes/inna-korobkina-on-ethical-fashion-and-the-nexus-between-looking-great-and-sustainability/ ★ All episodes: https://ecomotion.us/flanigans-eco-logic-podcast © 2026 EcoMotion, Inc.
