Haute Talk with Christine Chang | REDTHRED: Turning Fashion Into Impact

What if the clothes sitting in your closet could become a tool for storytelling, connection, and real-world change?

In this episode of The Lexy Show, Lexy Silverstein sits down with Christine Chang, founder and creative director of Red Thred, a social impact platform transforming fashion into a force for philanthropy and community building. Inspired by the idea that an invisible red thread connects us all, Christine has created a nonprofit that brings together creators, nonprofits, and communities through the stories behind the pieces we wear.

Lexy and Christine discuss how Red Thread turns personal wardrobes into opportunities for impact by transforming donated clothing into storytelling-driven campaigns that support meaningful causes. They explore why storytelling is such a powerful part of sustainability, how emotional connections to clothing can help us value and care for our wardrobes longer, and why repairing and reimagining garments can challenge the disposable mindset created by fast fashion. Christine also shares her journey from witnessing fashion waste firsthand in manufacturing to building a platform where style becomes a way to support nonprofits, amplify important causes, and create community-driven change.

The conversation dives into the future of circular fashion, why sustainability needs collaboration, and how small mindset shifts can change the way we shop and consume. Christine leaves listeners with one powerful question to ask before adding anything new to their closet: Is this worthy of being in my closet?

Follow Christine Chang and RedThred:
📍 Instagram: @redthred_org
🌎 Website: https://redthred.org

If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to subscribe to The Lexy Show, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who's ready to make more mindful choices for themselves and the planet.

Transcript

LEX-REDTHRED

Lexy: [00:00:00] Welcome to the.

Welcome to the Lexi Fashion. That gives a damn where we expose fast fashion and celebrate the brands and products actually making a difference for our planet. I'm Lexi Silverstein, and today I'm talking with Christine Chang, the founder and creative director of. Bread thread, a social impact platform that unites humanity through fashion, culture, and storytelling.

If you're new here, head to lexi silverstein.com for information on sustainable fashion and eco-conscious living. And if you love what you hear, subscribe and share this episode. It helps more than you think. Christine, welcome. How How are you doing? That's it for this week's episode of the show. That gives a damn.

Big thanks to Christine for showing us how fashion can be a tool for connection, culture, and real change. Whether it's fashion or everyday products. This is how sustainability should work. If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Leave a review and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

Head to lexi silverstein.com. More content on sustainable style and conscious consumption. Follow me on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube at Lexi Silverstein. That's LEXY, silver like the color, S-T-E-I-N. Remember to live a good life and look fucking good doing it and demand better from brands in your closet and everywhere else.

See you next week.

Christine: Hi, Lexi. 

Lexy: Hello. How are you? I'm good.

Christine: How are you?

Lexy: Good. Thanks so much for hopping on today and chatting. 

 Let's start with the basics. What is Red Thread and what inspired you to create it? 

Christine: So Red Thread is a nonprofit that turns fashion into a force for connection in impact.

So we partner with creators who donate [00:01:00] pieces from their personal wardrobe, and we transform those into storytelling driven campaigns that support causes that they care about. And it actually started with the name, uh, there is this ancient. Proverb that says, an invisible red thread connects you to those you're destined to meet in life.

It may stretch, it may tangle, and it will never break. And I encountered this name three times in a period of one week while I was attending fashion school. So I was like, okay, God, I get it. I'm paying attention. What am I supposed to do? Um. The deeper root came from a moment when I was 17. I went on a missions trip to South Korea and we visited an orphanage in, um, there, and I was drawn to this one child, [00:02:00] an infant, um, who had been abandoned.

Um. He had a, a facial deformity, but I thought he was so beautiful and I didn't fully understand it at the time, but looking back, it awakened something in me about connection, um, and not leaving people behind. But the real catalyst came when I became a mother myself, and that really changed my world Worldview.

It reignited this sense of responsibility that I felt back then when I was 17 and had that encounter. And I started asking myself, what kind of world do I wanna leave behind for my children? What kind of world do I want them to live in? And what kind of world do I wanna help create? And at the same time, I had been working in the fashion industry.

And saw [00:03:00] firsthand how much waste existed. There are so many beautiful pieces that were never used. So I started really small. I approached all the manufacturers that I knew, um, and they donated their damaged goods and I started repairing them with red thread. And I started, um, these little popup events selling those, um, rethread items.

Um, and supporting nonprofits. The first organization that I supported was Operation Smile, um, and helping children with, um, lifesaving surgeries, um, to, to repair cleft blips. And so that was really the beginning, connecting fashion, storytelling and impact through this idea that everyone and everything is connected.

Lexy: Is just so amazing. It's so incredible. And just thank you for all the amazing work that you're [00:04:00] doing. I think that, um, you know, fashion is, is so much more than just the clothes that we put on our body, as you know, and many of our listeners know. Um, and I think that that's something that. I'll talk about a lot is like, you know, embracing the sustainability aspect of, of these things.

Like, I think that, you know, making, learning how to make repairs and then showcasing the repairs, whether it's with red thread or yellow thread, or green thread, like, you know, showing, um, that. Because, you know, we all, we all have get holes in our clothes every now and then. Mm-hmm. Um, and learning how to like, just repair something and keep the lifecycle of something and then turn it into an art by showcasing that where, where it was mended is so, so incredible.

Um. And then you mentioned like, you know, the storytelling aspect of this and your platform really sits at the intersection of fashion, culture, and storytelling. So why is storytelling such an important tool when we talk about sustainability? 

Christine: Storytelling is everything when it comes to sustainability because it's not just an environmental [00:05:00] issue, it's an emotional one.

And when something carries a story, um, when you know its journey, the person connected to it, uh, it changes how you see it, and then you value it more, which leads you to keep it longer. So I actually have this. Lavender robe. It's, uh, a little worn and a little stained. Um, but, and it's got this abstract, uh, floral pattern on the sleeve ends.

It's got puff sleeves. I love it, but it screams eighties. Totally. Um, so when I was eight years old. My mom had to go into the hospital for a major surgery and we weren't allowed to visit. So my dad snuck us around to the side of the building and I remember peeking through the window and giving her a kiss through the screen, and she was wearing this rope.

So [00:06:00] when she was about to donate it, I took it, I out of the pile. I was like, give it to me. Because the rogue just doesn't just represent. Clothing, it represented to me her story. Uh, my mom is one of the toughest people I know as an immigrant woman, as a mother, she's my role model. Um, so this is symbolic for me of her.

That's something I don't wanna throw away. So that's what storytelling does. It transforms something from disposable into something meaningful. And when something is meaningful, we take care of it. And I think that's where sustainability begins. 

Lexy: Yeah, completely. And I think if we took the time to care for our items, the way that.

We once used to that we can all have, you know, great stories like that where these, these pieces, you know, should mean more to us than I'm [00:07:00] gonna buy it. I'm gonna wear it once and I'm gonna get rid of it. Mm-hmm. It should mean like every time someone's like, oh, like I like your outfit. I love being able to be like, oh, thanks.

I like got it from this random place. And then I wore it here like it was my mother's and I. Like, I don't think she necessarily knows that I took it from her, so don't tell her like, um, just like fun things like that. And I think we've kind of disconnected the more that fast fashion is around, the more that, you know, we're just producing clothes at this insane rate.

Mm-hmm. Um. The, the less connected we're getting with our, our pieces. And I think having that storytelling and being able to, to find that sentimental value in the things that we own and really take pride in the things that we own, um, you know, keeps help, helps us to keep them longer and, and care for them.

And, and inherently that is, is more sustainable. Yes. 

Christine: Definitely. 

Lexy: So what was your personal journey into sustainable fashion? Was there a, a moment that kind of clicked for you where you were like, ah, [00:08:00] sustainability? 

Christine: Um, my journey didn't start with fashion activism. It started with observation, and I watched this documentary called the True Cost.

And it blew me away. One statistic really stayed with me that only a small percentage of the clothing that we donate actually ends up in thrift stores, and the rest often end up end up in landfills overseas. And for me, seeing those images like literal mountains of clothing. Um, piled up sometimes in bodies of water.

That really shocked me. And, and I, like I mentioned a little bit earlier before I saw it in real life, working in fashion manufacturing in downtown la 

Lexy: mm-hmm. 

Christine: I witnessed how much waste is created behind the scenes. There's, so, there were so many beautiful pieces that never get worn because there, there has [00:09:00] to be a high standard, you, a small, a whole, um, is not sellable.

So at the same time, I saw nonprofits doing incredible work, constantly needing funding and visibility and that. My was my click moment that these two worlds didn't have to be separate. What if we could amplify their stories and what if we could turn closets into causes? It could create so much more meaning and so much more impact.

Lexy: Mm-hmm. Completely. That's so amazing. I, I think, you know. Again, it's just an another aspect of like looking at your, your pieces differently, looking at your clothes differently. Um. And like you said, storytelling is everything. And especially in sustainability, I think the way we get this message across to people is, is just so important in how we tell it.

And being able to be like, have a, have a normal conversation and just have someone be like, Hey, like your outfit. And be like, well, it's actually like up for up for sale and you can buy it and, and support a great organization. Um, yeah. A [00:10:00] great way of, you know, appreciating your closet more and appreciating the things we have.

But many people don't realize that fashion can be a tool for philanthropy and activism. So what are some ways that Red Thread has helped turn personal style into something that supports a lot larger? Cause I do feel like we kind of gone over that, but 

Christine: um, we can definitely elaborate. Personal style is incredibly powerful.

It's a nonverbal communication, whether we realize it or not. We're what we wear expresses who we are, what we believe, and where we belong. For centuries, clothing has been used to signal identity and community from tribes to cultural dress, um, to sports teams. Like can you imagine if also. Athletes wore the same uniform, like the chaos it would be on the football field.

Um, you instantly know who's who and who's on your team. [00:11:00] So fashion has always shaped culture, whether we realize it or not. And when you combine that with intention, it can create impact. So when someone buys a piece from a creator or an influencer, they're not just buying clothing, they're participating in a story in a cause.

A jacket can become clean water. A dress provides shelter, a bag, uh, helps bridge communities. That's what fashion can be. It becomes a bridge connecting creators, communities, nonprofits, in a way that feels. Uh, organic. Yeah, 

Lexy: completely. And, and you've worked with, you know, many nonprofits and social causes through fashion.

So what's one collaboration or, or a few, um, or project that kind of stands out to you? 

Christine: One col collaboration that really stands out to me, um, is an early one that [00:12:00] validated this whole entire. Idea of creator led philanthropy, and it was with style influencer Christelle Lin. Um, at the time the Nepal earthquakes happened and entire communities were devastated.

Like cities were left in rubble, and she, um. Came to us and she wanted to use her wardrobe as a way to mobilize her audience to help victims recover from the earthquake. So she donated pieces from her closet and we built an online shop around it. But the incredible thing wasn't the sales, it was the response that we received from the community.

They weren't just shopping. Um. They were excited to be part of something meaningful. And I think many of us, we wanna be part of something. We want to create positive change but don't necessarily [00:13:00] know how. So that experience taught me that when creators show up authentically for a cause that they care about their communities, wanna show up with them 

Lexy: completely and.

If I, you know, or anyone listening or an organization or anything like that wants to do a, a partnership with Red Thread, how, what does that look like? How can people get involved? 

Christine: Our goal is to make it incredibly simple and low lift. So creators would donate pieces from their personal wardrobe, and Red Thread manages everything from pickup, photography, building the online shop, and handling the fulfillment.

The proceeds then support. A nonprofit that the creator genuinely, genuinely cares about, um, while they do what they naturally do, engage their community and share the cause behind it. And for nonprofits, it's [00:14:00] a different kind of fundraising. Instead of them asking for donations, they're being introduced to new audiences through authentic storytelling.

So they get to also focus on what they do best, sharing the impact of their work. While we handle the logistics, we, and we handle e everything else. 

Lexy: That's amazing. I think that is something that I've noticed is really important for people to get more involved in, you know, sustainability and, and, um.

Organizing things like this is just like, how can we make it easier for them? 'cause I think when it comes to sustainability, or honestly, any new topic that you're just, you know, getting into, um. There's a lot of information out there. There's so many ways to get started. Um, and so kind of taking, taking away and, and some of the challenges and just honing in on like, okay, this is a few things that you can do today to get started, I think is so important.

So it's amazing that you guys really support with this. Um. I think with sustainable [00:15:00] fashion, I mean, in general, I think sustainability, sustainable fashion, vegan fashion, all that stuff, these are like buzzwords. Um, and sometimes it can, it can be hard to, to really figure out what is sustainable. What is ethical, like as, as I said, there's so much information out there.

So what actually makes something meaningfully sustainable in your eyes?

Christine: Sustainability isn't just a label, it's a responsibility. It means meeting our needs today without compromising the needs of the future. But for me, it only works when the, the whole, the entire system supports that from how things are made to how we choose to consume them. So it's not just about asking consumers to be more mindful, I believe it's also about rethinking manufacturing, reducing waste, and designing systems that are built to [00:16:00] last, because sustainability isn't just one decision, it's a a system.

Lexy: Completely. And if someone opened, I mean, we've talked briefly about how, you know, fast fashion is ridiculous nowadays. How things are being produced so quickly and, and if we're taking time with Red Thread to really look through our closet, if someone opened the average American closet. What do you, what do you think it would reveal about our culture right now, and why should that be concerning?

Christine: Hmm. Um, if you open the average American closet, you'd probably find abundance and disconnection and what I mean, disconnection, our closets are full, but a lot of times we feel like we have nothing to wear. That reveals something deeper about our culture. We've been conditioned to consume fashion quickly without necessarily valuing it, and we've shifted from buying things out of necessity and [00:17:00] quality to habits driven by instant gratification and disposability, and that really happened at the transition.

Of the industrial industry, uh, revolution, the industrial revolution. And while we can't go back to the era of the past, I, I don't think the future is about owning more. It's about relating to what we own differently. 

Lexy: Mm-hmm. So 

Christine: reconnecting with meaning, with intention, and why we choose the things that we bring into our lives is really important.

Lexy: Completely. I think that's something that's been really big for my own personal sustainability journey is like when I first really got into sustainability, I just went to thrift stores and you know, bought stuff because they were like. 2 99 at the thrift and I was like, oh, it's sustainable so I can purchase it.

Um, and lately, I mean, I like live at a thrift store. I love going to thrift stores, but I have [00:18:00] noticed that I am like so much more strategic with the things that I end up getting. Um, and. You know, I'll either often leave with nothing at all, or I'll leave with like one thing that I sat there for 10 minutes and I was like.

What would I wear this with? Where would I wear it too? Like how many times am I gonna wear it? Is it, is it like just a trend? Is that why I want it? Like is it a good, I think that's something too that we really should all be looking at is like the tags and looking up the material composition. Um, 'cause sometimes I'll see things that are cute and I'm just like, you know what?

This is made out of like a hundred percent polyester and. I just don't think it's gonna be something that I like enough to keep for a long period of time, or I'm gonna wash it once and it's gonna release a ton of microplastics and just really, really thinking and slowing down about the things that we buy is so important.

I think every [00:19:00] time I like put something in my cart and think it over for. A few weeks, like I either end up not buying it or it's gone, in which case 

Christine: that 

Lexy: I didn't need it, it wasn't meant to be. 

Christine: No. 

Lexy: Um, so I think just slowing down is something that is so important. And like we've been talking about, like bringing value back too, the things we own.

Um, so if you could completely redesign how people shop for clothes in the future, what would that system look like? 

Christine: I imagine a future where fashion is more circular and community driven and we are seeing that already now. 

Lexy: Mm-hmm. 

Christine: I don't think it's about us owning more. It's about how we access and circulate what already exists.

So on one level, people, I see people investing in capsule wardrobes like core pieces. Pieces that are high quality, [00:20:00] expressive and truly personal, like truly them. And then around that you have shared systems like community closets or even clothing libraries. Like we, the way we rent books where people can borrow, exchange or rent pieces depending on the moment.

And there's companies like that, like Rent the Runway where you can, um. We per like, rent a piece for special occasions. Um, so instead of everyone owning everything, we're participating in a shared ecosystem and beyond how we shop, kind of as I mentioned earlier, I think we also have to rethink how we create and I'm really inspired.

One of the designers and architects I really look up to is Mary Oxman. She's a former MIT professor and she created [00:21:00] this concept material ecology. Um, and her whole philosophy, um, is exploring what it means to design with nature, not just extract from it. So, for example, she's worked with silkworms to create silk structures without harming them.

Currently, when we want to make a silk garment, we boil these silkworms. 

Lexy: Mm-hmm. 

Christine: Um, but instead of destroying them, she created a, uh. Uh, manmade structure, but then signal to the silkworms on, um, how to create intricate patterns. So allowing nature to be part of the design process. To me that was a glimpse into the future where fashion isn't just less harmful, but actually regenerative and in relationship with LA nature and community.

Lexy: Yeah, I think nature and animals and people, they're not the enemy. If we [00:22:00] can find ways of collaborating, I, it's very important. So what's next for Red Thread? Um, and what do you hope its role will be in shaping how we shop in future? 

Christine: We are building more than a platform. We're building an alliance. Our goal is to bring together creators, nonprofits, and communities in a way that amplifies everyone's impact.

So we help creators turn their influence into something meaningful while introducing nonprofits to entirely new audiences through storytelling. Long term I see Red Thread, expanding beyond fashion. Partnering across industries with sustainable manufacturers, socially conscious businesses and creatives to create a more connected ecosystem of impact.

Um, instead of isolated acts of charity, we wanna build a [00:23:00] coordinated, uh, network that strengthens impact deepens in engagement. At the core, it's about turning creativity into real change. So the project may vary, but that is the core. And as we grow, we're intentionally aligning with the global efforts like the UN's 30, uh, 2030 sustainability development goals, because I believe this is.

Bigger than just one organization to make change. Uh, everything's interconnected. Whether it's, uh, environment, um, social economical, um, all of these challenges that we face, uh, I think the, the solution will come from collaboration. Um, yeah. So it's about contributing to a global movement [00:24:00] and how do we bring everyone together?

Lexy: Yeah, completely. I think that's something that like I've learned, I think especially with like the storytelling aspect of things, is how do we make people interested in this and kind of meeting them where they're at. Um. I always bring up this example, but my brother really loves plants. He has like a million plants all over his house.

Um, and he, there's a lot of things that I do in my day to day, like composting and, um, you know, using re using water. Saving water and putting it in my plants instead of, you know, just letting the, the sink run or something like that. Um, and those were all things that he was like, oh, that's really cool that you can do that for your plants, like.

We talked about it in, in, in the conversation of plants rather than like, I was like, yeah, this is actually super sustainable and sustainability. And, um, because I honestly feel like sometimes when I bring up those buzzwords, people get kind of turned off by it. And so I think, um, finding that community and, and meeting people where they're at and having those conversations, um, is so important because I think some of the things that we do in our day to day are qualified as sustainable and people.

Don't even realize it because it's, it's just what we do. 

Christine: Yeah. 

Lexy: Um, and so, you know, spreading, spreading that more and, and, and again, just meeting that they're at and getting that community aspect, because I agree, I think in sustainability and in the environment, like sometimes this is a, a. It's not always the happiest of topics.

Um, it can be a little daunting looking at kind of the big picture of the [00:25:00] planet. Um, but I think having community and surrounding yourself with people that are also interested in this and also motivated by this, whether it's by talking about and donating air closets or by. Carpooling instead of driving by yourself and just things like that, you know, we can, you can feel a little bit better about the state of the world.

Christine: Yeah. I feel like, um, just talking about it, it's on people's minds, but, and the more we talk about it, the more, um, we realize, like you said, with your conversation with your brother, like, oh. We are doing things to, um, promote sustainability and how can we further that we, we feed off each other like we, yeah, I think that's beautiful.

Lexy: Yeah. I think it's just so important to surround yourself with good, good people, and I feel like that's something that I've just really found, [00:26:00] especially working in. This aspect of the fashion industry or just the environment is just what keeps me motivated. Every time I go to like. A farmer's market, like it doesn't even have to be the most like sustainable event in the world.

But every time I go to a local farmer's market or even a flea market or anything like that, like I'm just like, that was so nice. Like, I got to speak with people, I got to meet these different vendors. I got to hear about what they're doing. I got to buy some local food, um, or buy some clothes that have already been worn.

Um, and it just, it really just like motivates me to. Keep going. Keep fighting. 

Christine: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and reading your book, that inspired me to make this like a tradition with my daughter. It, it's, it's a like a family culture to go and shop secondhand and go to their stores and live for treasures. So yeah, we, the more conversations that we have, the more [00:27:00] inspiration we get.

And yeah, that's encouraging. 

Lexy: Oh, completely. I love to hear that. Um, so I always like to end my podcast on what are your top rapid fire tips for someone who is just starting their journey to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Christine: if I had one takeaway to give, it would be this one question actually. Is this worthy of being in my closet? I think that one question changes everything. It shifts how you buy, how you care for things, and how you let them go. And you kind of touched that upon that in your personal journey to sustainability.

Um, it really moves you from a consumer mindset to an invite investor mindset. And so when you start thinking that way. You naturally choose things with more intention, more quality, um, and more purpose. 

Lexy: Completely. Yeah, I [00:28:00] agree. I always say like, before you buy something, ask yourself those questions of when am I gonna wear this?

What am I gonna wear it with? Where am I going to wear it to? Um, am I buying it because I genuinely like it? Am I buying it? 'cause it's on trend, just sit and and think with it for a second. 

Christine: Mm-hmm. Yeah. But there's so many pieces that. If I just asked that question, is this worthy of being in my closet? I probably would not have purchased.

Yeah. 

Lexy: Yeah. Same. I just, when I was thrifting, like when I first really started this journey, I was like. I feel like constantly cycling things out of the thrift store and back into the thrift store. And I was like, this is basically just the same thing as my fast fashion, you know, as a fast fashion shopping habit.

Um, but I secondhand sourced it. But, so I was like, not great, but that's okay because that is part of the journey. And I look back at that as a learning, you know, lesson and, and just, and. A part, yeah, a part of the journey that I had to learn from. And now when I go to a thrift store, which is often, but I, I, I just don't even end up buying anything.

Like I am just so, so particular with the things that I purchase and I think that that is something we can all learn to do. 

Christine: Yes. 

Lexy: So where can people find you on social media, anywhere else and connect. [00:29:00] 

Christine: Yeah, you can find us on our website, red thread.org. That's R-E-D-T-H-R-E-D with there's no a in Red Thread, and also on Instagram, red thread.org.

Lexy: Perfect. Well everyone. Go check them out. That's, you are doing such amazing work and we thank you for it. Um, and yeah, thanks so much for coming on. 

Christine: Oh, thanks for having me. It's a pleasure. 

Lexy: That's it for this week's episode of the show. That gives a damn.

Big thanks to Christine for showing us how fashion can be a tool for connection, culture, and real change. Whether it's fashion or everyday products. This is how sustainability should work. If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Leave a review and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

Head to lexi silverstein.com. More content on sustainable style and conscious consumption. Follow me on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube at Lexi Silverstein. That's LEXY, silver like the color, S-T-E-I-N. [00:30:00] Remember to live a good life and look fucking good doing it and demand better from brands in your closet and everywhere else.

See you next week.