Join Sonica Sarna for her talk "Crafts Meet Sustainability: Impact Reporting for Indigenous Artisan Communities." Sonica leads Sonica Sarna Design and Project Thrive in India, an award-winning ethical design & production company that engages vulnerable artisan communities, regenerative farm-to-closet and organic textiles, women's empowerment programs & in-house Fair Trade-certified factory production to create high-fashion products in partnership with leading brands worldwide.
The answers to climate change, environmental degradation and socio economic inequity already exist within indigenous artisan communities. For centuries, these communities have worked in harmony with nature, farming with the land, dyeing with plants and minerals, weaving with zero waste, and building regenerative systems where nothing is discarded. Yet, their voices are often missing from global sustainability conversations, while machine-driven supply chains are celebrated as innovative. Today, in the midst of a climate emergency, indigenous wisdom is not just relevant, it is urgent. Sonica's work focuses on helping artisan communities measure and communicate this impact through scientific and social metrics, so that indigenous knowledge is recognized, respected, and advanced.