Malia Logan of 5280 interviewed me for the magazine in regards to women in the sustainable fashion scene in Denver. Below is the excerpt of the article. To see the full article visit https://5280.com/denver-best-sustainable-designers/
"The magic of plant dye, Leah Rich says, is that no two items ever turn out the same. Soil, water, even how plants are picked can alter the colors they produce. Under the banner of Round Trip Goods, Rich transforms secondhand garments using marigolds, indigo, and other plants she grows, buys, or forages. “I usually work with a blank article of clothing I find at the thrift store—something with a good cut or nice feel,” she says. “Then I think about what colors I want for that textile.”
For Rich, it’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about rethinking how we relate to what we wear. Synthetic dyes, she says, are petroleum byproducts, disconnected from the natural world. Plant dyes, by contrast, are alive with cultural stories and ecological connections. Cochineal, for example, is a vivid red dye that comes from tiny insects that have been cultivated in Mexico for centuries. “When people are attracted to a color on a shirt, I love telling them where it really comes from,” Rich says.
If one of her designs doesn’t sell, she redyes and reintroduces it rather than discarding it. She even hosts natural-dye workshops and monthly mending nights that teach clothing repair. “People still hear the word ‘fashion’ and automatically think it’s not for them,” Rich says. “But we all wear clothes. If we could rebrand it to sustainable clothing, that’s something everyone identifies with.”