Tansy Hoskins: Author of Foot Work: What Your Shoes Are Doing to the World

Tansy Hoskins, an author and journalist based in London. In March 2020, she released a new book “Foot Work: What Your Shoes Are Doing to the World”, an exposé of the shoe industry, and the damage it is doing to workers, consumers and the planet. 

Tansy’s previous book, Stitched Up: The Anticapitalist Book of Fashion, is one of my favourites exploring the political issues in fashion. It’s a 360 degree view of the issues at stake, looking at everything from Karl Lagerfeld to Karl Marx, including sweatshops, branding, the environment and sustainable alternatives. Actor Emma Watson chose Stitched Up as one of her favourite books. 

In her work, Tansy combines environmental concerns with a critique of capitalism and issues facing the global working class, Tansy is at the forefront of not only illuminating the problems facing fashion now, but thinking of how we might build a better future for all. We discussed the book, her background as an anti-war campaigner and how the left can better grapple with the issues in the fashion industry.

Follow Tansy on Twitter and Instagram @TansyHoskins or find out more at tansyhoskins.org/

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Produced and recorded by Rena Niamh Smith
Theme music by Benjamin Tassie
Artwork by Fleur Beck
Sound engineering by Gibran Farrah
Consultation by Ben Weaver-Hincks
Original illustrations and social media editing by Charlotte Rose Watts
Special thanks to Chloe Vasseghi