12 AAPI Baddies to Follow in Sustainable Fashion and Climate Action

Happy AAPI Heritage Month, baddies! Heritage months have run the risk of becoming hollow rituals. But they don’t have to be. When rooted in resistance against erasure, our celebration, joy, and solidarity become revolutionary acts. This month, we’re spotlighting AAPI creatives who are at the forefront of the sustainable fashion and climate justice movements. Their work doesn’t just challenge an extractive industry, but also believes in fashion and community as tools for the collective good. Here are just a few of the AAPI baddies shaping a future we can feel hopeful for:

1. Viv Chen

Viv Chen, a.k.a @vivthemole, might just be Substack’s favorite secondhand shopping source. Author of

The Molehill

newsletter—a great resource for analyzing cultural moments in fashion and styling your latest secondhand finds—and freelance fashion writer, Viv advocates for finding your style. She reminds us that shopping vintage and secondhand is anything but boring and can catalyze your sustainable style evolution.

2. Aditi Mayer

Following the Rana Plaza Factory collapse (which spotlights the harm fast fashion companies perpetrate against Asian women garment workers), sustainable fashion advocate Aditi Mayer made it her goal to raise awareness and challenge the status quo around the exploitation of garment workers and the natural environment within the fashion industry. She has led multiple grassroots efforts for labor rights in the Los Angeles garment district and champions the celebration of South Asian textiles and styles.

3. Amy Liu

Amy is an NYC-based sustainable fashion influencer, writer, and vintage fashion lover. Amy uses her platform to share her favorite sustainable brands for everything from accessories to home goods. We love her newsletter (Amy’s Newsletter) for discovering the latest sustainable finds.

4. Masego Morgan

Masego is a sustainable fashion and lifestyle practitioner and a creative strategist from Cape Town, South Africa. Masego’s profile is a colorful reminder that sustainable living can be vibrant and joyful. Through her content, Masego inspires people to make more sustainable choices, take up crafts, and connect with their community to build support networks.

5. Allina Liu

Allina Liu founded her eponymous brand in 2015 and has since transformed it into a label known for its exploration of opposites and commitment to ethical production. Her clothing is for the soft, romantic, and sensual dresser, drawing inspiration from shibari, old Dutch masters, and the work of fiber artist Do-ho Suh and photographers Nobuyoshi Araki and Ren Hang.

6. Olivia Cheng

So much of fashion’s value is derived from its replicability, but Dauphinette founder Olivia Cheng is less preoccupied with mass production and rather more interested in how she can turn everyday objects into art. While ready-to-wear design has become an important facet of Dauphinette, working with recycled and byproduct material, repurposed textiles, and preserved botanicals steers the narrative behind each garment.

7. Grace Gui

Based in NYC and rooted in heritage and craftsmanship, Grace Gui is a “farm-to-fashion knitwear project.” Founder Grace Gui raises silkworms, cares for and collects fur from her rabbit to be spun into yarn, works with natural dyes, and sources fibers from her home state of New Jersey, all as part of the process of creating organic, expressive pieces.

8. Kristie Chow

Clothing rental has never felt more like borrowing from a friend’s insane clothing archive than when renting from Hauteline—the NYC-based rental service by Kristie Chow. From Chopova Lowena carabiner skirts to vintage Prada bowling bags, Hauteline opens the (closet) door for anyone to wear their dream pieces.

9. Tim Chau

As the co-founder and CEO behind not one, but TWO iconic platforms—Impact and Environment—Tim Chau works to inform and mobilize the younger generations by framing today’s social issues through the lens of pop culture. Whether it’s analyzing the latest trends or educating audiences on climate news, Tim’s work helps to build awareness and community.

10. Uyen Tran

Every year, we get closer and closer to normalizing biomaterials thanks to innovators like Uyen Tran, textile-material researcher, designer, and cofounder of TômTex. TômTex is a biobased leather alternative made from chitosan, a biodegradable material found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans and shellfish. Read our interview with Uyen and Hillary Taymour on their latest collection collaboration.

11. Tanya Ravichandran

Tanya Ravichandran is actively helping to connect fashion archiving to the sustainable fashion movement. While many may chase down a rare runway piece for the clout of having something no one else does, Tanya’s content teaches us the importance of preserving clothing and its history.

12. Sophia Li

Sophia Li is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and advocate for environmental and human rights. Her goal is to humanize the issues that are leading us down a path of destruction and make them more accessible for the average person to understand. She’s also been an outspoken supporter of the Fashion Act alongside us!

Who’s an AAPI baddie you want to give their flowers to?

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