Made to Measure
There’s nothing frivolous about this mum’s commitment
to fashion and her family, writes
Elle Kwan
.
L
ife is a full-time mission
for Christina Dean. She
formed her NGO (non-
governmental organisation),
Redress, in 2007, aiming to cut
waste from the fashion industry.
Since then, Redress has set up the
EcoChic design competition, created
a certification system called R-cert for
recycled textiles, and regularly works
with the fashion industry to improve
sustainability.
And she’s not slowing down now.
In a former life, at school in the UK,
Christina was a national competitive
swimmer, and she still clearly loves
a challenge. In 2013, she pledged to
spend a year wearing only second-
hand clothes, often foraging from local
landfills, where hundreds of tonnes of
textiles are dumped each year. And,
last autumn, she completed her first
triathlon. No wonder
Vogue UK
named
her one of its Top 30 Inspirational
Women.
Cleaning up the fashion industry
is difficult and time-consuming, and,
as time marches on, she finds her role
as mum to Jasper, 11, Luka, nine, and
Naomi, five, increasingly competing
for her attention. “Since my kids have
got older, they have become more
reliant on me as each of their needs
unfold. It’s not just homework help
now, but their social needs, too,” she
says. Her daily schedule is mapped
to maximise efficiency. Often she
dashes from the office at 4pm to meet
the kids from school and spend time
with them until bedtime – not that she
minds this for a minute. “I do think it’s
important to prioritise your personal
life over your professional life, although
I know this can be hard, especially if
you are determined and passionate
professionally,” she says. At the end of
the day, she views her life with kids as a
two-way deal. “They really need to see
me,” she says, “and I really need to see
them.”
Precise fit
Here’s how the fashion fighter, wife and
mum makes it work over a day.
5:30am:
I’m a very early riser. Most
mornings I’m up at about half-past five
for what I call my “power hour”. I do
the hardest thing on my task list first
and then it’s done. I’m set up for the
day knowing it’s complete before the
kids even wake up.
7am:
I stop work at 7am when the kids
wake up, and we eat breakfast. I’ve
recently become a “militant mum”
about diet. Even though I used to
be a dentist and so was reasonably
well-educated about health and diet,
a friend gave me the book
I Quit Sugar
,
and I chucked all of our sugar out.
The children now have no sugar on
cereal and they only eat Weetabix or
Shredded Wheat. Three times a week,
we have eggs. The kids were miserable,
although they are getting used to it
now.
7:40am:
I drive the kids to school. I
could farm them out to the bus, but it’s
just ten minutes away and I enjoy it. If
they aren’t in the car at 7:40 though,
I leave them – and I have left them
(to take a taxi) – because I don’t like
February 2015
47
