SOFIA M. WESTIN

I grew up in the north of Sweden dreaming of becoming a fashion designer. Like many young creatives, I believed in the magic of making clothes, their power to express, connect, and transform. I worked hard to realize that dream and eventually found myself inside the industry I had once admired from afar.

But with knowledge comes responsibility, and as my understanding of the fashion system deepened, so did my disillusionment. The more I learned about how the global fashion system works, from linear value chains to exploitative labor and unsustainable production, the more I realized that the dream I was chasing was built on broken foundations.

A Mission to Reshape the System

I refused to invest my labor in an industry that exploits workers, extracts value from ecosystems and serves only capital, where profit is funneled into the hands of a few at the expense of people and the planet. So I left the fashion industry. And then I returned – with purpose. I came back with a mission: To take responsibility for the industry I had once chosen, and to accelerate its transition toward a truly circular, demand-driven, and just system.

No More New

At FLÖDE, the startup I founded, we work with scalable textile upcycling to address one of the biggest problems in fashion: overproduction and waste.

The old model, Take – Make – Waste, has reached its limits. We need a new mindset. One that centers stewardship, transparency, and value regeneration.

“No more new” isn’t just a slogan. It’s a refusal. A refusal to accept business-as-usual. A refusal to produce for the sake of profit. A refusal to ignore the value already embedded in materials, garments, and human labor. Instead, we invest in the resources we already have, surplus materials, post-consumer textiles, and forgotten know-how. We combine old-world craftsmanship with future-oriented methods, using our design methodology as a tool for remanufacturing, repair, and circular production.

A New Definition of Growth – What We Value Is What We Measure

Modern companies must measure more than economic growth. At FLÖDE, we’re proving that it’s possible to generate profit while creating meaning fulwork, building local value chains, and supporting a sustainable lifestyle for everyone involved.

True luxury today isn’t about excess — it’s about integrity.

It’s about products that are needed, not just marketed. Products that can be repaired, passed down, and respected. Products that last, not just in terms of durability, but in cultural and ecological relevance.

The Role of the Entrepreneur – Rethinking Value, redefining Success

We need more businesses that exist to solve problems, not just scale revenue. We need more products with purpose, free from plastic, full of story. We need to rethink consumerism, redefine value, and remember why we choose to build companies in the first place. Ask yourself: What is a premium product in late-stage capitalism, during a climate crisis?
What does it mean to create in a world that already has more than it needs? The future of fashion isn’t about more. It’s about better.

The DIY Ethos: Owning Our Impact

My mindset has always been DIY, not in the sense of homemade, but in the sense of personal responsibility. Do it yourself.

Learn the system. Question it. Break it apart and rebuild it. If you don’t like the world you’re working in, make a new one. Educate yourself, and others, about how to dismantle what no longer serves us. Systemic change starts with individual courage. FLÖDE is my way of showing up and taking responsibility for the industry I once chose, and the future I believe in.

Let’s go circular. Let’s make better, not more. Let’s build businesses that future generations will thank us for.

Circular Fashion Developer | System Thinker | Pragmatic Visionary