Biography

Liz Ricketts is the co-founder and executive director of The Or Foundation, a USA and Ghana-based non-profit working at the intersection of environmental justice, education and fashion development. Under Liz’s leadership, The Or Foundation has conducted an extensive multiyear, multimedia research project called Dead White Man’s Clothes (DWMC) delving into the “afterlife” of clothing within the context of Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana, the largest secondhand market in the world. Operating across three tiers; material waste transformation, direct relief and ecotoxicology research & remediation, The Or Foundation is working in solidarity with the Kantamanto community to catalyze a Justice-led Circular Textiles Economy in Accra. In collaboration with community members, Liz and her team recently launched the Stop Waste Colonialism campaign to push for Extended Producer Responsibility policies to be Globally Accountable, ensuring that the transition to circularity is not subsidized by human exploitation and environmental injustice. You can learn more at theor.org and stopwastecolonialism.org

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