Gap Inc’s Diana Rosenberg on the Importance of Asking for Help
In SFF's career series In the Office, we spotlight career opportunities at the intersection of fashion, sustainability, ethics, and culture and the people that work in them.
This week, we spoke with Diana Rosenberg, Senior Manager of Product Sustainability at Gap Inc. Rosenberg manages product sustainability at Gap, Inc and is responsible for building strategies that enable Gap Inc's portfolio of brands (Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta) to measurably reduce the environmental footprints of their products by sourcing more sustainable raw materials. She also helps integrate sustainability into Gap Inc brands by developing goals, educational training, tools, and resources.
Below, Rosenberg discusses her career path thus far, including the importance of asking for help, the value of experience, and the must-have skills needed to succeed in her role.
How I got my start
It started young. In the early nineties, I had the mom that refused to buy me processed food in plastic packaging and brought her own grocery bags to the store! Professionally, about ten years ago, I started in conservation and wildlife management, then moved to corporate sustainability after getting my Master's. I've worked in apparel sustainability for eight years now.
I adore clothes – the style, the drape, the colors, and the ability to express ourselves through what we choose to wear. Working in retail, I became more and more aware of the negative impacts of fashion and the massive amount of waste within the system. I was determined to find a way to do better. After college, I started a small clothing company making bespoke garments. Over time I realized my values in ecological protection, planetary well-being, and buying-better-and-less didn't line up with how the system worked, so I quit out of frustration. I leaned heavily into conservation and ecology when I left for grad school. I intended to do fisheries management until I realized many alumni at my school worked for apparel and footwear brands in the corporate track. It was a lightbulb moment when I realized I could take my business background, passion for fashion, and environmental science rigor and combine them to become a well-suited person for transforming this industry.
The importance of experience
In a role like mine that has moved away from the technical underpinnings of sustainability and into management and resource development, the most valuable skills are 1. transparent and compassionate communication, 2. organization, prioritization, and project management, 3. clear and direct writing. Experience, at this point in my career, has been critical to building the skills necessary to manage multiple projects and succeed as an early-established professional. However, I can't downplay how important education has been for giving me the space and the rigor to stumble, fail, and regain my bearings in a lower-consequence environment.
My typical work day
I often joke that my job isn't to do sustainability but to inform, enable and empower others to make more sustainable choices. My time is dominated by meetings with designers, fabric R+D, merchants, and marketers to provide guardrails and guidance. There's a lot of internal customer service, which suits me as I'm compulsively helpful. Other than that, I'll spend a couple of hours a day on more technical projects, like developing an internal calculator for carbon and water footprints based on our fiber consumption to support our climate and resilience goals.
Best career advice
Ask for help! We all have things we don't know how to do, and the only way to get better is to try, learn, and occasionally fail. People love supporting each other (though it's great to develop self-awareness to know when someone doesn't want to or can't). If you're trying to bluff your way through doing something that others know how to do, not only are you likely wasting time re-inventing the wheel, but you won't impress people by being stubborn – they can tell. So be humble, be gracious, and build a supportive network where it's safe to admit you need support.
Worst career advice
As a hyper-achievement-focused Millennial, there's this impression that we have to be 115% ALL THE TIME. That is, literally, unsustainable and unreasonable. We have to allow for ebbs and flows. Recognizing when you can give more and when you can't is crucial for building a work-life balance. When I see people say they have to do everything or people think they're letting others down, I think we all lose a little respect because you can't do it all well and swiftly. Something has to give.
How I deal with the challenges inherent to balancing people, profit, and the planet
The biggest misconception about my job is that I have more power than I do to drive design and business decisions. I am a guide, an internal influencer, and a resource. It's my role to simplify the operating environment to make sustainability the easier choice because it's often the more challenging or expensive in the current world and market. We all struggle to stay motivated despite the challenges — every one of us in the industry (and on the planet). To some degree, we have to accept our limitations and support each other with frankness and gentleness through the challenges. There will be times we disagree with decisions made or know that a passion project won't be implemented because of a macro-factor. Honest conversations about mental health, personal struggles, and celebrating wins extra hard keep me coming back every day.
My advice to someone who wants to work in sustainable fashion but isn't sure where they fit in
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has amazing advice, which I love sharing. Essentially we have a 3-circle Venn Diagram: What you love, What you're good at, and what the world needs. Look for the intersection of those spaces, and allow yourself to try new things that might not seem like the right at first — they'll help you triangulate. I spent three years working in sustainability reporting, which wasn't necessarily my passion. Still, I was good at it, and it gave me an excellent foundation in ESG world and gave me a strong perspective on what the world needs. Plus, it got me in the door at a great company that supported the development of a role I've always dreamed of!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
—
MORE IN THE OFFICE
