Transcript
Luisa Hogan: When you wake up in the morning and open your wardrobe and even before your day has started, you have already made about 10 decisions, not about your work, not about your priorities, but about what you're wearing. And most of it is happening in a quiet internal dialogue that you're not even aware of. And you don't even know that it is potentially draining you.
Luisa Hogan: Welcome back to the Second Voice Podcast, where we uncover the conversations that leaders don't say out loud. I'm your host, Louisa Hogan, and today we're talking about something that looks simple on the surface, but is quietly shaping your focus, your energy, and how you show up every single day.
Luisa Hogan: Today, i am joined by the very lovely Lacey Kadju-McLean, Founder and CEO of Rubaya Ventures, Calgary based fashion tech company that's redefining how women dress, organize and experience their wardrobes. Lacy combines eco-conscious, non-toxic professional apparel with an AI powered virtual closet app designed to reduce textile waste, simplify wardrobe management and foster confidence in daily dressing. Raised on a ranch in Alberta, Lacey brings a deep connection to nature, a career in IT project management, and a passion for sustainable innovation. Frustrated by the lack of healthy, functional, and stylish professional clothing, me too, so I can't wait to speak to you, Lacey. She created Rubia to bridge the gap between safer textiles, intelligent technology and thoughtful design. Lacey, I have been looking forward to this conversation for such a long time. I'm so excited to hear your journey, but also more about your business. Welcome to the Second Voice podcast today.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really looking forward to chatting and sharing ah sharing with your with your listeners.
Luisa Hogan: Fantastic. Well, welcome. Well, tell us more about you. I've i've read your bio, I've you know looked into your work, and I've you know been researching you. But for those listening that don't know you, tell us a little bit more about you. Where are you from? What's your journey? What brought you to where you are today?
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Well, I grew up in a very small town in northern Alberta. and So one of the most northern cities in Canada is Edmonton in Alberta. and And then, of course, there's a little further up there. There's Northwest Territories and Yukon, which is Yellowknife, Whitehorse. But Edmonton's the most sizable city kind of and in that in that in that area of northern Canada. And I grew up about two hours north of Edmonton.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And very much in in a rural a bush area, lots of trees. It's beautiful, amazing, 150 lakes. It's absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Northern lights in the winter.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um Just as a beautiful place to grow up. Wonderful town and people. But I grew up very rural, very small town. And I really didn't leave my small town much until I was a little bit older.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and I remember the first time I wanted went on an airplane was when I was 16 and I went to Jamaica and that was that was a very big deal at the time. um And then it took me a while before I even visited ah this our provinces on either side of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. and it it um It was just, you you kind of grow up and and bit secluded and going to Edmonton was a big deal um back back in the day. And that's that was a great way to to to grow up. But at the same time too, there's,
Lacey Cadieux McLean: we kind of, um I could never imagine traveling as much as I have at now and ah so having the career that I've had and then even going on to start a company and becoming a CEO of ah of a company.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: This was all, if I would have told my younger self, she would have been like, no, there's no way. Like, ah it's it's funny how life plays out sometimes.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um And it's it's really important message for younger people that are starting out in the world is the sky really is the limit because i didn't think I was going to do all these things. back when I was like even 16, 17, 18 years old, I wouldn't have believed it.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Now, one thing about me as as a kid and as a teenager is I've always had a little little bit of, I don't know, it's undiagnosed, I'll call it attention deficit, like very all over the place.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But I would i would ah always have a hard time concentrating in school. And so i I loved drawing and designing and I would create clothing collections and I would, my my pictures at school would have flowers and drawings and characters.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: The teachers were always like, this is great, Lazy, like beautiful, beautiful drawings. But what about like the actual assignment? ah
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And I was just like, oh, but don you know I drew pictures and it's, you here you go. And I actually, i recently, not too long ago, went home and I was going through the storage room in my parents' house. My parents still live in um one of the houses I grew up in. and And I found some old file folders of clothing designs.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: that I designed back in like, I don't even know how old, maybe 15 or something. and And they have them all tucked away in in the in the corner there. And I went through them with my my two oldest kids.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um My daughter's turning 18 here in July and my son's 15 and the the youngest is 10. And I was kind of showing them this and they're like, oh, mom these are ah these are actually, you know, you did some some drawings back then. So I i i definitely, um had a journey that ah that's that that I went on that that was very surprising. And as much as I showed, I guess, the promise of getting into clothing design and and being a creative, it it took a ah while before it all came together.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: ended up going to university. I had to leave my small town to do that. um And then eventually made my way to Calgary. And then I've been in Calgary longer than I was ever up north in Lackawish. But it's it's it's been it's been fabulous. And um i i I did end up writing. I've spent I spent the better part of my 20s and writing books while I was building my career as an IT project manager.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: started working in IT project management really really quick out of university.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: i think I was working in it by the end of 2002. five, maybe definitely into 2006. And then it's just been, it's been just steady since. Took a little bit of time off to raise my daughter and my ah have my have my son. And then I was right back to work and been steady, steady ever since.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: I thought that was gonna be the rest of my career. I you know i wrote some books, I did some things, but I thought IT t project management was gonna be, that was that was gonna be what I was gonna do till till I retired.
Luisa Hogan: Was it?
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and um And that's been awesome. It's been incredible because without my career, and I and i still do freelance work in project management. um But without that, I don't think I, it I think it would have been a lot more difficult to go down the journey of starting Rubaya.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um And then I went into, I i entered my 40s feeling old, of course. was like, I'm in my forty s now.
Luisa Hogan: It was my 44th, 5th birthday this weekend, so I know.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: ah you So, you know, it's just like, oh, this, like, 30 was a big deal too. But 40 was like, I mean, I've got teenagers, like they're, my daughter's going off to college in September. And it was just like, I definitely remember kind of getting the idea for this clothing brand and then and then the i the the app and and thinking about it and just being like,
Lacey Cadieux McLean: When am I going to have time? i have, we have my husband and I operate a short term rental property management company as well. And ah I was just like, I have no business, like zero business coming up with any sort of new business ideas.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: I'm strapped for time as it is. When on earth am I going to find these? When um when am I going to do this? But lo and behold, there was a bunch of things that came together and my kids actually have a part to play in this story.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: They were inspirational for me. I started, I i got it went on a whim. I decided I was going to take a fashion design certification online. It was mainly motivated by um my past cre creativity, wanting to feed that creative or part of myself that I haven't been feeding.
Luisa Hogan: What's
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But also my daughter is graduating and I wanted to help her design a graduation dress. And so I thought, oh you know, let's, I'll take a course and then we can work on her dress.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And over the years, I had actually in the back of my mind been ah growing frustrated with virtual wardrobe apps. I've tried out a few. I felt like they didn't really do what I was looking for.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and i actually even took it as far as I wrote one app and I gave them a bunch of feedback on how they could improve.
Luisa Hogan: a
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And I kind of left it at that and was just like, oh, I basically i had an approach where um everyone else, I was waiting for someone else to come up with the ver virtual wardrobe app that I was looking for.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And for years, I waited. And I would see like portions of it come out. But it just felt like nobody was quite quite getting it and the way that that I was envisioning. And then um my husband is career firefighter.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And um he is exposed to a lot of toxins day in and day out and in his career. Their gear gets coated in in smokes and and chemicals and fire retardants and waterproofing coatings.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And it's it's a well-known fact that first responders, especially firefighters, are exposed and and have a higher likelihood of workplace cause cancers.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so he started on this journey to wanting, when he's not at work, to making healthier clothing choices for himself, wearing organic cottons and things like that. Because he said, Lacey, for me, like the chances of me developing something are are much higher already.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So when I'm home and I'm making choices, I i want to try to make a little cleaner choices because, ah you know, I give myself a fighting chance here to, you know, let's let's try to let's try to live a healthy life but where we can because of my career.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And and so I kind of like never had really thought about sustainability. i had thought about clothing design clearly since I was a teenager. I have worked in technology for years. um and And, you know, I was wanting to design this dress with my daughter, but i hadn't really tied it all together and just said, like, why don't I create this this platform? And it it it was really interesting because I remember quickly. Clearly, i had a, I don't know what it was, but it was a moment.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: It was a moment of clarity. And I don't know why I had it that day. i don't know what I was even particularly thinking about that I had this. But I just remember thinking, I'm going to die someday.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And I know this seems so dramatic every time I tell this story, but it's the truth.
Luisa Hogan: No. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: We're all going to.
Luisa Hogan: Yep.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And and and I'm like, I have these feelings.
Luisa Hogan: yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: ideas and I have these inspirations and I have these challenges such as finding the the app I'm looking for. i went to go look for business professional sustainable women's clothing and I couldn't find anything I liked. And I was just like,
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Again, I was doing that thing. Well, I'm waiting for someone else to go and create the clothing line. I'm waiting for someone else to go and create the app that I'm looking for. And I got a little tired of of myself waiting for other people because I have all these skills. i do I execute projects as part of living. People hire me to go do this for them.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Why on earth don't I just...
Luisa Hogan: Make it myself. Yep.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But, you know, as they say, bite the bullet or whatever the saying is like and just just do it, do it like. And then I had so much imposter syndrome.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: It was ridiculous for the I remember I was sitting there like pros like having this idea of like, oh, i maybe I should do this. And and being like, you're busy, you've kids. you You have a freelancing career. You have another company. You have a husband. You have all these things. And I'm like almost trying to talk myself out of it.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and then And then it was just like, someday you're going to die, Lacey. And when you when you get there, oh I know what it was actually. i Thinking back on it, I came across an article online of what we regret at the end of our lives.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And how the common things that people say and on in hospice and things like that, that they regret. And a lot of them regret not taking chances because they were too s scared.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Right. and And so I was just like, and when I get to the end of my life, am I going to regret not trying at least maybe failing, maybe winning, maybe have like, you know, who knows. Right.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But at least trying and giving myself a funny chance. Or am I going to be like, oh, I wish I wouldn't have been a afraid. I wish I would have just allowed myself at least to attempt to succeed in that.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And and and so I was just like, no, like I'm going to I've always been a little bit like, you know, this guy's the limit.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: I want to you know, I want to be an example for the kids, for the teenagers. I want them to believe they can whatever they put their mind to and with some focused effort and grit that they can achieve things.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And I realized that I have to be the example for them at the end of the day. And I can't tell them they can go and do all these things, but in turn not be the example.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: ah for them.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so, so that's where I kind of went with it. And, and I was just like, you know what, I'm going to create the sustainable fashion brand.
Luisa Hogan: yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um I'm going to, to use this, this tech, this experience and design ah a virtual wardrobe app that integrates with that fashion brand. And we're going to pioneer and change the way that we interact with our clothing. And and we really are forging a new era in fashion over at Rubaya.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Yep.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: not just in technology, but also in sustainability and in and making choices that help the earth and reduce textile waste and all of that. So we we have pretty grand ambitions. And you know what's what's truly phenomenal now is it's it ended up, I wasn't, to another thing that I ended up finding out was I'm not alone in the journey.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: i ended up building a team of people that are involved on this, that are helping. that I couldn't definitely could not do it without them. and And they're just as passionate as I am and just and share the vision and share um in what we're trying to achieve. And they're doing they've done a phenomenal job.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And when we did get to the table and started looking at the whole system and platform of the way that we interact with our clothes, we just said and we had a few moments of, oh, I don't think anybody's ever done that before.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And I remember I looked at the team and I said, well, guess what? We're going to go do it. We're going figure out a way, right?
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Amazing. Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Or well let's let's go sort it out. If nobody's ever done it again, I hear an opportunity.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Amazing.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah. And so we did.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so one one of the the most incredible things that the team came up with was we we came up with kind of three main components to the Rubaya brand. We came up with the the women's professional sustainable clothing.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: We came up with digital clothes, which we're were completely pioneering digital clothes. This is a very new concept. um it's And we came up with the with the Android and Apple app for virtual wardrobes.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And it's AI-driven app, and it's got a lifelike avatar that looks just like you on it.
Luisa Hogan: So you can put your measurements in and it it looks like you in that regard.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes. And and you can you can um you can put your clothes into your closet, not just the rubia clothes.
Luisa Hogan: Amazing.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: You can actually take a photo of your your shirt your your turtleneck and you can it'll it'll actually render right into your closet in a nice nice, clean way. And then you can actually try on different combinations of your clothing right in there. And you can ask the AI for outfit combination advice.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: You can just try on different outfit combinations that you would like. And you can also share your closet with family and friends.
Luisa Hogan: Amazing.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes, that was a big, big piece of my son gave me some of these ideas.
Luisa Hogan: So good. Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So we we came up with the initial concept and um and then I actually gave the initial concept to him. And he's really into gaming and and he's 15 and he um he he he was like, oh, this is like pretty good, mom.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But like, oh, have you considered like this cool thing we see in our video games like this cool thing like avatars and share and and um skins, virtual skins of clothing and and and all of this.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And also like, this is really good idea, Sheldon. Like, this is awesome.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: mean, I love this.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes, let's make this work. Like, I like i i believe that gaming can can also kind of um integrate in with this whole vision and and we can we can introduce something to the market that the consumer can get really excited about because it it is different.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And um and so so that's Rubai is just such a collaboration of minds and ah inspiration, not just from adults, but also from teenagers and and and a team of people that just came together and and just they they refuse to be limited by nobody else is doing it.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: they They came at it with, well, let's go figure out a way to be the first ones to do it.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and and And because of that, we we hope that we're going to be introducing something that people are going to really enjoy.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. What a fantastic story because, you know, in all of that, I just hear how you've refused to be limited by any limitation, right?
Luisa Hogan: You come from a small town and there'd be people listening who come from, why I'll never be anything. I'll never be able to start anything.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: yes
Luisa Hogan: I'm not from the right place. And I have an IT background. Well, that doesn't mean anything. I can still, you know, lean into my creativity. I don't have experience in this and this has never been done before.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: yeah
Luisa Hogan: I can still do that. Right. So i just love that you can have those limitations and those doubts, but you can still rise above that and allow your inner voice to go, nope, this is not a limitation for me.
Luisa Hogan: It's just an ah an opportunity or a learning and also failure. Like you say. Failure is, to me, i always say failure is just data, right? Failure is information. It's not something that's going to hold you back, right?
Luisa Hogan: I love that. I love the concept that you're that you are working on because my husband always talks to me too around, um I fight with my wardrobe. It's like some days I don't and some days I do. so I love the concept too of being able to try on different combinations and then plan out a whole week of, you know.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes, you can. and And so I actually have the app right here. I mean, by the time that by the time this comes out, it'll be out and folks can go download it on on the stores.
Luisa Hogan: Amazing.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But yeah, so it's hard to see.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But this is actually one of my closets. And so you can see the clothes in there. Sorry, Siri is coming up for me now. Go away, Siri, we don't, okay.
Luisa Hogan: Not time, Siri.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: it's yeah Wrong time, but you can kind of see the clothes are all all rendered in there.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Now, some of this is ruby clothes, but um you can also, like this jumpsuit right here is just a jumpsuit from my closet.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and um And then you can you can actually see the the clothes. and And then select the pants you want to try on, the shirt you want to try on, the belt you want to try on, whatever it might be.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And then it actually renders into a cloth.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Like you can try it on an avatar that looks just like you.
Luisa Hogan: Amazing.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So this is my avatar. It's hard to see on the screen, but you can actually see exactly what these outfit combinations are going to look like on you.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah, yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so for for whatever it is that that you're trying, um I think in general, it's we shouldn't do this, but I think it's hard for us to step away and have an objective view or of ourselves when we're looking in the mirror.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: We see a lot of things. There's a lot that goes on up here when we're looking at ourselves. It's not nice. We should be kinder to ourselves, but there is just a lot that goes on. So being able to see yourself objectively, I find on the phone, in the clothes, you can kind of get a better sense of the color combinations and exactly what it might look like. And the amazing thing is you can share it. So like I could i could share my closet with you.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: There's two options. You can either partially share your closets or you can fully share your closets with family and friends. So if I can't decide what I want to wear and maybe I don't want to ask the AI for outfit suggestions, I just like I really want to talk to Louisa and Louisa knows me and.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and you you know you can come up with something, I can share my closet with you. You can actually go in and say, oh, wear this this dress or wear this skirt with this shirt.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And then you can actually go and save it into my try-on and then heart it.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and um and and And then you can actually come up with outfit combinations for for me. And we isn't that nice, right? so
Luisa Hogan: That's so good. It reminds me of high school when you used to send pictures of yourself to your friends and say, which one do you like?
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes.
Luisa Hogan: And then your friends are like, you know, sending pictures back and, you know, it's such a great idea.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah, and you can actually schedule it for the week too.
Luisa Hogan: Such a great idea. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So you can see here, there's just a few examples in here, but you can actually schedule your outfit for the week.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah, nice. Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So that kind of helps with packing when you're traveling as well.
Luisa Hogan: Yes.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Because if you schedule out your outfits, then you kind of know exactly what to pack. and And hopefully that can help with with overpacking. um
Luisa Hogan: Definitely. And also using like one thing in different combos, you reducing waste, cause you're not buying five outfits.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But the...
Luisa Hogan: You can mix and match three different things into five different outfits, right? so
Lacey Cadieux McLean: that.
Luisa Hogan: ah Great for packing because I always overpack. So that's excellent. Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah, absolutely absolutely. And a big part of our brand is reducing textile waste. So we we want to help. So we do offer the sustainable fashion brand ourselves, but we also want to help ah the cu our our folks ah across the world. We want to help them to utilize the clothing that they have. So we call it shop your closet. So we want to help people shop up their closet. So um if they if they already have ah five black shirts, like they, they can see them come up on their on their app, and they can kind of go through it.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And and be like, Oh, I forgot I had that shirt, right? Like how oh we're all guilty of it, right? Like, it's found the dusty recesses of our closet.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um and And we kind of forgot about it.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But then all of a sudden comes up on there. And you're like, Oh, that would look really nice.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Right? Like, that's a great combination. I never even thought about pairing it with that blazer or
Luisa Hogan: yeah yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: or whatever might come up. And then all of a sudden it gives that, those, those pieces of clothing new life. um The stats are ah typically we wear our clothes on average ah seven to 10 times before they're kind of pushed off to the side um and eventually end up donated or i think 87% of clothing eventually end up in landfills or incinerated.
Luisa Hogan: yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And, um and so anything we can do to help kind of extend the clothing life or get more use out of it, I think is going to make a difference for textile waste.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Now, also great percentage of the clothing produced in the world right now is synthetic or ah ah kind of plastic based. And so microplastics are growing concern that we're starting to learn more and more about.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and And what we don't realize is that polyester piece of clothing, if it does end up in the landfill, can take up to 200 years to break down.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah. And you know what? Until my husband got into all this and started sharing it with me, I really didn't. I'd never taken the time to educate myself. I I'm still quite new to this whole thing, but every time I turn around, I'm learning a new statistic that is a bit scary really when you think about it.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah, definitely.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Um, it, your clothes outlive you. And when they, when they do end up in a landfill, they're there, it's there for a really long time.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And then the other thing too, is synthetic clothes. Don't just break down and, return back to the earth and turn into dirt and feed a tree, right? um Like a a sustainable, an organic ah cotton or a bamboo or anything like that.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: It's going to break down. It's going to return to the earth and it's the cycle of life.
Luisa Hogan: Hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: The plastic-based clothing or or synthetic clothing is going to break down into a mush, essentially, even after 200 years. It breaks into a mush, And then that mush breaks into smaller mush and into smaller mush and into smaller mush.
Luisa Hogan: Yep.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And that those smaller mushes are are microplastics. Those microplastics eventually get into our waterways into and and can make their way into the oceans, into the seafood that we eat and make their way back and into our systems. And there's more and more studies being done about finding plastics everywhere. Even i think any almost anywhere you can think of in in your body, they're finding plastics.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: plastic now. And that's not great. And I don't think any of us want that inside of us. um and And so, but we're not we We just don't know, right? And the other thing that I've been learning about as well is clothing sheds.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So synthetic clothes, when you when you're rubbing it or it's wearing out or whatever it is, those's those little fiber plastic fibers are coming off um in minuscule little bits and you're actually breathing them in.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and And they're getting into your body and into your system through that way as well and building up, right?
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so um it's it's really wild when you think about it. And and we just, the the clothing, it doesn't really benefit the clothing industry, fast fashion, the synthetic fashion to to inform
Luisa Hogan: It's so wild.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: the public of some of these things. and And so it's really is up to us to to make so even small incremental changes can make a huge difference.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: i I think I'm i'm of the the mind, I kind of when I got into the sustainable space, I wasn't sure if I was going to be included. included and And the reason why is because I was so new to it. I was late to the game. i hadn't spent my my whole life up to that point, um ah you know, making good conscious choices. And so when I got into it, I was just like, oh, i hope I hope I'm going to be invited to the club. you know
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um And then I realized something. Oh, my gosh, like ah most women women and men probably feel the exact same way, which is like, oh, I'm not going out and buying organic or sustainable clothing because does that mean that if I get really into this that I now I have to like throw away everything in my closet and I have to go buy all sustainable
Luisa Hogan: I do.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: i I truly believe that the best thing we can do is number one, support each other so that it's not like some special club and um and also not shame each other.
Luisa Hogan: And not shame each other.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And and little changes can be make a huge difference.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Like if you usually buy synthetic based dress pants for work, maybe Maybe next time you'll you'll invest and you'll you'll buy sustainable. And great. and and And no judgment if the next time you go and and you're back to synthetics, right?
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But together, if we start slowly building up our sustainable wardrobes, where we are making a big difference in the long run, especially when you look at numbers as a whole.
Luisa Hogan: Yep, yep. Yeah, for sure.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: You know, it's it's funny because we've been in a similar journey in our household, you know, making changes to, you know, removing plastics from our home, removing, like even, um you know, workout wear, like I'm a runner, I love going to the gym, you know, like, you know, leggings that you wear to the gym, all of them have microplastics in them and then you sweat in them and then you absorb absorb so much of it just through sweating in them.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: They do. Yes. Yes.
Luisa Hogan: And I tell you what, you know, it like it has been a process for my husband and I over four or five years to slowly make changes, incremental changes to what we eat, what we prepare our food in you know, what we wear.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes.
Luisa Hogan: And we're still not perfect, but we we know that we've been making those changes. But one of the big things for me has been like this decision fatigue and trying to remove the decision fatigue of, you know,
Luisa Hogan: Where do I find, you know, clothing that is sustainable and not bad for me? You know, how do i how do i choose what looks well?
Luisa Hogan: How do I make sure, you know, like all of that decision fatigue that goes into it and people might be listening to, and it just becomes very tiring when you put a lot of pressure on yourself to change everything at once.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes.
Luisa Hogan: Right.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: So I think I love your message about like incremental change and just bringing those things in slowly over time and how your app and what you're doing assist with that so that it isn't, I don't have to throw everything out and start again, but I can, every time I need something new, I can switch out something and and bring in something new that's more sustainable or, you know, fits in with the lifestyle that I want to have moving forward.
Luisa Hogan: Right.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and And we need to inspire other sustainable clothing brands too, because one of the biggest problems that I faced when I got into this was finding clothes I liked that were sustainable.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: We need options.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Rubaya is great for the business professional or anyone looking for beautiful dress pants, blazers, things. We're we we're starting to build capsule wardrobes, right? that The real fundamental pieces that you want in in your closet.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: that you'll wear over and over again. That's that's our goal. That's our brand. um But we need options across the board. And so so that when we go on the journey to try to find these clothes, that we don't get hit with, I can't find anything i like.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And there's so little options out there.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Right?
Luisa Hogan: yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Kind of make a difference where we can.
Luisa Hogan: and there
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: We make a difference where we can and it makes a difference to us internally too, right? So I love that you're having this impact with, you know, you know impact with environment and sustainability and so forth, but also impact like personally, and like tell me about how it can impact mental health too and how somebody who might find themselves using Rabia and all of the the system that you have, how it can help their mental health on a day-to-day basis.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: I think the efficiency side of it, we don't realize that we do spend a great deal of time stressing over the what should I wear today choice. person makes to 35,000 decisions day.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: It's wild when you think about it, right?
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Every time you turn around, you're making another decision. You're making a decision to turn around.
Luisa Hogan: yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: But it's a lot, really, that that we're doing. Anything that we can do to to reduce any sort of anxiety that folks might have around choosing outfits for for their day is going to make a difference.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And the app itself is not just for and any particular gender. Anyone can use the app. and the The app is is meant to help anyone across the board that that wants to have their wardrobe managed virtually. and i think that how how many times have we stood in our closet and just be like, I don't know what to wear.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: I have maybe we have a birthday dinner or for those that are dating, dating, like whatever it might be. And and and this goes for whoever, right, ah that that might be standing there.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: they're They're all kind of thinking the same thing like, oh, my gosh, like, I don't know what to do here. um ah It'd be amazing if if something made this choice for me.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And the interesting thing about our clothing selection process is it's incredibly traditional still.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: You know what it reminds me of it the way that I often compare it is it reminds me of when we we used to go to the library and and pick out a book at the library.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: We used to to to have to go to the library, stand in the library, look at the wall of books, pick pick out a book, and then – Hold it, try it on, and and then you know you come in.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and And I still love doing that. i'm I love reading. I love books. and So i that's not saying anything about library. I still love going there. But it's very traditional. And over time, that model has changed as technology has has introduced new options.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So now when we you know Amazon came along and then you had the option to have that purchase the book online and have it shipped to your to your door,
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And then over time, they started introducing the concept of e-books and e-downloads Kindles and e-readers and all all of that sort of thing. and And so now we're introducing the concept of of digital clothing to folks. So we're also helping with um mental health because or ah the anxiety that that that anyone might experience when making a big purchase. Like, say you're spending three hundred dollars on an on a blazer. Right now, you can go spend seven dollars on a blazer. You can download that. And that's for a digital version of that blazer. Download it into your into your app.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And see it with all your other clothes. Try it on See what it looks like on you, right on your avatar. And then when you're ready, maybe that's going to help with their anxiety.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: It's going to help you because when you go to execute that big sale, you already know what it looks like.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: You know you're committed. You want it. it You're not going to purchase it and then and then have buyer's regret after.
Luisa Hogan: yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: because you've had a chance to get to know that.
Luisa Hogan: yeah yeah
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So that's just one of the areas that where we're trying to simplify and help help folks to to be able to to make these, what are sometimes stressful choices, bring a little bit more peace into their life.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Organization is key. Like having the calendar is awesome from just like a pre-planning perspective. But also when we stand in our closets, how often are we like, I just want to call my, my, my friend or my mom or who whoever, right.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And get their advice today. It's like, I, I, I know they know me, I know them. They, they, you know, I would love their advice for my wedding, maybe the the bridal shower, right.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: You and your mom, lives in LA and you're in New new York or, as wherever I could Paris and London.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: Mm-hmm. Well, my mum's in Portugal and I'm in Australia, you know, so, yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes. Yes, exactly.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so mom, you know, you can put her in your closet or you can share your outfit combinations and, and together you have these beautiful memories that you're sharing.
Luisa Hogan: it
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And even with this, a huge distance, you can, you can build, um, and actually collaborate with one another.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so that's huge from a mental health and just a loneliness perspective even, because we don't even realize it, but it's a little lonely standing in that closet, making those choices for those major events when we might be missing our family and friends that maybe can't be there for them.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And so so it's it's going to just really hopefully bring bring everyone together. And even if you don't have trusted family and friends, which is unfortunate, and some people are in that in that situation, you have an AI you can turn to. And the AI can actually help you as well. So you're never really alone in it, either through technology or through through collaboration.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: You're always going have options. and And so if you need that second opinion because it makes you feel better, um you you're gonna have it and and we're really excited to be able to introduce that to people
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: For sure. and And I also love how you mentioned it earlier, but we are so self-critical of ourselves in the mirror and sometimes having somebody else, you know, look at it and say, yep that looks good without you being so self-critical about how that actually looks on you and you get a different perspective of of how that looks on you. it's It's great. And I also love how you you, even in that choice, you're helping fast fashion because sometimes people spend money on fast fashion because there's no risk.
Luisa Hogan: I can buy this jacket for $10.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yeah.
Luisa Hogan: And if I don't like it, I can just throw it out and it's gonna lose me $10, right?
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Exactly. Yes.
Luisa Hogan: Where I would rather spend the money on a good jacket, but you know, buying online, I don't wanna risk spending $300 on a good jacket and not and not liking it.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Right.
Luisa Hogan: So you' you're tackling fast fashion in that way too, right? It's like can buy this one jacket and and know that it's gonna look good rather than buying the cheap jacket and you know, I can throw it out if I don't like it.
Luisa Hogan: So yeah, i love it.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Yes. Yeah, exactly.
Luisa Hogan: Lacey, I love the work that you are doing. We've run out of time and I wish I could talk to you more because I think, I think this idea is amazing.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: and
Luisa Hogan: I know that I am definitely going to be using your app. I think it's fantastic idea. i can't wait for it to come out. By the time this episode is out, you can definitely go check it out. Where can people find it?
Luisa Hogan: Where can people find you?
Lacey Cadieux McLean: ah So the the clothing is going to be available on rubaya.com. And it is actually selling to Australia too. So the Rubaya brand is going to be in Australia.
Luisa Hogan: Amazing. That's great news.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: so the And then the app is coming out in... and By the time this airs, it'll be out in Canada and the US. We're stabilizing for a little bit, and then it's actually going to be starting to branch out to the European Union, to Australia.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: So it won't be long.
Luisa Hogan: Excellent.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: um But the the way to find it is just going on on your, any, the same way you would find any app on your phone is go to the Play Store, whether it's Android or Apple, and just search up Rubaya.
Luisa Hogan: Yep.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: And I guess i could I could spell that for folks. It's R-H-U-R. h u B-A-I-A, and just search it up, and you can download it as you as you would any any app on there. The other thing you can do is sign up and subscribe to follow along on our website.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: When you first log into the website, there's an option to subscribe, and through that, you'll get updates through our newsletter. We're going to be releasing all kinds of potential discounts and things like that for early adopters. So we'd love, we're ultimately building a community of people around us and we'd love to have all the listeners join us on that.
Luisa Hogan: Fantastic. Lacey, I know this business is going to be a success for you and I can't wait to see it blossom and grow and I can't wait for it to come to Australia. So I'll be watching very closely and subscribing to that. um Thank you so, so much for joining us today. I'll put all of those links in the show notes for anybody listening who wants to go and double click on that. um Thank you so much for joining me today, Lacey. I really appreciate it.
Luisa Hogan: And to everyone listening, thank you for joining us today on the Second Voice Podcast.
Lacey Cadieux McLean: Thank you.
Luisa Hogan: What I got out of today is that our decision fatigue in our wardrobe can also... impact so much more in how we are interacting with our wardrobe and impacting the environment and sustainability. And just making those good choices is going to impact you day to day and help you make better decisions um in your life because you're not stuck on decision fatigue all day like I do on choosing an outfit every day in my wardrobe. Thank you so much for joining us on The Second Voice. We will see you next time. Take care.
