Elizabeth L. Cline
Elizabeth L. Cline is a pioneering author, researcher, and award-winning journalist whose work has transformed how the world understands fashion, sustainability, and labor rights. Her critically acclaimed books, Overdressed and The Conscious Closet, ignited a global reckoning with fast fashion and helped mainstream the movement for conscious consumption and global justice in the apparel industry.
Cline’s influence spans from classrooms to Capitol Hill. She is a widely recognized expert and regular media commentator on fashion, labor, and sustainability. She has been invited to share her insights on NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Fresh Air, and Hulu’s IMPACT x Nightline, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Forbes, among other outlets. She has played a leading role in shaping public policy, contributing to campaigns that have changed laws and introduced new rules to protect garment workers in California, New York, and the U.S. Congress.
At Columbia University, Cline teaches the next generation of sustainability leaders to design systems that are equitable, resilient, and transparent. As a trusted researcher and consultant to NGOs, she specializes in labor rights, climate policy, and strategic ESG communications and research.