Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, Ashley Cast had the same Christmas wish for four years: a new Coach bag. Now, as the green trade compliance manager at Tapestry, Coach’s parent company, she is working for this brand she has long cherished.

Her journey with Tapestry began during the pandemic, when she moved back home to work at Tapestry’s Jacksonville office. As a global trade compliance analyst, Cast, International Trade and Marketing ’17, ensured the company followed the complex trade regulations between the nations producing products and the nations where they are sold.

Cast soon took a similar job within Tapestry at Coachtopia, Coach’s sustainable sub-brand of accessories and ready-to-wear designed with a fun and edgy point of view. She immediately took to the brand’s mission to strive for a circular economy in fashion. Coachtopia makes goods from waste, sources materials responsibly, designs products that are easy to recycle, and takes products back for reuse.

“It’s not just, ‘How can we use recycled materials and non-virgin materials?’” Cast says. “It’s also ‘How can we produce product from waste—and then use the waste from producing it to make another product?’”

After working remotely in Florida for three years, she moved back to New York last year to join the Coachtopia team on site. There, she took the initiative and introduced more sustainable practices, like the company’s scrap usage program, which ensures the company does not leave any reusable materials on the cutting room floor. Higher-ups at the company took note and created her current position within a new department for Tapestry called Green Trade Compliance, which combines compliance with innovation in sustainability.

Cast advises on global regulations and policy, provides risk assessments, and creates processes to help the company follow all laws and guidelines. She also continues to help Tapestry reduce its environmental footprint. 

“Sustainability factors into everything we do,” she says. “How can we provide opportunities for sustainable sourcing while remaining in compliance?”

For example, Coachtopia’s Loop collection is made from 98% recycled PET plastic and designed with a monomaterial approach: Creating a product from just one material makes it easier to recycle. Cast manages the testing of these supplies, which helps the company label and classify them for customs purposes and adherence to global regulations. She also works with mills and factories to ensure the brand maintains certification at multiple levels to support the brand’s sustainability claims.

“Trade has always been a natural fit for me—I’m very detail-oriented,” she says. “But making a difference in the sustainability realm was something I didn’t imagine I’d have in my career. It helped me find a new passion for what I do.”