Ria Kearney

As a Managing Director based in the Ireland, Ria Kearney brings a breadth of experience gained over more than 14 years of working in a variety of sustainability related roles, with a specific focus on the global apparel sector since 2012. Having held previous in-house sustainability roles at BT, Tata Global Beverages and Primark, Ria was most recently a Senior Consultant at sustainable fashion consultancy, MADE-BY. As part of this role, Ria led MADE-BY’s involvement in the European Clothing Action Plan, an EU-funded, multi-stakeholder scheme that encourages European apparel companies to adopt a ‘circular economy’ approach. Ria has worked with a diverse range of apparel brands and retailers, such as Amazon, Peak Performance, Yoox Net-A-Porter and Zalando (zLabels), and industry organisations, on numerous sustainability topics, across strategy and implementation, capacity building and sustainable sourcing.

Ria holds an MA (Hons) degree in International Business and Languages from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh and, in 2017, was named as one of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35, which showcases UK female business talent, for her work within the apparel sector to make sustainability common practice. Since 2012, Ria has served as a board member for Proudly Made in Africa, a non-profit organisation that aims to build sustainable retail channels for African products.