Having begun my research surrounding the circular economy of textiles, one paper that I found hugely insightful was ‘Death by waste: Fashion and textile circular economy case’ by Shirvanimoghaddam, et al. 2020.
Aside from the informative content of this paper, I was struck by the reference to our society today as being in an ‘environmentally conscious era’. It prompted me to think to what extent is this statement true. Of course the media attention given towards climate issues and public awareness are now greater than ever, but what changes are we actually willing to make?
From my own observation, and admittingly my own life, we choose the easy options which allow us to clear our conscience as we perceive ourselves to be making an effort or ‘doing our bit’. Using a reusable coffee cup will not suffice, I strongly believe we need to do much more and that the responsibility continues to be passed from the public to industry to government, without any effective change being made.
This lack of public ownership is mirrored by government, as was pointed out by former US president Barrack Obama during his talk at COP26. Mr. Obama highlighted the technique currently used by politicians in order to become elected to office, which uses promises of climate action as a means of gaining support. The issue here is that targets set are beyond the years of their terms of office, meaning that little action is ever taken and such politicians are never held accountable for these shortcomings.
Of course a collaborative effort between the public, industry and government must be made, however the greatest power lies with the former. The public dictate demand, choose where to spend their money, what industries to support, who they vote for, etc. The effectiveness of certain changes e.g., reducing meat consumption, taking less flights or buying less clothing from fast fashion brands have been publicized, however these are luxuries that the majority are not willing to let go of.
Multi-million euro industries have been built around the demand for alternatives such as meat substitutes, electric cars, etc. however fast fashion still manages to thrive despite this current ‘conscious era’. The alternatives are there with options of second hand shops, vintage clothing, swapping clothes, hand me downs, buying from sustainable brands or simply having a smaller wardrobe. However these remain overlooked. Previous excuses were centered around an absence of knowledge regarding fast fashion and its impacts or a lack of accessibility to affordable sustainable clothing due to its higher price tag, these can no longer been seen as valid.
What needs to happen before genuine care for the environment and willingness to take action will be instilled in the majority?