#SustainableFinds - July 2020

July news collection about sustainability and related topics

Regularly we publish articles, we have found in our research on the subject of sustainable fashion or related topics, on our social media channels. The articles here on #SustainableFinds are a monthly selection which we recommend to read on the publisher’s website. The content need not necessarily correspond to the mission of Gwand. We want to create consciousness with knowledge, this is what we mean by #GWANDEducation. The GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival is a non-profit organization. On our blog or on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest) you will find more exciting articles on the topics.

Note: We have not been paid by the publisher or anyone else for sharing these articles.

#SustainableDevelopment - Article from Vogue Business by Nyshka Chandra

Elevating artisans: What luxury fashion can learn from social enterprises

#CoronaCrisis - Article from The Business of Fashion by Zoe Suen

How the Wholesale Crisis Could Benefit Independent Fashion Brands

#SustainableFabrics - Article from Material Source by

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#BioCouture - Biodegradable Fabric

Via AEG’s YouTube

#SustainableMaterials - Article from Vogue Business by Rachel Cernansky

Fashion’s steep climb to sustainable viscose

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#PlasticPollution - Article from Mongaby by

‘Our life is plasticized’: New research shows microplastics in our food, water, air

#SustainableDevelopment - Article from Vogue Business by Rachel Cernansky

Most fashion designers never meet their suppliers. They should

#UpcyclingFashion - Article from gal-dem by Kemi Alemoru

Priya Ahluwalia weaves her Indian-Nigerian heritage into her recycled menswear looks

#FashionTech - Article from BBC Future by Abigail Beall

Why clothes are so hard to recycle

#SupplyChain - Article from Vogue Business by Laure Guilbault

Is it too early for physical fashion shows?

#FastFashion - Article from The Guardian by

The fast fashion fix: 20 ways to stop buying new clothes for ever

#CircularEconomy - Article from Eco Age by Ruth MacGilp

The Next Generation Innovations Making Fashion More Sustainable

#BioDesign - Article from Forbes by Brooke Roberts-Islam

The Rise Of Biodesign - Growing Our Way To A More Sustainable Future

#SustainableEducation - Article from Condé Nast

The Sustainable Fashion Glossary

#SustainableDevelopment- Article from Foreign Affairs by

#SustaionableFashion - Article from The Business of Fashion by Vikram Alexei Kansara

What Happened to Rethinking the Fashion System?

#SustainableFinds - June 2020

June news collection about sustainability and related topics

Regularly we publish articles, we have found in our research on the subject of sustainable fashion or related topics, on our social media channels. The articles here on #SustainableFinds are a monthly selection which we recommend to read on the publisher’s website. The content need not necessarily correspond to the mission of Gwand. We want to create consciousness with knowledge, this is what we mean by #GWANDEducation. The GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival is a non-profit organization. On our blog or on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest) you will find more exciting articles on the topics.

Note: We have not been paid by the publisher or anyone else for sharing these articles.

#SustainableDevelopment - Article from LUXIDERS

How Coronavirus Is Affecting Sustainable Fashion Businesses

#GWANDCoffeeBreak - Article from GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival

GWAND Coffee Break with Diane Pernet

#SustainableFabrics - Article from eco-stylist.com

#Sustainability - The life cycle of a t-shirt - Angel Chang

Via Ted Ed’s YouTube

#SDGoals - Article from TextileExchange

Companies Creating Material Change

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#SustainableEducation - Article from edX

Circular Fashion: Design, Science and Value in a Sustainable Clothing Industry

#PlasticPollution - Article from Remake by Allison Griffin

Our Clothing is a Major Source of Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans: Here’s What to Do About It

#UpcyclingFashion - Article from CNN Style by Ben Westcott, Nanlin Fang

Chinese artist Wan Yunfeng is turning trash into high fashion

#FashionTech - Article from Vogue Business by BY Maghan McDowell

#FashionFuture - Fashion for Good: Lab Tour with Spinnova

Via Fashion For Good’s YouTube

#SupplyChain - Article from The Daily Star by Mostafiz Uddin

Global suppliers are stronger working together

#FastFashion - Article from Eco Textile News

Research shifts perspectives on fast fashion

#CircularEconomy - Article from Vogue Business by BY Rachel Cernansky

Fashion’s most interesting sustainability efforts can also help fight racism

#SDGoals - Article from uN environment programe

On trend: sustainable fashion in the wake of COVID-19

#Nylon - Article from Fashionista by

DOES SHOPPING SECONDHAND ACTUALLY REDUCE OVERALL CLOTHING CONSUMPTION?

#FashionFootprint - Article from WWD by Natalie Theodosi

#FashionFuture - Biocouture on Biodegradable Fabric

Via AEG’s YouTube

#WorkersRights - Article from open democracy by Alysha Khambay

Garment workers are facing a humanitarian crisis – but don’t blame COVID-19

#SustainableFinds - May 2020

May news collection about sustainability and related topics

Regularly we publish articles, we have found in our research on the subject of sustainable fashion or related topics, on our social media channels. The articles here on #SustainableFinds are a monthly selection which we recommend to read on the publisher’s website. The content need not necessarily correspond to the mission of Gwand. We want to create consciousness with knowledge, this is what we mean by #GWANDEducation. The GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival is a non-profit organization. On our blog or on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest) you will find more exciting articles on the topics.

Note: We have not been paid by the publisher or anyone else for sharing these articles.

#FashionRevolution - Article from Fashion Revolution by Elizabeth Lwanga

Don’t Stop Sewing after the Pandemic

#SustainableFashion - Article from BRICKS Magazine by Tamsin Blanchard

FASHION SUSTAINABILITY POST-PANDEMIC

#Awareness - Article from The Guardian by Alec Leach

#SDGoals - Article from Remake by Audrey Stanton

How the United Nations’ SDGs Relate to the Fashion Industry

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#SustainableDevelopment - Article from The Guardian As told to

‚Lockdown has been a wakeup call for the industry‘: what next for fashion?

#SustainableFashion - Article from Vogue by

Creating the Future: How Fashion Designers Are Responding to the Crisis

#FashionTech - Article from WTVOX

Is the Future of Fashion Going to be Blockchain?

#SustainableFashion - Article from Forbes by Elizabeth L. Cline

#DigitalFuture - Fashion for Good Webinar

Via Fashion For Good’s YouTube

#Cotton - Article from Apparel Insider by Brett Mathews

Cotton paper released as FREE download

#Denim - Article from Vogue by Rachel Cernansky

The fight for clean and recyclable denim

#CircularEconomy - Article from Vogue by

Circular fashion’s timely opportunity

#FashionHistory- Article from Smithsonian Magazine by Emily Spivack

Stocking Series, Part 1: Wartime Rationing and Nylon Riots

#Nylon - Article from Good on you App by Ashlee Uren

Material Guide: How Sustainable is Nylon?

#SustainableFashion - Article from Vogue by

#Sustainability - Article from London Business School by Alex Falconer

6 ways to set sustainability at your organisation’s core

#ClimateChange - Article from Fast Company by Evan Nicole Brown

What indigenous design could teach us about surviving climate change

#SustainableFinds - April 2020

April news collection about sustainability and related topics

Regularly we publish articles, we have found in our research on the subject of sustainable fashion or related topics, on our social media channels. The articles here on #SustainableFinds are a monthly selection which we recommend to read on the publisher’s website. The content need not necessarily correspond to the mission of Gwand. We want to create consciousness with knowledge, this is what we mean by #GWANDEducation. The GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival is a non-profit organization. On our blog or on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest) you will find more exciting articles on the topics.

Seven years ago the factory collapsed in Bangladesh, affecting over 2500 people. This disaster has led to the foundation of Fashion Revolution, that’s why you will find articles in the April issue mainly on the subject of Fashion Revolution.

Note: We have not been paid by the publisher or anyone else for sharing these articles.

 

#FashionRevolutionWeek - Article from Fashion Revolution

The Fashion Transparency Index 2020

#FastFashion - Article from The Guardian by by

Fast fashion speeding toward environmental disaster, report warns

#CircularEconomy - Article from Ellen McArthur Foundation

#PlasticPollution - Article from Rolling Stone by

How Big Oil and Big Soda kept a global environmental calamity a secret for decades

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#SustainableDevelopment - Article from Common Objective

Is Recycled Polyester Green or Greenwashing?

#SustainableFashion - Article from WWD by Luisa Zargani

Giorgio Armani Writes Open Letter to WWD

#Sustainability - Article from Forbes by Roddy Clarke

Is COVID-19 The Reset Button We Need Towards A Sustainable Future Of Design?

#SustainableFashion - Article from Apparel Insider by Mostafiz Uddin

#WhoMadeMyClothes - Fashion Revolution Stitch & Bitch

Via Fashion Revolution’s YouTube

#FashionRevolutionWeek - Article from 10 Magazine by Tamsin Blanchard

TAMSIN BLANCHARD’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE FASHION OPEN STUDIO EVENTS TAKING PLACE DURING FASHION REVOLUTION WEEK

#ClimateChange - Article from The Guardian by

Scientists confirm dramatic melting of Greenland ice sheet

#CircularEconomy - Article from Vogue by Rachel Cernansky

Circular fashion’s timely opportunity

#FashionTech - Article from Fash Nerd by Muchaneta Kapfunde

Science Introduces Human Textiles That Can Be Knitted, Crocheted or Weaved

#FashionTech - How technology can recode the unsustainable fashion system - Swim XYZ x Techstyler

Via Fashion Revolution’s YouTube

#SustainableFashion - Article from Forbes by Brooke Roberts-Islam

The True Cost Of Brands Not Paying For Orders During The COVID-19 Crisis

#WhatIsInMyClothes - Article from Vogue by Alice Cary

#FashionRevolutionWeek - Article from The Voice of Fashion by Orsola de Castro

Special Dispatch: “It is An Obligation Not an Opportunity”

#SustainableFashion - Article from Elle by Subhanjana Das

Craft revivalist Kavita Parmar’s IOU Project champions sustainability

#SustainableFashion - Article from Fashion Roundtable by Bev Malik

„It’s time for a total reset and rethink“: How the pandemic will redefine the future of fashion month

#SustainableFinds - February 2020

February news collection about sustainability and related topics

Regularly we publish articles, we have found in our research on the subject of sustainable fashion or related topics, on our social media channels. The articles here on #SustainableFinds are a monthly selection which we recommend to read on the publisher’s website. The content need not necessarily correspond to the mission of Gwand. We want to create consciousness with knowledge, this is what we mean by #GWANDEducation. The GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival is a non-profit organization. On our blog or on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest) you will find more exciting articles on the topics.

Note: We have not been paid by the publisher or anyone else for sharing these articles.

#Fibers - An introduction to fibers and their impact on the environment

Found by research on YouTube via WRAP.

Webinar from Made-BY

#FashionRevolution - Article from and by Fashion Revolution

THE GREAT FASHION REVOLUTION CLOTHES SWAP

#SustainableDevelopment - Article from The Guardian by

Landmark French law will stop unsold goods being thrown away

#DeconstructedClothing - Articel from ASVOF by

Institut du Monde Arabe welcomes Renaissance – a way to revolutionize creation, art and clothing

#Innovations - Article from Fast Company by Ian Fletcher

Climate change is the greatest design problem of our time. Mushrooms to the rescue?

#SustainableDevelopmentGoals - time lapse to the future | Leen Zevenbergen

Found by research on YouTube via TEDx Talks

#PlasticPolution - Article from Ecotextile News by Chris Remington

Fashion For Good expands polybag recycling work

#MicroPlastic - Article from The Guardian by

Stars urged to ditch the sequins at the Oscars to save the oceans

#MicroFibers - Article from Ecotextile News by Simon Glover

#Weaving - Porfirio Gutierrez - Master Weaver from Mexico

Found by research on YouTube via Fashion Revolution

#FashionStandards - Articel from Fashion Network by

La quête de traçabilité redessine la carte du sourcing mondial

#WhoMadeMyClothes - Article from The Washington Post by Kim Bellware

Seven people died when the only escape from a fire at an Indian denim factory was up a ladder

#CircularEconomy - Article from Paptic®

First Plastic Bag Free City in Europe – Finnish NGO Providing Households with Reusable Bags for Free

#UpCycling - Article from The Guardian by Chekii Harling

Would you wear clothes made from rubbish?

#CradleToCradle - Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, CEO, EPEA, and co-founder of the Cradle to Cradle

…we think its environmental protection if we destroy less…

#SustainableSolutions - Articel from Vogue by Grace Cook

Cactus Leather, Lab-Made Silk, And Vegan Wool: Inside The Fabric Fair Pioneering Greener Materials

#WhoMadeMyClothes - Articel from Ecotextile News by Simon Glover

#SustainableDesign - Articel from South China Morning Post by Peta Tomlinson

Plastic alternative bioplastic, made from vegetable oils, fats, fish scales, farm waste or other renewables, embraced by furniture designers

#FastFashion - Article from Vox by

Fast fashion, explained

#SustainableFinds - January 2020

January news collection about sustainability and related topics

Regularly we publish articles, we have found in our research on the subject of sustainable fashion or related topics, on our social media channels. The articles here on #SustainableFinds are a monthly selection which we recommend to read on the publisher’s website. The content need not necessarily correspond to the mission of Gwand. We want to create consciousness with knowledge, this is what we mean by #GWANDEducation. The GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival is a non-profit organization. On our blog or on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest) you will find more exciting articles on the topics.

Note: We have not been paid by the publisher or anyone else for sharing these articles.

#FashionRevolution - Article from and by Fashion Revolution

2019: A Year in Fashion Revolution

#WhoMadeMyClothes - Article from Ecotextile News by Chris Remington

Garment workers’ organisation calls for greater protection

#SustainableFashion - Article from Fashion United UK by Marjorie van Elven

2019 recap: is the fashion industry becoming more sustainable?

#SustainableFashion - Article from ASVOF text by Silvia Bombardini

Bethany Williams, fall 2020

#Tailoring - Article from our collaboration partner IFA Paris

The Art of Being a Tailor in Paris

#MicroPlastic - Article from the Guardian by Stephen Buranyi

What scientists can see and measure, in landfills and on beaches, is only a small fraction of the total plastic entering the water.

#Recycling - William Amor: an artist who makes garbage bloom!

Found by research on YouTube via POSITIVOM’s

#Diversity - Article from ITV

Portrait Positive aims to change perception of beauty in collaboration with photographer Rankin

#SustainabeDevelopment - Articel from Vogue UK by Ellie Pithers

5 Indispensible Tips For Fashion Brands Seeking To Make Sustainable Changes

#SustainableDevelopment - Article from Forbes by Katie Baron

Retail Futures: 9 Trends, Strategies And Innovation Opportunities To Set 2020 Alight

#CircularEconomy - Article from Fashion United UK by Simone Preuss

WRAP presents ECAP findings on circular fashion and textiles

#CircularEconomy - Article from Ecotextile News by John Mowbray

Textiles should be made from cellulose-based waste

#Investment - Articel from Forbes by Isabel Togoh

Rental And Resale Are Hot. But Sustainable Fashion Needs A $30 Billion Investment Behind The Scenes

#Investment - Articel from World Economic Forum Davos by &

6 ways to drive funding to transform the fashion industry

#Awareness - Articel from World Economic Forum Davos by

Forget retail therapy - this is the age of the conscious consumer

#Innovations - Articel from inhabitat by

PANGAIA presents FLWRDWN, a down alternative made from biodegradable wildflowers

#Cotton - Article from panapress

Burkina Faso inaugurated its first organic cotton ginning plant

#FastFashion - „How Toxic Are My Clothes? - (A Documentary by Wilson Oryema)“

Found by research on YouTube via Wilson Oryema

#FastFashion - Article from The Wall Street Journal by Dana Thomas

The High Price of Fast Fashion

#VOCKSDiary - EFoundation event in Zurich

Gwand Festival EFoundation Sustainability Tiffany Persons Tara Smith Eleonora Quizmolli
Tara Smith, Tiffany Persons, Eleonora Quizmolli

An evening dedicated to sustainability and women

This Saturday I was allowed to take part on the launch event of the EFoundation. Thank you to my good friend Eleonora Quizmolli for the invitation, she is responsible for the show production for Fashion4Development in New York.

The first event of the EFoundation in Zurich with top-class guests from film, fashion, art and economy. The EFoundation was founded by business women. A foundation dedicated entirely to sustainability

At the event in the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich I was very impressed by the keynote speakers.

Tiffany Persons of Tiffany Company Castings and founder of Shine on Sierra Leone. Searching for her roots, she have come to Sierra Leone in West Africa. A country marked by civil wars, whose natural resources have been plundered for generations. It turned out that Tiffany’s roots lie exactly in this country.

Edith Aldewereld co-founder of Women in Sustainable Finance and Mariama Camara founder of Mariama Camara Fashion Production.

Also Patrica Arquette, the Hollywood actress who touched me with her words. And not to forget Tara Smith, award winning international hairstylist and power woman!

The talented American singer Elijah Jamal provided musical entertainment for this evening and touched my soul with his music!

They have all impressed me with their speeches and their story. It was a great evening for me, I met people who had the same goal as me. Making the world more sustainable together. Thank you Eleonora, Tiffany, Tara, Patricia, Mariama and all the others!

Fotos from the EFoundation event at Baur au Lac in Zurich

Tara Smith is hosting the auction

Patricia Arquette speech

Eleonora Quizmolli Speech

#VOCKSDiary - Laax Vintage Days 2019

Sustainable Fashion In An Impressive Mountain Setting

The first edition of Laax Vintage Days is over. I was very happy to curate this fashion event. I got to know inspiring people whose labels are committed to greater sustainability in the fashion industry. Here you can find my impressions of this event. Laax Vintage Days were made possible by LAAX and the Greenstyle Foundation, thank you very much!

Day of arrival to Laax in Canton Grisons

Relaxed arrival by train to LAAX. The first step was to sort out the clothes and define the appropriate prices. The clothes will be sold at the Greenstyle Foundation’s market stall. 50% of the revenue go to the Foundation and will be used for projects that promote environmental education and research, protect the climate and reduce the negative effects of climate change.

Saturday, the first day of the LAAX Vintage Days

Saturday, the first day of the LAAX Vintage Days. There is a lively and happy atmosphere at the market place at the rocksresort. Rafael Kouto gives a talk about upcycling. The brothers Leander and Gilles Goetsch show their documentary film „Alternativen“. In the evening there was a roller skate disco in the Riders Club. A day with many great encounters and exciting conversations.

Sunday at the Laax Vintage Days

Sunday morning the alarm clock rings. After an extensive breakfast in the hotel we started the Vintage Days. Some are already doing yoga with lola studio, others are having coffee, still a bit tired from yesterday’s Roller Disco. The last panel is about the Brand I Love Syria. It was initiated by Rania Kinge to give women from the war region a perspective in their own country. I was very impressed by the story of Rania, a strong woman who is committed to her home country and to the people who put women in the foreground.
I go home tired but very happy and satisfied. Many thanks to the team of Laax Vintage Days, to all exhibitors and guests who were at this great event.

The video of the vintage event

Attention: when playing the video YouTube collects data about the viewer.


List of brands at LAAX Vintage Days 2019

 

We must never stop until this industry becomes one that we can be proud of – Marina Spadafora


The Fashion Revolution coordinator for Italy and GWAND Sustainable Fashion Festival advisory board member once again impressed me with her speech during the Sustainable Fashion Milano 2019 exhibition at the Swiss Embassy. Short, crisp and to the point, unlike others.

Suzanna Vock: Marina Spadafora, you are a designer and sustainability has not become important to you overnight. Where does this conviction come from?

Marina Spadafora: The roots of my sustainable mindset come from my childhood spent in the beautiful northern Italian region of South Tyrol, where I grew up as an avid skier and found myself always in close contact with nature. As a child, when adults would ask me what I wanted to do when I grow up, I always answered that I wanted to work helping children in Africa. It came spontaneous and I am not sure where I got the idea from.
When I was 11 until 14 I had a wonderful professor who introduced us to Martin Luther King and Gandhi and the whole philosophy of non-violent protest. This happened in the Sixties and it made a deep impression on me. It modelled who I am today.

I have done a lot of work with the United Nations especially in Africa and have helped Franca Sozzani, Director of Italian Vogue

The call to preserve nature and to bring social justice into the equation has been with me ever since.

When I had my own brand, I did runway shows that were dedicated to children’s charities and raised money for them.
I have been the creative director of the collection “Auteurs du Monde” by Altromercato for ten years, one of the largest fair trade organisations in Europe. During this time I was able to visit our fair trade producers in many different countries in the world and I came to know and appreciate the quality of life that fair trade grants to those who apply its terms and regulations.

I have done a lot of work with the United Nations especially in Africa and have helped Franca Sozzani, Director of Italian Vogue, to implement the UN programme Fashion 4 Development in many countries.

Since 2014 I am country coordinator on Fashion Revolution Italy and have been promoting sustainability in many different venues, where I am called to intervene as a speaker.

SV: According to a study by the Ellen McArthur Foundation, the clothing industry accounts for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. We recently did an interview with Laura Krarup Frandsen who said: „A newly published report recently revealed that the sustainability progress in the fashion industry has slowed by a third in the past year. The government rejected to take action on the issue with bans and legislations, and instead encouraged the industry to voluntarily solve the problem.“

What do you think is the reason for this and can we continue to rely on voluntarism?

We cannot rely on companies to self-regulate themselves. It is ludicruous to think they would

MS: I believe that we are reaching critical mass regarding ethical fashion. Media in general is very interested in the subject and we have never had so many enquiries like this year about the subject. I was called to curate a great exhibit at the Ferragamo museum called “Sustainable Thinking” that will be open for one year in Florence. These are signals that we are moving in the right direction regarding sustainability in fashion.

The fact is that this approach will truly work when there is a lot of pressure from the consumers thus creating a strong grass root movement. It has to be backed by serious laws from governments.

We cannot rely on companies to self-regulate themselves. It is ludicruous to think they would. When profit and greed have been the only drivers for all businesses how can we think that the same people will develop an ethical mindset from one day to the next?

SV: Laura K. Frandsen also said in the interview: „Nobody wants to speak for the bad sides of the fashion industry“. Why do you think it is so difficult for the big players in the industry to position themselves sustainably (transparently)?

MS: Big companies are scared to take even small steps in the right direction because they think that if they do, the customers will ask, ‘Why aren’t they doing it for the whole production and for every aspect of the company?‘

We at Fashion Revolution believe that even small steps in the right direction are the right thing to do.

We know that is not an easy task to transform a big company into a totally transparent and sustainable operation in a short time, but you need to start somewhere. It is easier for small startups to set up the whole business model as a sustainable one from the very beginning.

SV: At the Haute Couture shows in Paris, I talked to many designers about sustainability in their collections. According to them, it is often the lacking materials that holds them back to realise sustainable designs.

MS: I just attended Pitti Filati a few weeks ago in Florence. Here you have all the major yarn manufacturers showing their new collections and there was a huge emphasis on sustainability. The same goes for Italian textile producers.

So, the offer is there, it exists, and there is no hiding behind this excuse of not finding enough sustainable resources.

SV: Are the new alternatives (Piñatex, TENCEL, etc.), which are often advertised as sustainable, really sustainable in practice? Or are the problems with the new innovations simply being shifted under the cloak of sustainability?

Where there is a will there is a way

MS: I believe that there are a lot of great alternatives today that are sustainable like Piñatex, Vegen, Frumat, Orange Fiber, Econyl and many more. I believe they are serious about their commitment to sustainability and that they offer great advantages.

Of course there are also all the sustainable natural materials like organic cotton, sustainably produced viscose and TENCEL, cruelty free silk and wool and so on.

SV: Does a designer nowadays have to make sacrifices in design because of the materials? Or could that be seen as the main challenge for a designer today?

MS: It is a creative challenge and designers should be happy to explore it.

I saw a wonderful collection by a young Peruvian designer called Mozh Mozh, where she used organic cotton canvass and covered it in plant based latex called Shiringa and made from the rubber that comes in the form of resin from trees. I also chose an outfit from Argentinian designer Nous Etudions made in Combucha, a material made from fermented green tea.

Where there is a will there is a way!

SV: What is for you as a designer the most sustainable material in the textile sector that is currently on the market?

MS: Recycling and up-cycling for me are two very interesting ways to go about sustainability. In nature I believe that hemp is the most sustainable natural material we can find.

SV: Which non-sustainable material should no longer be worn and why?

MS: Polyester comes from fossil fuels and when we wash it sheds a lot of microplastics that cannot be caught by the washing machine filters and ends up in rivers and in the sea and ultimately in the food chain.

Even PET that is recycled from plastic bottles should be washed in special bags that retain the microplastic particles.

SV: You also act as the country coordinator of Fashion Revolution in Italy. The organisation asks the question „Who made my clothes?”. This question refers also to the salaries paid in the fashion industry. With the current system of outsourcing and profit optimisation, can fair wages ever be paid in your opinion?

MS: I believe we are moving in the right direction and there are many great organisations like Fair Wear and Clean Clothes Campaign that, together with Fashion Revolution, are asking governments to raise the minimum wage and get closer to the living wage. In Cambodia and Bangladesh there were some improvements.

We must never stop until this industry becomes one that we can be proud of!

Here you can watch a speech from Marina Spadafora about the consumers power for TEDx. Attention: YouTube stores data about the website visitor when the video is played.

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We can’t solve the over-consumption with more consumer goods - Laura Krarup Frandsen

Pictures by Daniel Sims

The Designer Laura Krarup Frandsen about her fight and approach for a change in the fashion industry. „This is not the end of fashion, but the destructive fashion system as we know it. It’s a new beginning in fashion, not driven by consumption, but by creativity.“

Suzanna Vock: Laura, you didn’t show a graduation collection, what was the reason?

Laura Krarup Frandsen: During my MA studies, I became more aware of the extent and urgency of the climate crisis we’re in, and a simultaneous first hand experience in why it is impossible to solve from within the fashion industry.

We’re in the midst of a climate crisis and ecological breakdown, facing not only the threats of the rising global temperature, higher sea levels, droughts and more frequent natural disasters, but also the serious struggle to meet our basic needs such as food and water in a near future. The planet is crumbling under our weight and the people already paying the highest price, are the ones who has done the least damage.

We are facing the biggest threat of human history, but our educational system is not following up with plans of emergency action, nor equipping us with necessary knowledge. We are being educated within - and for the same broken system that contributes to the crisis.

We are running out of time to solve the crisis and we have passed the change of slow adaption

I chose not to make a fashion collection, because I simply can no longer justify adding to the problem. We can not solve overconsumption with more consumer goods. I decided to spend my studies trying to influence the people around me and my course to positive changes, by creating awareness of the climate crisis, our destructive consumer habits and by implementing changes in our fashion studio. By collecting textile waste instead of sending it to landfill, I wanted to visualise how much waste we are accumulating, seeing the fashion studio as a microcosm of the industry, but also to question the wasteful collective consciousness that makes us accept this waste amount of waste material, in a time of resource scarcity. I showcased the collection of textile waste at my graduate show, to visualise the wasteful site of the industry that no-one wants to talk about.

We are running out of time to solve the crisis and we have passed the change of slow adaption. We need be frank and honest about the situation - even if the solution is to stop buying.

Pictures by Daniel Sims

SV: Since the collapse of the factory building in 2013, a lot has happened in the beginning, but in recent times it has been heard again and again that major players have difficulty implementing their promises of sustainable production and fair working conditions, or in some cases have completely abandoned them. Why do you think it is so difficult to remedy the situation?

Laura: We are trying to solve the problem within the same tools that creates it.

The Rana Plaza disaster forced us all to face the horrific human cost behind the clothes that we are wearing, but left us with little understanding of the problem. The devastating scale and high number of deaths, caused an immediate outcry and demand for better and safer working conditions, but as we were all looking to the brands to solve the problems, we failed to address the real issue: our high demands for clothes and consumer goods comes with deathly cost.

Shortly after the newest “pulse of the fashion industry” report recently revealed that the sustainability progress in the fashion industry has slowed by a third in the past year

We are buying more clothes than ever before and using it much shorter, before discarding and replacing it. We see it as our right to buy clothes that we don’t need, but by exercising that “right”, we are violating real human rights and destroying the planet.

As long as we accept and maintain consumerism, we accept a system of exploitation that values profit over people and planet, and it will kill us.

Shortly after the newest “pulse of the fashion industry” report recently revealed that the sustainability progress in the fashion industry has slowed by a third in the past year, the government rejected to take action on the issue with bans and legislations, and instead encouraged the industry to voluntarily solve the problem. And so, we now have to ask ourselves, not as consumers, but as human beings: Is fashion to die for?

While it is absolutely crucial to keep focussing on workers rights, we need to face the fact that business as usual will lead to unthinkable disaster, affecting everyone. If we carry on with this system, we dismiss the fact that many of these workers are the same people that are already being affected the most by the climate crisis. It is the same people that are affected by deathly heatwaves, droughts and floods. It is the same people that are lacking access to clean water, dealing with heavy air pollution, struggling to grow food crops because their land is being exhausted by pesticide intensive cotton and polluted by oil used for polyester. Climate justice is social justice, and that is something we should all be fighting for!

Picture by Daniel Sims

SV: The fashion industry is the second worst in terms of causing environmental problems. In addition there are often poor working conditions in the producing countries. In your opinion, what must change and how can this be achieved?

Laura: Everything must change. We are in an emergency situation and we need emergency action.

The fashion industry currently accounts for about 10% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, and is expected to increase with 81% by 2030. According to the Ellen MacArthur foundation, if we carry on as usual, by 2050 the industry could be using more than a quarter of the carbon budget associated with 2°C global heating. We simply cannot afford to carry on, if we want an inhabitable planet for the children of today. We are now in midst of a sixth mass extinction. Our natural systems are dying and thereby the basis of all life. In the past 40 years, we have already destroyed a third of all arable land, and by 2050 we need to to grow 50% more food to meet the demands of a growing population. We need 1,7 planet earths to support our current lifestyles, but if everyone consumed like the average EU resident, we would need 2,8. We are consuming the planet and ourselves to death, and the worst thing we can do is to continue as usual. We, in the western world, can easily afford to give up some of our luxuries and that is what we need to do.

We need to change the system. We need to question how we can allow big corporations and brands to profit on exploitation. We need to ask how we can still justify, that clothing production is out-sourced and moved between production countries according to who allows the lowest pay. We need to ask how we can still accept that people are lacking clean water in the same countries that grow our water intensive cotton and chemically treat our textiles, so we can buy clothes that we don’t need. We need to teach and learn humanity and compassion and respect for all living. We must demand being humans before consumers.

It seems that the young people today understand more of the urgency for action than most of the older generations

SV: Young people are very committed to the environment at Fridays for Future at the moment. The movement has been growing rapidly in a short period of time. Even though the fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters world wide, fashion is not as much discussed as food or traffic in terms of sustainability. Why?

Laura: I am absolutely impressed with the youth and their engagement with - and understanding of the situation we’re in. They have known about the threats of climate change their entire lives, they know that their future is at stake and they are leading the way in demanding action.

But no-one can expect the youth to solve the climate crisis, and yet the responsibility is somehow left with them.

It seems that the young people today understand more of the urgency for action than most of the older generations, but at the same time, they have been brought up in a world of mass consumption, overexposed to an immoral advertising industry teaching them how to be good consumers as opposed to good human beings.

We are taught to trust the government and that our leaders are acting in our interests, so surely, when they calmly dismiss the crisis as something not to worry about, we want to believe that. We believe in consumer rights and that big corporations do their uttermost to act in responsible ways, so when a brand is marked “green”, “sustainable” and “eco friendly”, surely they must be? The truth is that “Sustainability” has become a buzzword, enabling us to carry on as usual, by replacing one product with another, without really changing our consumer habits. But nothing is sustainable when produced of planetary overdraft. We need to tell the truth. We must slam the breaks.

The massive youth movement shows exactly that young people genuinely care and they want to do the right thing, but that comes with education. As long as we keep pretending that there is nothing to worry about, we are not only lying to the young people, but stealing their future before their very eyes.

I think the young people are better than anyone to buy second hand clothes and to be creative with what they have, and this is exactly how fashion should evolve.

Pictures by Daniel Sims

SV: You are also active in Extinction Rebellion which also fights against climate change. Now there is a campaign #BoycottFashion. What is this campaign about and how can I get involved?

Laura: Extinction Rebellion is asking for what is necessary - not just what is possible within the current system. We need to rethink the way we live and to be brave enough to accept that things must change, in order to prevent disaster.

We launched the xr.boycottfashion campaign with a die-in at my RCA fashion graduate show, because we wanted to tell to truth to - and at the forefront of fashion: that fashion is killing us.

The xr.boycottfashion is one year direct action to disrupt the fashion industry, demanding climate justice and to push towards the change that is needed, by asking people to sign up and join us in not buying any new clothes for a year.

This is not the end of fashion, but the destructive fashion system as we know it. It’s a new beginning of fashion - one that is not lead by consumption but by creativity. We have an abundance of clothes in existence already - now we need to put that to use. Reuse, rework and repair what we’ve already got and buy, swap and share what is already in existence. Nothing is easy on your own, but everything is possible when you are enough people doing it together. We want this to be a platform of encouragement, solidarity and inspiration to engage with our clothes in new ways and to end the system of overconsumption.

Follow @xr.boycottfashion on instagram, sign the pledge on xrfashionboycott.com and be part of our journey towards a new fashion system. Share your image, your reasons for boycott and pass on the message to your friends. Because fashion is not to die for!