It was pretty clear to us from the beginning of the Alphabet of Climate Solutions that the letter F would be dedicated to Fair Fashion. We love the topic. We are already living it to an extent – neither of us buy new clothes much anymore, preferring the second hand options like Thrift Plus, other online portals, and of course, charity and vintage shops. A few years back Lisa set herself the challenge to not buy any new clothes for a year and hasn't changed that habit since she discovered second hand shopping is way more exciting, renting clothes feels way more special than a last minute panic-bought dress. When we do buy new, we try to find out more about the company we’re buying from, and if they look good – in terms of transparency about materials and production – it's a yes. And while we do need sustainably made clothing, the reality is that sustainable fashion is not the solution.
"The most sustainable piece of clothing is the one you already own."
– Orsola de Castro (and many others in the industry)
Interestingly, fashion is not usually #1 on the climate agenda and often feels like a forgotten industry when in fact it is such a huge, complex, opaque and most of all polluting and deeply unethical one. Each and everyone of us has to put clothes on every single day whether we call it fashion or not, and we have to choose what kind of garment we wear on our skin. This includes the environment where the resources for the material come from, the chemicals and dyes it's been treated with, the people who have made it, how it has been transported from where it was made and so much more. So how can we make sure that our wardrobe has a more positive impact? Some of the answers are in the book club take-aways below 🧵
If you're only just starting out with the topic of Fair Fashion then you might want to have a look at our community Notion document, which includes articles, books, podcasts, accounts to follow on Fair Fashion. Everyone is welcome to contribute!
Bookclub take-aways: Loved Clothes Last by Orsola de Castro
In a world where disposability and short-livedness are the norm – mending and extending the life of our clothes is a revolutionary act
Watch your fabric blends! As soon as one material is blended with another, it becomes almost impossible to recycle. Look out for 100% cotton, wool, hemp etc labels. In fact, make a regular habit of reading the care and information labels on the side seams of your garment.
We hear a lot about the pesticides and other toxins in our food that can make us sick. But nobody talks about the toxic components and processes used to create our fabrics.
Buying distressed denim is the most useless, ecologically and ethically unsound practice in modern fashion. Buying any denim has a huge carbon footprint.
Giving away our unwanted clothes to charity shops has turned from an act of goodwill, to making our bad shopping habits someone else’s problem.
The fashion industry is broken, and its values have become totally out of alignment with ours and the planet's, but there's good news around the corner - making, sewing and crafting have made a comeback and our clothes are enjoying new leases of life.
There's a place in China where there's a local saying that you can tell what's the current seasons ‘in’ colour in Western fashion by looking at the colour of the river.
You can wear a smart shirt or dress in bed once it's past its best - just cut off the collar, cuffs and anything tight or itchy.
You can make a crop top from a pair of wool tights with no sewing (well, maybe a bit of crochet). Mind blown!
It's one of those books where everything resonates. It's not rocket science but has some great tips on how to keep clothes looking good for longer, and how to keep rocking that look when the cashmere jumper is full of holes and the shirt collar is frayed. It felt like a powerful call to action to tackle an industry that would otherwise feel overwhelming and daunting. Orsola's notion that the simple act of mending, repairing and upcycling our clothes is a revolutionary act in itself, was empowering and inspiring to say the least ✊🏽
Join our next book club: We’re reading The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
Gathering, or coming together in community, is our chosen topic for the letter G in our Alphabet of Climate Solutions series. This might be especially relevant for you if you want to be more involved in hosting and facilitating meaningful get togethers. After all, what would we be without you, our lovely community.
In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lacklustre and unproductive, and they don’t have to be. We rely on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we could focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play.
Drawing on her expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn’t, and why. She investigates a wide array of gatherings - conferences, meetings, a courtroom, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp - and explains how simple, specific changes can invigorate any group experience.
Join the online discussion on 09 November at 7PM – tickets via Eventbrite below.
Support Lisa's bike ride to the COP26!
Picture: Lisa on the right and Shalyn to her left, who is part of the organising team
On 1st November, world leaders are gathering in Glasgow to reach decisions that will shape the future of our planet. I’m riding with over 100 cyclists from London to Glasgow, taking a message of climate action to those leaders.
I’m not asking you for money. Instead, will you make a personal climate pledge? It’s easy; just commit to try a simple action in your every day life for the next two months.
Your actions will have a direct carbon saving AND they’ll help us send a powerful message that people care and are ready for action.
Thank you, you’re taking part in making history.
Want to make more time for positive action?
Join us every Friday @1PM for Future Hour
We are restarting Future Hour every Friday lunchtime! And we want you to join us. What is Future Hour you ask? It is our way to help people carve out an hour in their work week that they can dedicate to positive action. We meet online at 1PM and chat about what moved/inspired/educated us this week followed by focused time, where every participant can work on their own project. In the past this included: reading an article, researching local policies, applying for a job in a forward thinking company, writing a blog post and so much more.
Please note: No more Zoom calls: we've switched to Whereby - no need to log in, just click this link at 1pm every Friday. This link will always be the same so it might be worth saving it to your bookmarks 🙌🏽
Thank you for reading this far and a special mention to our loyal bookclub attendees! You keep our motivation high :) If you want to join us next time, make sure you follow us on Eventbrite so that you get notified of our upcoming bookclub events. If you have any questions please add a comment to this post, DM or send us an email to hello@andthefuture.com
Lisa & Tash ✨