An (un) fashionable climate? - How our fashion choices affect climate change

We all love to look good. Look good, feel good. Beauty is a currency. It is also in the eyes of the beholder. What attracts the eyes about you elevates you in the sight of whoever sees you. Fashion is either classic or fads. Some dress according to what is trending, others according to their own personal style. Fashion can also be dictated by peers or work environment. Most of the times, if left to its own, true fashion is an expression of personality and so we say, to each her/his own.

When we talk about contemporary fashion trends, the most powerful actors are those in the arts : musicians, actors and actresses, designers, influential bloggers and vloggers, models, fashion editors, sports personalities, radio and TV hosts and basically everyone who’s got some following hence clout, in entertainment. These people have mass appeal, the ability to pull in massive crowds both in actual appearances and events as well as online on social media platforms.

So today, we are going to talk about climate change and how fashion is involved in all of it.

First some facts:
a)      Fashion is a multibillion dollar industry (about 3 trillion to be exact).
b)      Fashion takes silver to oil’s gold as the most Earth- poisoning industries.
c)      In the whole percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, fashion as a sector takes up a tenth.

Let’s talk about a major fashion event that took place recently, the Met Gala[1]  2017. Movies have the Oscars, Television has the Emmys, Broadway has the Tony Awards, Music has the Grammys and Fashion, encompassing everything, has the Met Gala as the headlining event in the yearly calendar.

The Met Gala has a theme every year, last year’s being technology. This year’s theme was paying homage to Rei Kawakubo an avante garde designer in a class of his own when it comes to the idea of beauty. The event was held on May 1st 2017.

So let’s introduce a few terms

Sustainable fashion – also known as ethical fashion. Does what you wear to a black tie event/red carpet /anywhere you dress up reusable? That is, do you wear it once or multiple times? Also, what materials are used to make whatever you are wearing? Were they ethically sourced? Were the people who made it paid fairly? Did you endanger nature or the environment in making that dress?

Sustainable fashion is especially a pertinent question in haute couture[2] or high fashion. This is because fashion figures have to be relevant and trendy. They cannot wear the same gown twice. They can’t wear last season’s look or they’ll be labeled outdated. While this helps amplify sales for the idea or image they are selling, it is a very wasteful practice. Imagine someone who grew up in the public eye, right from being a child star to a middle aged fellow.  Or the number of events a celebrity attends in a year. How many items of clothes has he/she used and then discarded? Now imagine a few thousand others like her/him.

But some are breaking the mould, like 26 year old Emma Roberts wearing vintage fashion at the Oscars[3] 2017, supporting the Red carpet, Green Dress campaign[4].

Similarly, one can remake a gown or suit. Or use recycled materials to make that wonder dress.

To illustrate this, let’s look at two fashion forward and eco-conscious people: Emma Watson and Livia Firth.

Emma Watson made headlines at the Met Gala 2016 for wearing a head turning dress made of recycled plastic water bottles. The Calvin Klein dress consisted of a skirt, bustier and trousers. The individual pieces could be separated and used again to make a completely new outfit. The Beauty and the Beast actress is vocal about eco-fashion and uses platforms available to her to champion this. She leads by example, from the front. In her late 20s, Emma is an example to other millenials in being proactive.

Livia Firth is the founder and creative director of Eco-Age, where she promotes eco-fashion for the red carpet and fashion icons. The Green Carpet Challenge and its accompanying hashtag promotes exactly that, wearing green fashion[5]/environmentally friendly fashion choices to red carpet events.

She is a recipient of the UN fashion for environment award. For championing the winds of change in the fashion industry, she is a UN Leader for change.

She attended the Met Gala 2017 in this dress. The dress was made from pinatex, derived from pineapple leaves.
 

Other actresses such as 34 year old Anne Hathaway , 40 year old Naomie Harris and Priyanka Bose have also rocked eco-friendly fashion, wearing either vintage looks , or gowns from plant materials or recycled stuff.
(Side note: the reason I mention their ages is to show that green fashion can be worn by anyone and at any age.)

Now to deviate a little, how does all this interlink with climate change?

Well, sit back and read. First, a lot of electricity is used in the making the dress or whatever you are clothed in. About 70% of all energy used in the planet is from fossil fuels. Burning coal or use of diesel in thermal power plants means that more and more greenhouse gas emissions are released into the air.

So as you can – why is your mascara running?

Okay class, let’s take a break and go fix your makeup.

I’ll be back shortly on part two




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