Nov 09 2020 28 mins 1
When last we met, our national election was just underway. We now have a new President-elect in Joe Biden and a new Vice President-elect in Kamala Harris. This bodes well for our country as we look forward to working with the administration in advocating for the laws, regulations, and policies we need to protect our environment and reverse climate change, repair racial injustices, and address the pandemic and economic inequality. Our democracy is in tatters and we need to mend our relationship with it, as well as learn to mend our clothes.
This episode considers chapter one of Rebecca Burgess' book "The Cost of Our Clothes". Like the Slow Food Movement that preceded it, the Fibershed Movement began small; there are now more than fifty fibersheds across North America, the UK, Europe, and Australia.
From my own perspective:
- Buy Less (overconsumption is unsustainable)
- Buy Better Quality
- Make it Last (fewer machine washings and dryings)
- Learn to Mend (sew on the button, repair the tear)
- Make (learn to sew, knit, refashion)
- Organize (question the laws, regulations, policies; demand greater transparency)
Several links mentioned in this episode:
- Joe Biden's "Plan for Climate Change and Environmental Justice": https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/ (See also the administration's new transition website: https://buildbackbetter.com/)
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
- Elizabeth Cline's recent article on Atmos, "The Twilight of the Ethical Consumer": https://atmos.earth/ethical-consumerism/
- Fair Wages for garment workers, globally (sign the petition): https://payupfashion.com/
- Greenpeace fact sheet, "Timeout for Fast Fashion", 2016: https://wayback.archive-it.org/9650/20200401053856/http://p3-raw.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/briefings/toxics/2016/Fact-Sheet-Timeout-for-fast-fashion.pdf
