No. 11: Why you should cancel fast fashion
Welcome back to the land of the ~surviving~, where we try to keep going among climate deniers, the rich (+ their private jets), and our own minds. I hope this issue provides you with a cushion to lean on, a pamphlet to inform you, and a friend to support you! P.S. find the good news at the bottom. :)
Fast fashion is *still* seriously out of control
I hope you don’t buy Shein, Forever21, or H&M, among others, but especially not because someone on TikTok told you to. (#shein has 35.7 billion views on TT and the global fast fashion industry is worth $1.5 trillion…)
Spending $500 on clothes you’ll wear once, owning 20 sets of bikinis, and constant new microtrends are all popular and common thanks to social media, allowing the term fast fashion to develop, although only used by those who know the true horrors from the industry, is doing far more harm than most care to adknowledge.
But it’s not just super consumerism of crappy clothing and the environmental impacts (one of many articles detailing this), it’s the dire conditions these garment workers in developing nations that don’t have a standard living wage face.
And while there is progress being made, like eBay sponsoring Love Island (UK), that didn’t stop brands like PrettyLittleThing from advertising during commercial breaks of the show, and brands pumping out look-alikes of the secondhand televised pieces, generating millions from 16 to 34 year-olds (Business of Fashion).
But this just barely scratches the surface… check out the links below to further educate yourself and share with friends!
Watch these (all free):
tiktok is kind of bad for fashion - Mina Le
The Horrible Aftermath of the SHEIN-pocalypse - Salem Tovar
The True Cost | Secrets Behind Fashion Industry | Documentary
Take care <3
I haven’t done one of these in a while, but of course self care must be consistent and continual! Would you like this to be a recurring series (often than once every 3-4 issues?) Vote below!
An amazing thread that did not get enough attention! Check it out!!!
99 Self-Love Affirmations - The Good Trade Words to remind you how strong, resilient, and capable you are. <3
Things we’ve done/are doing to sacrifice our (present + future) wellbeing
Pesticide use (with deaths of 200,000 annually, risks of cancer, water pollution, + more) Source: EPA, Environment Buddy
Supporting republicans. Literally any of them, they only care about $$$.
Buying + promoting fast fashion, mentioned above.
And MUCH more, but you’ll have to come back next week!
Check out…
I Did a No-Buy Month and This is What I Learned - Sustainable Baddie
This newsletter! Weekly Earth Wins by Zahra Biabani every Monday, with good climate news.
How to Save a Planet podcast (exclusively on Spotify) for individual actions you can take to ease your eco-anxiety!
Personal behavior — even Taylor Swift's — is a minor part of climate change - Axios
I am by no means taking sides with Taylor Swift. When she was revealed to be the biggest climate criminal, everyone shifted to “let’s not blame it on the rich or individual.” I just happened to find this an interesting read and wanted to share.
Good climate news
Yayyy, it’s about that time ;)
New law creates $45M electric school bus program- In New Jersey, with *over* 40% of their emissions coming from transportations, and 15,000 diesel school buses driven every school day, this could make a big difference over the next three years.
Langholm Moor community buyout to double in size - An astounding 5,300 Scottish acres will be sold - after the Langholm Initiative purchased over 5,200 last year - which will double the size of the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve (est 2021), increasing habitat restoration and regeneration!! <3
Historic climate bill moves U.S. closer to Biden’s target - This was mentioned last week, and might actually be a reality?! Thanks to VP Harris’s tie-breaking vote, the bill passed the Senate and will move to the House of Representatives, with the final news later today? Hopefully the 10 seat majority the democrats have will allow the legislation to pass (if we only need a simple majority)!!! 🤞 (Info detailed on my IG stories, like how articles say it ranges from $369-740 billion??)
WHY CHIPOTLE INVESTED IN A $150 MILLION FUNDING ROUND FOR VEGAN STEAK STARTUP MEATI - Vegan mushroom meat coming to Chipotle?? Yes please!!!
Wrap-up
Apologies for any typos, I’m finishing writing this less than 12 hours before it will be posted. Weekly reminder to subscribe, follow me on Twitter, and suggest a topic!