Blog Post One
After watching a number of the Better Lives lectures, I found Kate Fletcher’s presentation about nature deeply thought-provoking and awfully relevant regarding the World today, especially after the outbreak of Covid-19. Fletcher began with definitions of ‘nature’, ‘environment’ and ‘sustainability’ and later described an instance in which a society (previous inhabitants of Easter Island) was destroyed through exploitation of its own environment and resources. Her referral to a self-sabotaging society directly emphasised the importance of social responsibility, and therefore a sustainable nation. It helped me to further understand that sustainability is not a trend (as it has often been presented as) but a necessity to maintain a certain future for our planet, and not one of an apocalyptic demeanour.
Fletcher went on to describe the co-existence between fashion and nature; she outlined nature as the “enabler of the fashion system” whilst also being fashion’s “limiting factor”. Nature is the primary material source for many fashion products, like cotton, but all fibres (both natural and synthetic) have an impact on natural systems. Arguably, the fashion system that has the greatest impact on nature and the environment is the practice of fast fashion. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, and we are producing 400% more clothing than 20 years ago, with most women wearing 20%- 30% of their clothes and on average, disposing of them after wearing them seven times (Sustain Your Style, 2020). After conducting an Instagram poll, I found that during the Coronavirus lockdown, around 54% of people are buying more clothing, despite having nowhere to wear the items to. I found this particularly surprising as it demonstrates such a lack of regard for the Better Lives themes of sustainability and social responsibility. Not only are they engaging with a system that largely pollutes the world, but are demonstrating a lack of social responsibility by putting everyone in the fashion system chain in danger (the produces, couriers, etc.). I feel that this not only emphasises Fletcher’s point surrounding the negative impact fashion has on nature, but also the pointlessness of fast fashion- we don’t need it, it’s cheap so people feel an obligation to purchase it, despite the fact that they probably won’t wear it.
The lecture came to an end with Fletcher presenting a diverse range of sustainable fashion practices, proving that there are ways that the fashion system can have a more positive impact on the environment, such as: upcycling; more transport supply chains; better working conditions; less use of water etc. Overall, I left the lecture feeling slightly uplifted. Before the lecture, I thought of the environment and the possibility of a sustainable future in a negative light because of the excessive damage that has already been done to our planet. This lecture proved to me that we can learn from our past (the society who inhabited Easter Island) and offered options for a positive, sustainable future.
Sustain Your Style (2020) Fast Fashion. Available at: https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-fast-fashion(Accessed: 18/04/20).