Reflections on one or more of the Better Lives lectures and how they have influenced your thinking
For this blog post, I concluded to write about Kate Fletcher and Jekaterina Rogaten’s lectures.
Fashion and Nature
Overall after the presentation, I felt engaged, committed, motivated but also upset and sad. The delivery of the speech by Kate was so captivating to me as well as the stories she told. I love to watch nature documentaries and respect David Attenborough highly. He has helped these generations through his informative documentaries and spread awareness. As nature already means a lot to me, I found it heart breaking that over the years in the fashion industry sustainability hasn’t been practiced more. There are no excuses as to why we shouldn’t look after our planet other than for people’s greed. I had never considered sustainability in anything in my life until this unit, it has opened my eyes. I learned the correct definition for sustainably being the process that enables people to realise their full potential and improve life quality in ways which protect and enhance earth life support systems. This is a heavy statement and benefits all.
When Kate quizzed us on the species of plants and animals, I found myself shocked to not know all of the answers. It was starling to then know a huge number of the brands she showed us concluding that the human race is more concerned about what car they have over how long they have left on this planet. I strongly believe that previous generations have learned to not care about the future of this planet through ignorance and their belief of it won’t happen in my life so why should I worry, which is a scary notion. I will forever remember this presentation and keep sustainability in my mind always. I will even visit charity shops and car boot sales in the future to become a better person than those who didn’t before me.
Fashion and Well Being
This presentation was something I’d have never considered had a connection with fashion. The term ‘well-being’ to me was something that was thrown around and misunderstood. As Jekaterina stated it is an individual own definition of what makes them happy. An alarming figure of $4.2 trillion spent on making happiness is a substantial amount but if you have the money and work hard for it why wouldn’t you spend it on you? It becomes a problem when you don’t have the money in the first place and result in debt. I confidently understand the connection of fashion making one happy and I do this every day. I tend to stop wearing clothes if I have had them for a period of time, if I wear the better top, I feel happier in myself.
To link this with sustainability, Jekaterina said the more choice you have the less satisfied you become. Going to a charity shop, car boot sales could end up with better satisfaction as the choice is limited and this would help myself and the planet which is a definite win.
4th May 2020 @ 7:42 pm
Peer review
https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/04/reflections-on-one-or-more-of-the-better-lives-lectures-and-how-they-have-influenced-your-thinking/#respond
I am doing a peer review on Chloe Penhallurik. She wrote about Kate fletcher’s and Jekaterina Rogaten’s lectures about fashion and nature. Chloe felt engaged, committed, and motivated as well as she felt sad. Kate described the importance of nature in fashion and Chloe mentioned how we know clothes brands and different car labels better rather than naming more than 3 different plants that grow just outside our windows. Chloe continued to mention how it is important to care about sustainability and take care of our planet. She does mention how David Attenborough spreads awareness and educates others. I agree with Chloe on this matter, I do also support her thinking on how previous generation did not care enough about planet and now we are the ones that can improve it and make change on how our next generation will see it. However, I do think that it is a lack of education and knowledge, maybe there should be a specific lesson in kindergartens and schools about sustainability and how to take care of our planet. Every time I watch a documentary about nature it hurts that after every single episode it is mentioned that humanity is slowly killing it.
Chloe also reflects on lecture about well-being and how she never considered it. To be honest neither did I. Well-being for me is more about a healthy lifestyle and self-education. Chloe mentioned how an amount of 4,5 trillion is spent to make “happy”, however she does say that if you are able to afford that “Happy” then why not? I do have a guilty pleasure to go shopping for new things every now and then but after watching ho many things end up in the land fill and ocean. Chloe mentions how she considers going clothes shopping to the charity shops and buy stuff off a car-boot markets. I support this decision of hers, we do have guilty pleasure of buying new thing and makes us “happy” but to be honest whenever I go shopping and there is a big choice of things to buy out of I get very disorientated and anxious, so I leave the shop without purchase. Trying to reconsider and think twice if I need this item helps me to make my decision. It not always works for me when I go to buy toiletries. I tend to overbuy I think because I like the bottle colours and different smells of shampoos as well as face creams.
In conclusion I agree on many things that Chloe said about those two lectures and I am happy to see that I am not the only one thinking that way, and that we both considering taking extra carte about what we consume and where it will end up in our world. If we all start from ourselves and our lifestyle then we will make a difference, maybe not a major one at the moment but it will give a huge impact in the future.
10th May 2020 @ 10:34 pm
https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/04/reflections-on-one-or-more-of-the-better-lives-lectures-and-how-they-have-influenced-your-thinking/#respond
Having read through so many of my peer’s blog posts, I really enjoyed viewing people’s different opinions and perspectives overall and how they experienced the Better Lives unit. Narrowing it down to one blog post the one that stood out for me was Chloe Penhallurik’s first blog post on ‘Reflections on one or more of the better lives lectures and how they have influenced your thinking’.
Throughout Chloe’s blog post she reflects on the lecture Fashion and Nature by Kate Fletcher. She states that up until this unit she had never thought about sustainability before in her life. This shows that Chloe was engaged and dedicated to learning the true meaning of sustainability. She also describes how she felt upset on realising the true cost of the Fashion Industry’s input when it comes to sustainability and how it is not practised enough. I can completely resonate with her on this as I feel very strongly that the industry still has such a long way to go when it comes to being more sustainable. I also agree with her thoughts on how she describes how past generations didn’t take good enough care of our planet. Only now are we starting to see the younger generation really care about protecting our planet as we all have become more aware of the devastation that in the past has been reaped on it.
Chloe also reflects on Jekaterina Rogaten’s lecture on ‘Fashion and Well-being’ which she states made her realise that she never really considered well-being before this. She mentions that she never thought of the connection between fashion and wellbeing and that she is guilty of partaking in that ‘Happy’ feel purchasing that overall amounts up to $4.2 trillion. As I also reflected upon Jekaterina’s lecture in my first blog post, I agree that most people are guilty of this ‘happy’ buying as I myself am but I have come to realise that the ‘good’ feeling and raised mood that it gives me hasn’t a long term effect and most times the end result does not leave me as satisfied as I’d hope. I refuse to do it now. Do we really need all these ‘purchases’ for that short term, superficial boost of feeling ‘happy’? Particularly now in the realisation of how bad it is for our planet also?
Chloe ends her blog post by mentioning how she may end up with better satisfaction by going to charity shops or car boot sales. This is something I have done over the years as I reconsider if I really need the things that I purchase. Knowing that I am also helping the planet by not buying in to fast fashion or spur of the moment purchasing provides me with a more long term deeper feeling of satisfaction as I realise that I am helping the environment and that I am good enough as I am and don’t need to constantly acquire new things to make me feel validated or more interesting.
Overall, I thought Chloe’s blog post was a good read and I would agree with her on many of the thoughts that she has expressed. She has shown that she has understood and gained a better knowledge from the Better Lives Unit and in particular sustainability. I believe Chloe could even add to her knowledge if she researched further into the connection between the Fashion Sector and well-being.
11th May 2020 @ 1:01 pm
Peer review
https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/04/reflections-on-one-or-more-of-the-better-lives-lectures-and-how-they-have-influenced-your-thinking/#comment-171
I have chosen to write my peer review on Chloe Penhallurick blog, reviewing the lectures of Fashion and Nature and Fashion and Well Being. As I have read though many peoples blogs, I found Chloe’s in particular really stood out to me. She writes very honestly about how the lectures made her feel, starting with Kate Fletchers, Fashion and Nature lecture. Chloe starts the lecture with stating that she felt ‘engaged, committed, motivated and also upset and sad’ I thought this was a gripping start to her blog as it leaves the reader wanting to know why she felt this way. She then goes on to explain her love of nature and then links this to the key theme of sustainability within fashion. She further explains that this unit has really opened her eyes, as before this she had never considered sustainability in anything in her life. This is a key example of her using what she has learnt in the better lives unit in her everyday life. She then goes on to say how she strongly believes that previous generations have learned to not care about the future of this planet through ignorance and their belief of it won’t happen in my life on this planet. I do agree with Chloe’s points and I think she makes a valid argument that older generations can be more ignorant with these sorts of issues. However, it would be good to see more factual evidence of this to back up her point, likewise not every member of the older generation has the same dismissive views about the planet so maybe to argue both sides, she could use more evidence to secure her points.
The Fashion and Well-being lecture by Jekaterina Rogaten, was the second lecture that Chloe reviewed. She quotes the lecturer and says that it is an individual own definition of what makes them happy. I think this is a really interesting quote, something that maybe could have been explored further. Because many people can share happiness for the same event or situation, but have different reasoning’s behind it. Chloe then moves on about the happiness objects can bring to people, in particular buying clothing. I think she makes some really good points, especially when saying you should spend money on yourself if that’s what you want and if you can afford to do so. Whilst also keeping in mind the amount of waste the fashion industry produces. Chloe makes reference to what this lecture has taught her as she explains of being more mindful of this in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed reading Chloe’s blog posts, I thought she hit every point and it was very well written.