December 2021 | Monthly Wrap Up

Wednesday, 29 December 2021

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December, you have been stressful. 



Favourite part?


I started off the month well by taking part in Remake’s last Community Call of the year, as one of many ambassdors sharing our experiences campaigning for a fairer fashion industry this year. Later that week I attended Remake’s press conference launching their 2021 Accountability Report to the world! It was my first ever press conference and I learned a lot listening to Becca Coughlan, Ayesha Barenblat, and Elizabeth Cline discuss the report and what went into making it. The findings of the report will be featured I many of the articles I write for Remake in the future! 

 

December was also a time to celebrate friends’ birthdays, with karaoke and a British Icons themed party back to back. 

 

I was also part of another Green New Deal Rising challenge team this month. This time we went to speak to Tim Farron in Newcastle. Our conversation was encouraging, with Tim saying he was 90 per cent sure he would support the GND bill, however we are yet to hear confirmation of his support.

 

I continued the Green New Deal theme with a talk on the topic with Newcastle Feminist Society. I really enjoyed giving the talk and discussing climate justice issues with the group of attendees – I’m so looking forward to running more climate events next year! 

 

In the middle of doing lots of life admin and work for my uni deadlines, I managed to get my booster vaccine. Despite much stress and hand sanitiser, I ended up testing positive for Covid on Christmas morning (great timing, I know). So I’ve been masked up ever since Christmas, staying 2 metres away from my family wherever possible, with all windows and doors open and lots more hand sanitiser. Just your average Christmas!



Best read?


After being recommended it by friends, I read I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Sharma which is incredible. Vivek discusses her relationship with men throughout her life, both romantically and elsewhere in her life, particularly in men’s behaviour to her as a brown trans woman. It is brilliant and I highly recommend reading this book with a friend to discuss (or have it as part of a book club!) – it’s one that needs discussion afterwards I think. 

 

I then finished reading The Novel and the Police by D. A. Miller for my degree. I have lots of thoughts although I’m not sure if this is the right place for them, I also need to figure them out a bit more before I write on them. 

 

I read Angela Davis’ Freedom is a Constant Struggle, which is a short but impactful read. It’s a collection of essays, interviews and speeches by Angela Davis on the interlinking topics of Palestine, Ferguson, prison abolition, feminism, and more. She explains things so concisely and accessibly it is a joy to read Davis’ writing. I can’t wait to read more of her work. 

 

I then read Olive by Emma Gannon, which I absolutely adored. Check out my upcoming Best Fiction Books of 2021 post for more of my thoughts on this book. But yes, I could go on about it for days. Read it.  

 

I’m currently in the middle of reading Aurora Floyd by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and How to be an Anti-Capitalist in the Twenty-First Century by Erik Olin Wright



Favourite listen?


I’ve not been listening to many podcasts in December which is slightly odd for me I think. Instead, I’ve had about three albums on repeat. Those albums have been Between Us by Little Mix, Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift, and 30 by Adele. My gals have had me covered! 


Favourite watch?


I finished watching New Girl, and ten got fully into the swing of crappy Christmas romcoms. I’ve practically watched every one available on Netflix. I watched Dash and Lily, The Holidate, Last Christmas, The Castle at Christmas, The Princess Switch films, The Christmas Prince films, Noelle, among others I’m sure. 

 

I also watched the BBC 3 dating and dancing show I Like the Way You Move. I got through the series really quickly and I’m looking forward to the net series! 

 

Outside of the Christmas film extravaganza, I also watched Ophelia, a retelling of Hamlet from the point of view of the character the film is named after. I knew the story of Hamlet before but had never actually seen it before, and now after watching this film I want to see a staging of Hamlet. It was a nice chill watch when I was quite tired and needed some characters to get attached to. 

 

Obviously on Christmas Day and the days surrounding, I watched all the Christmas specials under the sun. That’s what this time of year is for!

 

I also rewatched the final season of my old favourite, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The point in the show is so comforting and I absolutely adore. 

 

The day before this is pubished, I finished watching A Very British Scandal, which I thought was very well put together and certainly as a lot to say on the prevalence of the sexual double standard and the stigma around female pleasure.  


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What did I learn?


Oof, I’m not sure. Some coincidences in life are actually hilarious. I need to make my schedule more sustainable so I don’t burn out. The usual I guess?


What’s happening next month?


First of all, I’ll be coming out of isolation and trying to make sure I rest after Covid. I’ve also got two university deadlines in January and the beginning of February so those and resting are my priorities. And to be honest, apart from those I’m not sure exactly what else will be happening. I should be celebrating a few friends’ birthdays as well as my friends’ engagement, but we’re awaiting news of potential restrictions in January. The suspense of restrictions leaves what work I’ll be doing and events I’ll be going to in the New Year hanging in the balance, as with everyone else in England. 

 

What’s been on my mind?


Trying to find time for rest and sleep, getting everything done I need to before I went to visit my family for Christmas, and Covid stress. A lot of Covid stress. 

 

Favourite post?


10 Organisations to Donate to This Holiday Season! I loved highlighting some organisations whose work I am so in awe of and believe in. Please consider donating to them outside of the holiday period, regular donations and all year round donations help so much.


 

Biggest inspiration?


Putting together an Instagram reel of 2021 highlights was actually really (or should I say reel-y?) comforting to me. It’s so easy to be so pessimistic when looking back on the past couple of years and think every second has been shitty, and don’t get me wrong there has been plenty of shittiness, but there has also been a heck of a lot of good bits in there too, and a lot of hope.  

 

Any other favourites?

 

Do leftover roast potatoes count? 



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If you liked this post you might like: November 2021 | Monthly Wrap Up

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10 Organisations to Donate To This Holiday Season

Friday, 17 December 2021

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Christmas is just around the corner (literally next week) and gift guides have flooded blogs everywhere. It is also the time of year consumption and waste get thrown into overdrive, which we know isn’t great for ourselves or for the planet. There is so much pressure to buy loads of things for people that they most likely to do not need and might not actually want or use, so a donation is a plastic-free, waste-free gift that will likely mean a lot. I love receiving donations as presents, they’re so special especially if they’re for a cause you’re particularly passionate about. I’ve picked a range but many of the charities and organisations I’ve featured here do focus on refugee solidarity, which seems fitting as the Christmas story is one of a child refugee after all.


1. Give Your Best

 
As the first online catalogue of donated clothing where refugee and asylum seeking women can shop for free, Give Your Best combine slow fashion with refugee solidarity. Rather than just being handed whatever clothing is available, Give Your Best gives displaced women back their agency when it comes to clothing choices, as many people will flee their homes with only the clothes on their back. They also focus on items such as maternity clothes which may not have been needed when people initially fled their homes. So far over 500 women have shopped with Give Your Best, an incredible number that will likely on further grow. You can donate your clothes to Give Your Best, but also some of their newly made t-shirts and fundraiser prints would also make great Christmas gifts! If you want to learn more about how Give Your Best runs, check out this guide

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2. Bloody Good Period

 
Bloody Good Period are a London based organisation which aims to support refugees and asylum-seekers facing period poverty. They distribute menstrual products for free in London and to organisations support menstruating refugees and asylum seekers all over the UK. But this is only part of their work. Bloody Good Period also seek to tackle menstrual and sexual health stigma so that conversations around periods are normalised, to be a part of making change when it comes to the treatment of people who menstruate, and to make education on sexual and reproductive health more accessible.
 
BGP have run several amazing campaigns over the years, including Blood Good Employers which seeks to change the way workplaces are run so that people who menstruate are not at a disadvantage to people who do not. They also run the campaign Decolonising Menstruation in collaboration with Decolonising Contraception, which you can learn more about here.

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3. Remake

 
If you’ve seen me anywhere online before, you will have most likely heard about Remake. I have a lot of love for Remake as an ambassador and as a writer for them. Remake do a lot of amazing work, including being at the forefront of the Pay Up Fashion campaign which began at the beginning of the pandemic after brands refused to pay for ready-made orders, pushing for the passing of the Garment Worker Protection Act in California, and putting pressure on brands to renew the Bangladesh Accord into the International Accord and ensuring garment workers globally have a base-level of health and safety at work. 
 
Remake are currently on a fundraising drive with a campaign called #GiveYourValues, which is a modification of their phrase Wear Your Values, which relates to having a slow mindset relating to fashion. They are aiming to raise $100,000 by New Year’s Eve, which, if achieved will be matched with an additional $100,000 by the Martini Education Trust. This is an incredible opportunity or Remake to kickstart their 2022 and giving the campaigns and advocacy work next year and extra boost.
 
This money will go towards working with garment worker unions, communicating with and putting pressure on brands, running campaigns, paying writers (like me!), raising awareness of the labour and environmental crisis within the fashion industry, and pushing for justice to finally be achieved from the fallout of the pandemic on garment workers. It’s safe to say it will go a long way. 

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4. Calais Appeal

 
This year, Choose Love are withdrawing funding from most organisations they previously supported working in and around Calais to support asylum seekers (except 2 organisations supporting unaccompanied children) for reasons that aren’t particularly clear. This will have a devastating blow to so many people. Normally I would suggest donating to Choose Love as they make it so easy and support such a wide range of services and support networks for asylum seekers and refugees all over the world. However, this year your donation will likely have more impact going towards those smaller organisations, groups and services directly. 
 
Calais Appeal fundraise to support 7 grassroots organisations working in Calais to support forcibly displaced people. They also shares expertise, resources and collaborate to provide emergency materials for people stuck at the border. Members organisations include Calais Food Collective, Collective Aid, Human Rights Observers, Woodyard, Refugee Women’s Center, Refugee Info Bus and Project Play. With Choose Love withdrawing funding, Calais Appeal is vital to keeping these projects going. No donation is too big or too small to create and maintain cross-border solidarity. 

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5. Green New Deal Rising

 
Green New Deal Rising are a grassroots movement of 16-35 year olds working to implement a Green New Deal in the UK. In the past few weeks they have run a fundraising campaign to get 200 people to donate an hour’s wage to the movement every month, providing a solid base to enhance the work they’re doing and ensure a Green New Deal is at the forefront of the political agenda in 2022 and beyond. That target was smashed over a week before Christmas and a new goal of 300 regular donors has been made. 
 
Despite only being in existence for 4 months, Green New Deal Rising has achieved so much and got the Green New Deal onto the political agenda with a bang. You might have seen some of their viral videos on social media challenging politicians over their climate actions. These have included talking to Rishi Sunak (two times), Keir Starmer (also two times), and Nicola Sturgeon among many, many more. Next year, Green New Deal Rising are hoping to up their game and deliver bigger and more noticeable actions which will only be able to happen if they have the necessary funding. This funding is so vital to getting more and more young people involved – it allows for travel, resources, and even accommodation for certain actions to be paid for, making participation so much more accessible.   

 

6. Black Minds Matter

 
Black Minds Matter connect Black individuals and families with free mental health services by pairing them up with Black therapists. This is so important for so many reasons and there are people out there much better equipped than me to explain why individuals need therapists from similar backgrounds to them. They also have a load of free mental health resources, run various different events, and by the looks of it, Black Minds Matter have loads more planned for 2022, so help make that happen!
 
As well as donating directly you can also buy Black Minds Matter merch which are created in collaboration with Black artists and all of the profits go towards covering the cost of therapy sessions. 

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7. Mermaids

 
Running since 1995, Mermaids do vital work supporting trans children and their families. Donations maintain helpline services, advocacy for trans rights, fund residential weekends, and to create safe spaces for young people to be around others with the same experiences as them. Mermaids have educational resources for parents of trans children on how to best support their child, resources for trans children to learn more and answer any questions they might have. The statistics around trans physical and mental health are shocking, and it is so important to have organisations like Mermaids exist in order to create those support networks and communities and improve awareness among teachers, parents, healthcare professonals and other support services. 
 
Mermaids have faced a lot of ridicule in the press in recent years from high-profile transphobes, so extra support will be so so needed and appreciated. 

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8. North East Solidarity and Teaching (N.E.S.T)

 
Run by students and graduates, N.E.S.T aims to support, empower, and educate refugees and asylum seekers in the North East of England (and as a result of the pandemic, further across the UK and Europe). 
 
This winter, N.E.S.T are running an appeal for funds to help buy toys for the children who use their services as well as care packs containing items such as underwear, shoes, and toiletries for the whole families. While the initial target has been met, N.E.S.T aways needs more funds and the money will go towards supporting one of the many different projects it encompasses. These include Circus Club for kids, homework support, nursery for toddlers and babies, English language lessons, trips around the North East, working with schools, sports sessions, and more specialist social support. The main aspect of N.E.S.T is not the specifics of the projects themselves, but more the sense of community and belonging that it fosters and allows to bloom. It’s a very special project that deserves all the support possible. 

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9. The OR Foundation

 
The ‘or’ in OR Foundation highlights choice and therefore agency, and the ability for us to escape the current violent socio-economic system of corporate colonialism we now see dominating the world. The OR Foundation work in the intersection of environmental justice, education, and fashion development, and aim to find and create alternative systems that are kinder to people and planet and push back against the colonial present and past of the fashion industry. 
 
Their aim is to show the path to a Justice-Led Circular Economy and to help us get there quickly through collective and individual actions, holding those in power to account, educational programming and awareness, supporting sustainable independent designers, research and institutional advocacy to get people at all levels mobilized for change. They work in between Ghana and the USA, and have a focus in the Kantamanto Market in Ghana. They have so many different projects and they are all so important – the work The OR Foundation is doing is so exciting and really at the centre of change being created in the fashion industry.

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10. The Black Curriculum

 
Started in 2019, The Black Curriculum work to decolonize the school curriculum in the UK and ensure that Black history is no longer left out of British history teaching in schools. They provide teaching training, teaching resources, run educational programmes and a whole more. . Their core aims are to provide a sense of belonging to young people across the UK, teach an accessible and educational Black British history curriculum that raises attainment, and to improve social cohesion between young people in the UK. They also run campaigns to mobile young people and get them involved in political actions to decolonize the British curriculum at a national governmental level but also support students to lobby the senior managements in their own schools to create change in how and what they are taught. 


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If you liked this post you might like: 25 Ways to Take Climate Action After the IPCC Report

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November 2021 | Monthly Wrap Up

Friday, 3 December 2021

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I have been exhausted in November but I have also been pretty happy. I just need to keep forcing myself to physically take breaks and rest.



Favourite part?


I continued my new trend of beginning the month with an action by spending four days in Glasgow at COP26 with Green New Deal Rising. It was an incredible few days that will stick with me forever. We painted banners, took part in two marches, danced a lot, rocked matching outfits, and learned a lot from each other. I left extremely physically exhausted and with a cold but with so much energy in my heart and soul. I have so much motivation for what the future holds with GNDR and the rest of the climate movement and what we can achieve. I cannot wait to see everyone again at actions soon! 


Photo credit: Green New Deal Rising 


 

I spent a lot of time trying to rest after COP and to be honest I still feel like I’m trying to catch up on rest from then. I read some more, starting rewatching some old faves, and spent a lot of much needed time by myself for a while. 

 

The in-person sessions of the refugee support and solidarity organisation I’m involved with started back again in November, and it has been so wonderful seeing everyone in-person again. Seeing both the learners and volunteers again after so long has been so comforting and exciting. I didn’t realise how much I’d missed them until we were back. 

 

I’ve been spending more time working in coffee shops and cafes as well as actually in uni. I’ve been loving the Black Forest hot chocolates and peppermint tea as well as the occasion snack if I’m feeling fancy.

 

It’s felt quite hard to see my friends lately but I’ve actually managed to see them more than I thought! I’ve been out for cake a few times, tacos and cocktails, as well as lunch with a friend who was up in Newcastle visiting for the weekend! I also went down to Leeds to celebrate my friend’s birthday with an Otley Run. We made it despite Storm Arwen and had a great time dressed up as musical icons.

 

Right now I’m quite tired again, trying to keep on top of everything as well as taking care of myself. I frankly need more rest, but I’m trying to find time for that wherever possible. 


 

Best read?

 

I’ve read quite a lot this month. I feel like I’ve had a bit for a reading slump for the best past few months – basically since uni and work started picking up again after the summer – but I think I’m getting back into my groove now. 

 

I finished reading Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis on my train to Glasgow and I can just say it is a wonderful and insightful book that I want everyone to read. 

 

Another book I want everyone to read! This may be a theme of this month’s book section… Consumed by Aja Barber is an accessible, nuanced, and intersectional analysis of the modern fashion industry – its roots, how it damages most people, how we view consumption and wealth, and how we can take action to tackle the inequalities embedded within the system. If you’re looking to learn more about fast fashion and sustainability, start here and pair it with Loved Clothes Last by Orsola de Castro while you’re at it! 


 

I then read Make Bosses Pay: Why We Need Unions by Eve Livingston which is fantastic. I couldn’t put this book down and got so involved in what Eve was writing. It is essential reading for anyone who works (i.e., everyone) and particularly young workers. It got me so energized and pumped up about workers’ rights. But hey, what’s new? 



I read The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins, which will be the first book I write an essay on as part of my master’s. It features one of the first lady-detectives who is of course determined to clear her husband’s name from the charge of killing his first wife (spoiler, he is apparently innocent but somehow I’m still not convinced). 

 

I’m currently two-thirds through Behind Closed Doors: Sex Education Transformed by Natalie Fiennes, which is a gold-mine. There is so much information in there, from graphs to stats and fun facts, and my sex-ed/history nerd self has been loving it! 

 

Favourite listen?

 

It has probably not escaped your notice that there have been several new releases in November. First up, Red (Taylor’s Version) rocked the world. Red is probably my favourite Taylor Swift album and it was so exciting to hear those songs in a new way, as well as to get obsessed with the songs from the vault from that era. The Very First Night is such a good dance party song. 

 

30 by Adele also came out and it is glorious. Honestly, glorious. It’s so well written and is just brilliant. But then again what else would we expect from Adele? 

 

I’ve also been listening to Between Us by Little Mix which also came out in November, especially the new tracks included on the album.

 

The Good Omens soundtrack has become one of my new albums to listen to while working. It’s also getting me very excited for the new series! 

 

Favourite watch?


I’ve been watching The Americans but have had a bit of a break to rewatch New Girl for the 15th time. It’s getting a bit sad at this point. 

 

What did I learn?


So much through my time in Glasgow with GNDR that I don’t feel like I can fully express.

 

What’s happening next month?


The taught part of my postgrad finishes, so from then it will just be me and my supervisors and me trying my best to have some kind of structure in my life. And I’ll be visiting my family for Christmas (potential lockdowns allowing)! I’m really looking forward to spending time with them as it has been about four months since I last saw them in person. I’m also buzzing to give my cat a massive squeeze! 

 

I’m also going to be a guest on Remake’s December Community Call – look forward to chatting with any of you who will be attending! 

 

What’s been on my mind?


Frustration at our government, as always. And just trying to get everything done I guess. Hoping that I’ll be able to get back home for Christmas with any more weather or coronavirus issues.  

 

Favourite post?


Definitely Where was Fashion at COP26? I put a lot of time and effort into this piece and it was valuable to me to write to go over the fashion events at COP and reassess where we’re now at. 


 

Biggest inspiration?

 

Honestly, COP. Not the actual event. The governments and officials there can do one frankly. But the people I met and spent time with there are part of GNDR gave me so much energy. I’ve never really had an experience like it and trying to describe it to people has actually been quite difficult. I came home from Glasgow with so much energy, so much joy and so much motivation. The outcomes of the formal conference may not have been inspiring, but the people all around the city were that and so much more. 


 

Any other favourites?


I managed to crack a few tricks with my spinning plate this month and I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of myself (yes, and that includes when I finished my degree). It feels like I’ve been trying and failing and doing tricks with my plate for so long (several months) and now I can’t stop doing them. I may be slightly obsessed and have found a new procrastination method…  




If you like my work and have learned something from it, please consider helping support me (so I have more time to write posts and articles like these!) by buying me a virtual cuppa


If you liked this post you might like: October 2021 | Monthly Wrap Up

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Where Was Fashion at COP26?

Friday, 26 November 2021

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By now, we all know that COP26 was a failure. It feels almost astounding how little it managed to achieve apart from the extent to which it highlighted our world leaders are the major climate hypocrites that they are.


But where was the fashion industry in all this?



At the entrance of the Blue Zone, where all the politicians and official representatives attended and took part in events, panels, and talks, the fashion industry was centre stage with an exhibition created by Sustainable Fashion Scotland Beira and ZWD. This installation, titled Generation of Waste, consisted of eight caged pillars highlighting the textile waste created at each stage of a garment’s life cycle, from design all the way through to its end-of-life. Acting as a parallel to the way national growths and economies are often measured and displayed with these pillars acting as a bar chart together to highlight the urgent need for degrowth and the full extent of fashion’s waste problem. And it is a big waste problem: 144 million tonnes of textile waste generated globally every year. That’s enough to fit 2975 Hydro buildings (COP’s venue).


Not only have Generation of Waste put fashion’s waste crisis directly in front of high-profiled COP-delegates from around the world, they have also been sharing more detailed information on their website (which was linked via a QR code on the exhibition) and social media platforms. For example, did you know that $5.6 million worth of textile waste is generated globally every year as a direct result from the distribution of clothes and that that is the equivalent of employing an additional 400 garment workers in the USA every year? Or can you imagine if the money used to manufacture those clothes in the first place was instead used to play the workers who made them a decent living wage? So many problems would be solved. The figure of only 2% of garment workers worldwide being paid a living wage could be radically transformed if brands took ownership of the waste crisis and pumped the money they spend on clothes that ultimately end up in landfill into the wage packets of their workers. The solution are there waiting for us, we just need them to be set in motion.


Credit: Lateral North

The UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change Progress Report was also launched with updates from its original 2018-iteration at the conference. This pledge signed by +180 brands (notably not by major-offender brands like Boohoo and Shein). One significant part of the pledge includes a commitment for brands to reach net-zeros no later than 2050 and to half their emissions by 2030. As George Harding-Rells highlighted in a recent panel with XR Fashion Action, a lot of brands who have signed the UNFCCC have done so as a means to further greenwash themselves. We see the same brands who time and time again are signing these voluntary agreements but in reality making very little change. Yes, you guessed right, the H&M Group have signed it but are still producing clothes at an astronomic rate. What we’ve not seen with these voluntary commitments is major offender brands like Boohoo and Shein showing any willingness whatsoever to even try to lessen their environmental impacts – and they’re the types of brands we desperately need to be doing more. He also pointed out that many of the signatory brands have made their own net-zero claims in previous years and have done very little to demonstrate their actions are aligning with such commitments, especially around degrowth. If clothing production has more than doubled in the past 15 years, then we need drastic collective action to prevent production rates from escalating even further, let alone reducing them. Even if all the clothes were made using the most sustainable fabrics possible, it would all mean nothing if we continue to produce our clothes at such a high rate.


On the same XR Fashion Action panel, Bel Jacobs looked at the broader greenwashing net-zero pledges allow throughout all industries and government, as a term and commitment which is there to make people feel better about themselves while still emitting carbon at the same or similar levels. We don’t need any more net-zero pledges for 2030 or 2050, we need as little carbon emitted as possible, as soon as possible.


There were also many less formal events organized by grassroots groups all across the city, from information events and open studios, to clothes swaps and mending workshops. Fashion Revolution also had bloc at Global Day of Action March on the first Saturday of the event and were present in the main venue. We know that big fast fashion brands aren’t going to give us the solutions, but the people who were connecting and organising in the outskirts of the venue are the ones who give me hope and energy and who are the ones from whom change will come.


At a recent XR Fashion Action panel event it as highlighted that ‘while some elements of fashion had a large presence at COP, the industry’s enormous reliance on fossil fuels is being consistently ignored by our global political leaders and corporations’. Somehow, COP26 was the first time that the need to put an end to fossil fuels was formally and explicitly recognized by world leaders. Yep, somehow they didn’t think to recognise that at the first COP in 1992. Seems pretty obvious to me but we move. Congrats to world leaders for just managing to realise that fossil fuels are bad. Pat on the back for you.


What we need now is the delegates with power at COP26 to take that now-formal need to dismantle the fossil fuel industry into action – implementing and enforcing legislation around both the fossil fuel and fashion industries and severely limiting how much polyester is manufactured (if any) by fashion brands, as one of the most popular fabrics currently used that just so happens to also be made plastic aka fossil fuels.  At COP, this supposedly came through Textile Exchange Trade Policy Request through which over 50 fashion brands and textile companies called on national governments to take action to encourage the use of environmentally-friendly fabrics and materials, with a particular push against polyester. There is no doubt that we need to cut out polyester from our lives. The fashion industry at the moment uses over 700 million tonnes of oil to go towards the production of polyester – that means there’s more oil used for the production of polyester in fashion than Spain uses as an entire country. However, like the UNFCCC, workers and the people (mostly women) at the heart of the fashion industry are not mentioned. They need to be at the forefront of change.


We have seen time and time again governments ignore calls from campaigners to create change and enforce better workers’ rights standards and take a meaningful stand for the planet. The UK Government has refused to take action in preventing the exploitation of garment workers several times, most recently with Priti Patel claiming that the reason there wasn’t any intervention in the Boohoo sweatshops in Leicester was because of the fear police would be seen as ‘racist’ if they did. Over a year before those allegations came to the mainstream news, the Government failed to implement policy suggestions made in the Environmental Audit Committee’s Fixing Fashion report, published in February 2019. Action then could have prevented further exploitation of marginalised garment workers in Leicester at the very beginning of the pandemic.


In order for true impact to be had on the global stage, governments need to be taking climate justice issues seriously on the domestic level. Host states cannot be preaching about their apparent climate leadership while time and time again proving they are not committed to taking meaningful actions themselves. Fashion needs to be discussed more prominently in conferences like these, and workers’ rights need to be at the forefront of negotiations. The next COP should prioritise unions of workers in previously colonised countries and the voices of indigenous people who are most affected by the climate crisis instead of allowing fossil fuel companies to perpetuate their greenwashing as the largest delegation in attendance.



If you like my work and have learned something from it, please consider helping support me (so I have more time to write posts and articles like these!) by buying me a virtual cuppa


If you liked this post you might like: My Experience with #NoNewClothes and Slow Fashion Season



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