Our current relationship with clothes is having a catastrophic impact on both people and planet
We need to rethink how we design, make, wear and reuse our clothes
The current pandemic has forced the industry to come to a halt: with shops closed, orders cancelled and factories shut, now is the time to reimagine the fashion industry
How can a greener, fairer and more sustainable industry emerge from this crisis?
The UN Sustainable Development Goals offer a blueprint for rebuilding a truly sustainable textile industry, which balances the needs of business, people and planet.
Join us as we re-imagine a better fashion future.
Welcome to the
WARDROBE CHANGE: Reimagining Fashion podcast series!
In this podcast series, Kerry Bannigan of the Conscious Fashion Campaign, supported by the United Nations Office for Partnerships, will be joined by leading designers, innovators and experts to explore the potential for the fashion industry to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Set in the context of the current pandemic, this four-part series delves into the impacts of fashion waste and highlights the need to rethink how we design, make, wear and re-use our clothes for a more sustainable future for people and planet
Episode 1
More clothing is being produced, consumed, and thrown away than ever before. This is putting immense pressure on both people and our planet. At the same time, the textile industry will have a major role to play in ensuring the SDGs are realised by 2030.
Episode 1 offers an overview of fashion’s relationship with the SDGs, highlighting the key obstacles and opportunities for the industry. Set in the context of the current pandemic, it highlights the need to move away from a ‘take – make – discard’ model to a truly circular fashion economy.
Host:
Kerry Bannigan, Conscious Fashion Campaign
Guests:
Carrie Ann Moran (Fashion Revolution Ireland)
Lynn Wilson (Circular Economy Wardrobe)
Click here to view the Show Notes
Episode 2
For decades, the culture of fast fashion has promoted irresponsible consumption patterns that lead to huge amounts of waste.
The current pandemic has put an abrupt halt to our consumption habits. Without the option to rush out and buy new clothes, we now need to learn how to make our clothes last.
Episode 2 focuses on how to ‘love your wardrobe’ by caring more for our clothes, being resourceful, and finding creative ways to use what we already have.
Host:
Kerry Bannigan, Conscious Fashion Campaign
Guests:
Emma Gleeson (Stuff Happens)
Geraldine Carton & Taz Kelleher (Sustainable Fashion Dublin)
Click here to view the Show Notes
Episode 3
Europeans throw away 2 million tonnes of textiles each year. But do we really know what happens to our clothing when we donate them to charity shops and textile recycling banks?
Episode 3 looks at the ‘afterlife’ of our clothes, the effects that over-consumption is having on the charity shop sector, and the social & environmental impacts of exporting huge quantities of our fashion waste to the Global South.
Host:
Kerry Bannigan, Conscious Fashion Campaign
Guests:
Linda Ward, Irish Charity Shop Association
Alex Musembi, Africa Collect Textiles
Caitriona Rogerson, Irish Environmental Network
Click here to view the Show Notes
Episode 4
With shops closed, orders cancelled and factories shut, the whole textile world has come to a standstill. COVID19 has brought an unexpected halt to the familiar production and consumption patterns, and offers an opportunity to reflect on how a greener, fairer and more sustainable industry can emerge from this crisis.
Looking into the future, this episode looks at alternatives to the fast fashion model, and explores how the SDGs can offer a blueprint to rebuild a truly sustainable textile industry which works for business, people and planet.
Host:
Kerry Bannigan, Conscious Fashion Campaign
Guests:
Carrie Ann Moran, Fashion Revolution Ireland
Emily Macintosh, European Environmental Bureau
Carlos Rohrer, Sharedrobes
Click here to view the Show Notes
Publications
New policy paper on textiles in Ireland
‘The Sustainable Development Goals & the Fashion Industry’ outlines ten key policy recommendations to be considered by the Irish government in order to drive change in the textile industry and ensure a more sustainable future for people and planet.
European Civil Society Strategy for Fair & Sustainable Textiles
A broad coalition of social and environmental NGOs has developed a Civil Society European Strategy for Sustainable Textiles, Garments,
Leather and Footwear outlining their key recommendations ahead of the EU’s upcoming Textiles Strategy.
Click here for the Executive Summary.
Click here for the full report.
Click here for the Graphic Summary.
Film
TEXTILE MOUNTAIN
The Hidden Burden of our Fashion Waste
*Launching May 2020*
Europeans throw away 2 million tonnes of textiles each year. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned.
Many of us donate our unwanted clothes to charity shops & clothing collection banks – but do we really know what happens to them then?
Globally, 70% of our donated clothing is baled and sold to textile merchants who ship them overseas for resale in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Textile Mountain exposes the social and environmental cost of the second hand clothing trade, tracing the path of our unwanted garments from recycling bins in Europe to landfills and waterways in the Global South.
Shot in Kenya, Ireland and Belgium, this short film calls on us to re-imagine the way the way we design, wear and reuse our clothes – so that our fashion waste no longer becomes another country’s burden.
Visit www.textilemountainfilm.com for more
‘There is no such thing as ‘away’. When you throw something away, it must go somewhere’.
– Annie Leonard