OCTOBER 27, 2023
Editors' notes
What to wear for a climate crisis
by Rachael Wallis, The Conversation
When people move to the country from the city, they need to change their wardrobes, my research on tree-changers in Australia found. The new context of their lives means the clothes they wore for the city no longer work for their new lives. This is also true in the climate crisis.
Our context has changed. When we decide what clothes to buy, we now need to bring into play a wider range of values than the appearance of a garment, its newness and novelty and whether we like it or not. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states, if we are to have any hope of avoiding a world that is too hot and unpredictable to live in, we need to do everything we possibly can, right now, to cut greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
The fashion industry contributes up to 10% of global emissions—more than international aviation and shipping combined. It also contributes to biodiversity loss, pollution, landfill issues, unsafe work practices and more.
Australia's carbon footprint from the consumption and use of fashion is the world's biggest, a dubious distinction in a materialistic world.
https://phys.org/news/2023-10-climate-crisis.html
