Greta Thunberg called for a "system change" in the fashion industry in Vogue Scandinavia. / Greta Thunberg: ethical fast fashion is ‘pure greenwashing’

 

Thunberg calls out climate impact of fashion brands in Vogue interview

9-8-2021

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58145465?at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_campaign=64&at_custom4=813AE07C-F905-11EB-A21C-90ED39982C1E&at_medium=custom7&at_custom3=BBC+News&at_custom2=facebook_page&fbclid=IwAR2IJIBGq00dU-WVtldHLGZxlJfXy4iMsoS0GVsIfjUpkmMFx_EMIa7r744

 

Greta Thunberg called for a "system change" in the fashion industry

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has condemned the fashion industry over its "huge" contribution to climate change, in a magazine interview.

 

Ms Thunberg told Vogue Scandinavia that fashion brands needed to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their products.

 

In a tweet, she accused some companies of "greenwash" ad campaigns designed to make their clothes appear sustainable.

 

Vogue Scandinavia featured Ms Thunberg, 18, on the cover of its first issue.

 

In the interview, Mr Thunberg said she last bought a new item of clothing three years ago and "it was second-hand".

 

"I just borrow things from people I know," Ms Thunberg said.

 

On Sunday she tweeted a picture of Vogue Scandinavia's front cover, which showed her wearing an oversized trench coat while petting a horse in a forest.

 

In the tweet Ms Thunberg - one of the world's best-known climate campaigners - criticised "fast fashion that many treat as disposables".

 

The term "fast fashion" is used to describe the rapid, low-cost production of clothing to service demand for seasonal trends.

 

Calling for a "system change", Ms Thunberg said fashion could not be mass produced and consumed "sustainably as the world is shaped today".

 

The United Nations says the fashion industry is "widely believed to be the second-most polluting industry in the world".

 

It accounts for more than 20% of wastewater globally, the UN says. About 93bn cubic metres of water - enough for five million people to survive - is used by the fashion industry every year.

 

As for carbon emissions, the industry is responsible for about 8% of the total worldwide. That's more than all international flights and shipping combined, the UN says.

 

In response to this, fashion brands have started to take action to reduce their environmental footprint.

 

But environmental campaigners like Ms Thunberg say many of these brands are promoting solutions that only appear to address the problem.

 

These companies are often accused of greenwashing, which is a form of marketing spin designed to mislead consumers about the environmental merits of a product.

 

Who is Greta Thunberg and what are her aims?

Known for her impassioned speeches, Ms Thunberg has become a figurehead for the global climate change movement.

 

Her solo protest outside Sweden's parliament in 2018 inspired millions of young people to join her school climate strike campaign, Fridays for Future.

 

Since then, she has received Nobel Peace Prize nominations and travelled across the Atlantic on a yacht to attend a UN climate conference in New York.

Greta Thunberg: ethical fast fashion is ‘pure greenwashing’

 

The climate activist says that the last piece of new clothing she bought was three years ago

 

Priya Elan

Tue 10 Aug 2021 16.37 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/aug/10/greta-thunberg-ethical-fast-fashion-greenwashing

 

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has used an interview with a top style and culture magazine to call out fast fashion companies for “greenwashing”.

 

In an Instagram post to accompany her appearance on the cover of the first issue of Vogue Scandinavia, Thunberg spoke out about the contradiction between mass produced fashion and sustainability.

 

“Many are making it look as if the fashion industry are starting to take responsibility, by spending fantasy amounts on campaigns where they portray themselves as ‘sustainable’, ‘ethical’, ‘green’, ‘climate neutral’ and ‘fair’,” Thunberg wrote. “But let’s be clear: This is almost never anything but pure greenwashing. You cannot mass produce fashion or consume ‘sustainably’ as the world is shaped today. That is one of the many reasons why we will need a system change.”

 

“The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate-and-ecological emergency,” she continued, “not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposable(s).”

 

In her interview for Vogue Scandinavia, she said: “The last time I bought something new was three years ago and it was secondhand. I just borrow things from people I know.”

 

Thunberg added that there was a misconception around the attitude of activists.

 

“This is some kind of misconception about activists, especially about climate activists that we are just negative and pessimists and we are just complaining, and we are trying to spread fear but that’s the exact opposite,” she said. “We are doing this because we are hopeful, we are hopeful that we will be able to make the changes necessary.”

 

The cover image of the magazine, which shows the activist in a woodland scene petting a horse, was shot by photographer Alexandrov Klum. Vogue Scandinavia is edited by Rawdah Mohamed, the first hijab wearing woman of colour editor at a western fashion magazine.

 

The interview was published after the release on Monday of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report which showed a critical global heating threshold of 1.5C may be breached far earlier than previously expected, potentially within a decade.