Sufficiency in fashion policy is a hot topic, like sex for teenagers
Everyone is talking about doing it but nobody is quite sure how
If you are curious about or actively following the development of the EU regulations for textiles and fashion, you may know that one of the biggest elephants in the room (and I borrow this metaphor from colleagues at OsloMet) is how to address the root cause of the current mess, which is overproduction of stuff.
How, indeed?
Can we just ask companies nicely to make less crap? If a recent newly announced strategy of H&M is any indication, this wouldn’t work.
Could we put a ban on something? An immediate “free trade” backlash smacks us right in the face for even daring to think this way.
Could we boycott them as consumer-citizens? Yes, ok, but should consumers really be bearing the responsibility for changing the system…
A bit over a week ago, I was part of a great round table discussion organized, by invitation, by several Brussles-based environmental NGOs, including ECOS, European Environment Bureau and Zero Waste Europe - where we presented the results of six months work on mainstreaming sufficiency in policies around textiles and fashion. There was a great crowd, many researchers (which melted my heart), a few policy makers and many great people doing fantastic work on the ground. And we talked A LOT about sufficiency…
What the fudge is sufficiency, you may ask? Here’s a short answer:
I discuss sufficiency in fashion in more detail in the post and video below, with references to how these principles could be mainstreamed in policy, at a conceptual level (because, I mean, even there we have very little idea on how to move forward). I also share some behind the scene insights and ideas that didn't make it to the Round table because they were… well… too radical even for this very radical gathering:)
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