In this latest edition of FashMash Pioneers, Lucy Siegle, discusses action in the fashion sector across environmental and social issues.
When it comes to influence, Lucy Siegle is a leading name in sustainable fashion. Author, journalist and opinion leader, she has been instrumental in shaping the narrative around fashion's role within the climate and ecological crisis.
She joined us earlier this month as our latest FashMash Pioneers speaker, imparting her knowledge and calling out the industry for not taking greater action when it comes to wider change. She covered everything from the disconnect on social justice to greenwashing, the cost of living crisis, influencers and beyond.
See the full interview via YouTube above, and read on for some of the highlights:
ON SOCIAL JUSTICE
“Any chance people get, they will just talk about the environmental impact. It's easier for them… there are a lot more metrics available… We talk about a transition from fossil fuels to renewables all the time, but we don't really talk about the transition from poverty to living wage and what that looks like and how we would model it. People just think at their core it's impossible.”
ON PROGRESS (OR LACK THEREOF)
“There's a meta issue, which is capitalism, and I think that it underpins all of the work [that has been done]. It frames it in an unhelpful way; it sort of boxes it in. There's a fashion system that's creating profits… So there's never been any incentive for fashion to change. And that’s a sad thing to hear, but it's probably true.”
ON THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS
“Ultimately, I think what isn't addressed is the fact [ultra fast fashion is] pumping out clothes that are made of synthetics, which are really plastic waste. And you know, we'll pick up the tab for that, and in a cost of living crisis, where councils are going to be under unprecedented pressure and cutting services left, right and centre when people really need them, I think that will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
ON ASPIRATION
“Where could we actually affect change, whereas where do we aspire to affect change? And yeah, fashion has always been about aspiration. Maybe that is the thing that needs to change.”
FashMash Pioneers is sponsored by Klaviyo.