For those of you who do care about the Earth, continue reading. For those who do not care, re-evaluate.
We are living in a pivotal moment, where we can choose the fate of the Earth. We can start building a sustainable and hopeful future for the Earth. Or, you can sit on your Lazy Boy with your plastic water bottle and watch the Earth crumble before your eyes.
Some people will have to make significant changes to their lifestyle, and others may only have to change a little. But the only way to be successful is if we all work together, it sounds cheesy, but it’s true.
You have to ask yourself, are you willing to change so that your grandchildren can live a long and healthy life? Just sit with that.
For those who are willing to change and want a more hopeful future for the Earth, there are sustainable solutions that we can implement into our daily lives. For example, a circular economy.
Some people are familiar with the term circular economy, but most are not. For those who don’t know what it is, I will briefly explain. A circular economy is an economic system aimed at minimizing waste and making the most of resources available. It is a design concept inspired by nature. In nature, everything is recycled and has a purpose. For example, an organism’s feces or decomposing body becomes a source of material and food for other organisms. A circular economy aims to mimic nature; everything can be disassembled and returned to the Earth or become new materials. For a circular economy to be successful, designers must design with intention and choose to use materials that can be recycled, reused, or repurposed. In short, the purpose of a circular economy is that nothing ends up in the landfill.
In most people’s eyes, a circular economy seems impossible or deemed a lifestyle for hippies, but it is not. Thousands of companies around the world are starting to create sustainable items for a circular economy.
Adidas is at the forefront of sustainable innovations. Adidas released a running shoe called Futurecraft.loop. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary running shoe, but it is the first running shoe made from one material. This is significant because a running shoe is typically made from 12 materials, which is almost impossible to recycle. Futurecraft.loop can be returned and made into pellets, which are then reused to create another running shoe. This shoe aims to be 100 percent recyclable and zero waste, embodying the circular economy concept. Adidas is just one of the thousands of companies focused on eliminating waste and the continual use of resources.
Designers worldwide are starting to design with intention and make items that can be reused and recycled instead of going directly to a landfill. Designers, however, are not the only ones who can change the trajectory of the Earth. We, as consumers, have to adapt and change.
Let’s say you enjoy going to H&M because you like their clothing and it is affordable. Unfortunately, H&M is a fast fashion brand that has contributed significantly to the environmental mess. H&M, however, has a sustainable clothing line that is just as fashionable and affordable as their main clothing line but does less environmental damage. If everyone takes a little extra time to research and be a bit more thoughtful, people will realize there’s an abundance of alternative clothing brands that are fashionable and sustainable.
For a circular economy to work, consumers have to be mindful of the products we buy, and designers need to be thoughtful about what they make. All it takes are those first initial steps, whether it is choosing to shop at the H&M sustainable clothing store or wearing The Futurecraft.loop by Adidas. Take the time to research what you are buying and how those items are affecting the environment. If you do this, you will realize that tons of alternative products are just as impressive and do less harm to the environment. By doing this, hopefully, people can get warmed up to a sustainable lifestyle and slowly realize that the circular economy concept is not as scary as it may seem.
What continues to awe me as I learn more about fast fashion is just how much impact a change in mass production could have on the longevity of our Earth. There are companies like H&M, forever 21, and Zara which are putting out so unfathomable amounts of product and turning millions in profit, but they choose to continue to damage the planet. The founders of these organizations are bright, talented people, but are they too selfish to act with greater consideration for the Earth? They have sufficient funds and recourse that make the change towards sustainability well within not reach. If a company like H&M puts brainpower into transforming their ways of mass-producing, other companies will follow their lead, and…
i completely agree that everyone needs to care about the environment and the sad rate that we are projected to have. i think fashion and environmental sustainability are somewhat contradictory and hard to connect. this is because of our society and culture that encourages consumerism and to constantly keep up with the latest trends. while i agree that steps should be made to make clothing items more recyclable and sustainable, i also think our country needs to focus on buying less and minimizing our closet and our possessions. im curious to know your thoughts on if we could change our culture and our societal norms to stop consuming and buying so much unnecessary items, and turn to minimalism.
You offer some really important advice in this piece. I believe it is much more effective for everyone to start off making small changes to become more sustainable, rather than trying to go fully green overnight. I think this is similar to the concept of eating healthy and in moderation rather than going full steam ahead on an extreme diet. I also love that more companies are striving to create a “circular economy," which is such a beautifully elegant idea. With that said, our society needs to act faster in order to avoid catastrophe, and not much is being done to shift financial incentives towards sustainability. I’m skeptical of shopping from H&M’s sustainable line after all the harm they’ve done,…