XR
FA
ABOUT
ABOUT
WHO WE ARE
WHO WE ARE
We are a group within Extinction Rebellion who have worked and studied within various facets of the fashion industry.
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We appreciate the creativity that can be embodied and expressed via our clothing;
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We understand the planet is buckling under ecological collapse, and we have been distressed and angered by fashion’s impact;
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We want to see the industry use its platform to help save all life on earth and protect those on the frontline of climate and ecological collapse.
WHAT WE DO
WHAT WE DO
XR Fashion Action seeks to reclaim the power of fashion to address
the crisis we are in.
We don’t protest fashion but that style and creativity are co-opted by industry to sell us products we don’t need, profiting at the expense of people, planet and animals.
We challenge the industry to stop the cycle of overproduction and overconsumption that threatens those that least contributed to it, predominately the global south and all youth, whose future is at stake. We ask the industry to join us in using its power of persuasion to tackle the climate and ecological crisis in a meaningful and just way.
The time for business as usual is over but the communicative force of fashion is not. We need it now, more than ever.
WHY FASHION
WHY FASHION
We all know about the devastating cost of the fashion industry, from the use of resources, carbon emissions, water, chemicals and pesticides, to the accumulation and poor handling of waste, to the exploitation and oppression of farmers, workers and global south communities.
The fashion industry is destructive to the core, taking our self worth and self confidence hostage, capitalising our bodies and controlling our minds. It persuades us we need these things to be worthy. It is consumerism’s holy grail. But as the visual communication of our identity, it is a powerful tool for cultural change. It dictates what’s in and what’s out and that doesn’t have to be negative.
We can use it for positive change.
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(BUT) ISN’T IT JUST FAST FASHION THAT’S TO BLAME?
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This is not just a problem of fast vs slow or big companies vs small companies, sustainable vs conventional. This is a call to action for the whole industry to get behind XR’s demands and realise that however much good certain brands are doing, only drastic legislative change will result in a fashion industry that doesn’t cost the earth. And for consumers, this is a call to action to detach from a culture of excess and pressure the industry to do more. Whilst fast fashion is highly problematic, we believe the issues with the industry are wider spread. By targeting fast fashion only, we are, for example, letting luxury fashion off the hook when waste and excess are rife in this sector too. An industry built on excess, obsolescence and waste should be questioned in all aspects. We must also be careful to not put blame on consumers who lack the privilege, knowledge and access to make the choices that are more sustainable. By targeting fast fashion only, we may be indanger of doing so.