By Sarah Gill
“Y’all ready to save the ocean or nah?”
The fact that fashion is the second dirtiest industry in the world, with oil as the leading pollutant, shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. Recently, words like ‘fast fashion’ and ‘sustainability’ have been on everyone’s lips. From watching documentaries like The True Cost to reading headlines as we scroll through our timelines, we’re all aware of the problem, but not so sure about a solution.
American singer and songwriter SZA is using her platform to help make a difference. The ‘Love Galore’ singer has an anti-plastic street wear line in the pipeline, with 100% of the profits going towards sustainability efforts. The designs will feature slogans like ‘Sustainability gang’ and ‘Puck Flastic’ alongside seahorses and whales.
I feel like as humans, we are empathetic in the extreme, but find it easy to push these concerns for the planet to the back of our mind when we see a nice top in Zara. We feel sad and ashamed when we see pictures of the polluted oceans or read about harrowing tales of a dead whale being found with 40kg of plastic in its stomach, but the task of reducing our plastic usage seems like too much of a commitment for so many.
That’s why people like SZA, whose reach and influence is incredibly wide-stretching, can help change the narrative. She is not the first to use her influence to help save the planet. Will.i.am launched a range of Eko Cycle products back in 2015 made entirely from sustainable materials. Also in 2015, Pharrell Williams lent his voice to an i-D documentary entitled The Plastic Age.
Tear your gaze away from online influencers and bloggers who devote far too much time to clothing hauls and promoting fast fashion outlets and start following people who want to make a difference. Whether it’s reducing your meat intake, reducing your plastic use or reducing the amount of non-sustainable clothing you purchase, you can contribute to making a change.
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