April is the month in which, globally, we focus our awareness on climate change and the environment.
The annual high point is Earth Day on April 22. This is ‘a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national, and local policy changes'. The theme for 2022 is “Invest in our planet”.
It follows hard on the heels of the final report released by the UN panel on climate change, which brought us the dire news that the world is “perilously close” to irreversible climate change, and human activity is “indisputably” the cause.
THE FASHION INDUSTRY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 10% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL EMISSIONS.
This is more than all international flights & maritime shipping combined - according to worldbank.org
It is a difficult but unavoidable fact that the fashion sector is one of the biggest contributors to climate change – both in production and consumption.
A recent report in The Guardian presents some alarming statistics. The authors state that clothing production has doubled over the past 15 years.
They warn that unless things change fast, by 2050, the fashion industry could use a quarter of the world’s remaining global carbon budget for keeping warming under 2 °C. It could also use 35 % more land to produce fibers by 2030.
How we act now will shape the future!
Responsible consumers and producers are embracing the fact that we need to consume less and more consciously. In other words, we need to embrace the circular economy in all aspects of consumption, including fashion.
The European Parliament defines the circular economy as a model of production and consumption involving ‘sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible.’ This extends the life cycle of a product and reduces waste to a minimum.
Earth day is a time for us to reflect on the impact of our consumption, be it fashion, construction, or manufacturing. What are we doing to give back to our planet?
south african female-led sustainable brands you need to know
To celebrate Earth Day we are showcasing South African Female-led sustainable brands that you need to know about.
VISUAL DAY
Creates handmade illustrations, personalized artwork, and clay earrings.
"I have always dreamt of creating jewelry for people. Something whimsical and artsy, that stood out from the rest. I want my customer to feel different wearing my design, I want them to be asked “where did you get those”, they should feel special and magical wearing my designs.
I hope to make every woman feel something wearing my earrings, if its strength, power, flair, boldness, or passion, I want them to feel it. - Dayna De Wet, Founder
SHE GROOVES
Handcrafted, fashion-forward pieces that are customizable, from the specific sizing to the fabric.
"You basically building your individual style and your brand" - Tiané Brand, Founder
Yo coco
A dairy-free ice cream brand that makes use of as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.
"I started this fun trip of Yococo in 2016 in her apartment, with the help of a few strangers from the building elevator who dared to come to taste the ice cream in its infancy.
I wanted to create something that will be completely vegan friendly and have a strong intention of love, what this means is the ingredients had to be meaningful which is why we loosely base them on the 7 chakras and color therapy and the packaging also had to be environmentally friendly and be fun! We are on a mission to serve love through scoops!" - Sine Ndlela, Founder
SAPPY LABEL
A sustainable fashion brand that uses readily available fabrics to create artistic designs making each item unique
"Style means, looking different, looking unique, still being on-trend and feeling great and feeling sustainable wherever you can" - Roberta Van Wyk, Founder
SANIC
Sanitizing powder for mattresses, couches, carpets & pet beds.
"I have an unusual amount of knowledge about mattresses because of my father, who ran a company that retailed them. South Africans (of which I am one), spend an average of 7 hours and 20 minutes in bed — almost a third of one’s life. With all of that time spent in bed, do you know how few people clean their beds? " - Kate Dales - Founder
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