“Twelve years to limit climate change catastrophe” says The Guardian, followed by a story in the Evening Standard about young women throwing away clothes after one wear because they didn’t want repeat outfits on Instagram.
Together with Stacey Dooley’s BBC3 investigation into the toxic side of clothing industry, my guilt levels about being part of that industry are at their peak.
But still the urgent buy-buy-buy press releases and emergency headlines on customer newsletters keep coming. One from a luxury store that IMHO should have a more restrained tone of voice, this week shrieked at me to: Get It Or Regret It! Shop this week’s best-sellers. The hottest pieces you need to buy now!
This style of writing takes its lead from a decade of hysterical editorial about shopping. A tone of voice that has told female readers several times a day from all its platforms that they will pretty much DIE if they don’t bust their salaries NOW on a designer item or copy of a designer item. And it has fed a frenzy of consumerism that makes the UK the highest consumers of clothing in Europe.
We are in a consumer industry that needs to sell more, grow more, but guys, I think we need to take a breath. Apart from anything else, apart from the damage that it is possibly too late to row back on, consumers are beginning to hear the climate change message.
Everyone involved in the fashion industry needs to calm down and adjust their tone of voice. Be more measured, considered. Let’s not scream about clothes any more.
