Likewise, I was part of a 3 day conference this week relating to sustainability. The young get it and some of the older people but inside my organisation there needs to be a bigger focus on change.
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“The limits [to beating climate change] are not scientific or technological but political and economic.”
This is good too - why climate scientists themselves are engaging in civil disobedience…
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Yes I saw that, its great to see development.
This is a decent, realistic article as far as it goes - we all need to take these steps, not just with clothes, but with everything: vehicles, travel, gadgets, toys, furniture, etc, etc…
But there’s still an elephant in the room, isn’t there? An economic system based fundamentally on selling more and more stuff (or services)? Do we expect businesses to start asking their customers to buy less ? What then happens to investments ? jobs ?
In short, changes in business and consumer behaviour must be accompanied by political change - there is no choice. Easing employment disruption through universal basic incomes, big investments in public transport and other not-for-profit services, nationalisation of the banks and other financial institutions (private banks, pensions, etc, will collapse without growth), etc, etc.
The real challenge is this: there must be a hugely expanded role for the state - we must preserve the creativity and dynamism of small businesses, but end the remote-shareholder investment-led big-business model (which must be nationalised or turned into social enterprise).
Which is to say we have to completely overturn the dominant political ideology of the last 40 years…
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I think there will be a change and people will go back to buying fewer but better quality products although that will obviously require manufacturers to up their game as regards to reliability. There is a big opportunity here to rid us of the Chinese stranglehold that we’re suffering from now. Alongside buying less ‘stuff’ I can see people wanting more experiences which in turn will boost the entertainment and tourism sectors.
I doubt it very much
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It will be quite a challenge to encourage people to find greater value in ‘better’ than in fresh and exciting things. Experiences may also be a problem because they’ll likely involve travel.
Consumer culture has always seemed very strange to me, who struggles with their conscience to get rid of clothes that are still perfectly good but just a little faded or worn.
Trying to reverse climate change is a challenge but this seems an easy and quick fix although it will affect employment in developing countries.
Why would you get rid of them, then?
I think it seems to be a very UK thing, everyone seems to have new clothes all the time!
Fast fashion exists everywhere Tory and some of the biggest players are European companies, for example Zara from Spain has 2200+ stores worldwide with more in France than the UK.
I generally don’t, but it creates a tension when all you have is faded and worn clothes and that’s not how you want to look.
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Yeah fair point!!! I’m terrible and can’t throw anything out, a hangover from my 20s when we had NO money. As a result I have all sorts of very tatty ‘round the house’ clothes 
must haveva good clear out and work out what I really need to by for work for spring / summer!
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Exactly the same here. Once they get holes in, they’re indoor only clothes. When they rip, they’re gardening clothes. When they fall apart, they’re cut into dusters.
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Not everyone 
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Faded and worn is great. Indeed, classy.
But only if the clothes were good quality in the first place.
Most people have been buying tat that’s sold to the masses and deliberately made to last one season or less.
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When you’ve lived through times when you’ve had nothing or very little, it’s hard to break the habit of being careful. Most of my clothes are probably exactly what you described, the thought of spending £50 on a pair of jeans or £40 on a shirt being unjustifiable.
Much of my kit is at least 5 years old and some more than 10 years.
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