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They say that knowledge is power. But, that doesn’t mean that you need to pour hours over a book learning about a topic like fast fashion or consumerism. Sometimes, all it takes is a powerful 15 minute TedX talk to add a dash of knowledge to your Sunday afternoon. Of course, some of us are just prone to fall down the rabbit hole of listening to Tedx for an hour or two. As someone who has spent an afternoon watching one sustainable fashion TedX t after another I’d like to share my favorites for their impact, questions posed, questions answered, and insight into how we can live more sustainably through our fashion choices. What is interesting about these talks is that they offer insights from people from various parts of different industries. So, you’ll find professors, activists, and men and women like you and me who have used their passion and platform to inspire others. Enjoy!
“My jeans used 3625 liters of water, 3 kilos of chemicals, 400 megajoules of energy and 13 sq meters of land to grow cotton. I was horrified by this.” ~ Christina Dean
Christina Dean is the founder of the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition and has spent the last decade helping the fashion industry understand how clothes are affecting our lives. Her sustainable fashion TedX talk highlights her research into the fashion industry and how the facts have fueled her mission in the fashion industry.
“How many of you can say with certainty that the clothes you’re wearing right now have not been made in a sweatshop or by child labor? The truth is it’s very hard to know… the clothing supply chain is a complex system.” ~ Trisha Striker
This powerful sustainable fashion talk looks at how ethical clothing can help us say for sure where our clothing comes from. And, by standing by these brands we are standing by our morals and own values when it comes to child labor, pollution and fair trade.
“When I looked into my closet I had 116 t-shirts, 52 pairs of jeans but still I had nothing to wear. I went from buying 6-7 times a month to not shopping for a year.” ~ Gabriella Smith
As founder of The UpCycle Project, Gabriella educates and offers circular solutions for the fashion industry. It’s her way of using her passion for fashion to help design students find creative solutions using deadstock fabrics, recycled materials and textiles such as bedsheets to design for a sustainable future.
“Most of the impact doesn’t really come from the production side. It’s you, it’s me, it’s the consumer.” ~ Jochen Strahle.
Fast fashion is driven by marketing that makes us feel like we need to buy more. But, do we really? And, what happens if we don’t? This talk looks at how fashion’s marketing dollars are impacting our perception about what we think we need to buy and how we can learn to say ‘no’.