Oh, what a night! The 2020 edition of the always fabulous Oscars did not disappoint, and Jane Fonda showed us all a thing or two about conservation as well. This year she stole the show in a gown she debuted six years ago, with a sassy red coat slung over her shoulder.
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Seeing a need for people of influence to use their voices to push some very serious social issues, 82-year-old Fonda has become a powerful activist for the climate crisis. She is a leader of what’s known as “Fire Drill Fridays”, a series of large protests taking place in Washington DC. She has been arrested 5 times in the same red coat she took the stage with. In November of 2019, the coat became a protest of its own. That coat, she vowed, would be the last piece of clothing she’d purchase in her lifetime. (1)
A Recycled Gown Walks The Walk
As an actress, and an activist lending her voice to the climate crisis, it was so important and right-on message that she took this stance. Much of Hollywood’s identity is wrapped up in the latest fashion – always cutting edge, and never the same thing twice. This ideology seems to trickle down to the masses, and fast fashion is a great example of this mindset made manifest. What is fast fashion? It’s basically cut-rate clothing, meant only for this season. Thus, the garments are often cheaply constructed, with lower quality synthetic materials. Fast fashion takes high fashion and puts it in your closet, which sounds kind of cool…until you realize the impact it has on the planet.
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For starters, the fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping, combined. (2) When you start to look at it that way, it becomes difficult to justify tossing an article of clothing after just a few wears. This is why it’s wise of Jane Fonda to take up this particular battle… Hollywood feeds this beast, perhaps more than any other entity.
Fast Fashion’s Deep Impact
Let’s face it, it’s nice to feel put together. New clothes are fun, and dressing yourself in a reasonable facsimile of Scarlett Johansson can have its merits. But it comes at a high environmental price, one we would all do well to understand and take to heart. Whole rivers have turned unnatural colors, thick with dye from nearby factories. (3) Ten percent of all of humanity’s carbon emissions come from the fashion industry. What’s more, 85% of the clothes we buy end up in landfills. And thanks to those cheap, unnatural materials that are being used, washing some garments releases plastic into the environment. (2)
Clothing production in China has almost doubled since 2000, thanks to our insatiable need to keep up with the latest trends. In 2014, the average person bought 60% more clothes than they did in 2000. (2)
It’s clear that something needs to be done, and the answer is that each of us need to decide for ourselves if it’s worth it… if we really need that new thing, or if it’s just a passing fancy.
A Recycled Gown Is Risky
For a Hollywood celebrity, the risk is quite great to take a stand in this way. Image is everything, so choosing to be seen in a gown that’s 6 years old does make a statement. One that is not universally approved of, no doubt. But choosing to own your voice as a celebrity, and leverage it in a way that means something to you, is to understand your power. To take responsibility for that power, and lead the people who look up to you, to a place that’s better for us all.
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Choices like the clothes we wear and the food we eat are all, on some level, making a statement. In many cases, the statement is an echo of inspiration… something we picked up from somewhere else. Inspiration is all around us. Just as the runway helped spawn the fast fashion beast, celebrity voices spoken with conviction can help turn the tide in a new direction.