One million species are at risk and we humans are largely to blame, according to the latest UN biodiversity report. Governments, business and individuals need to act because we are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide, said Sir Robert Watson, chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
We can agitate for governments and business to take action – AND take action ourselves through the everyday choices in what we eat and what we wear. I wrote this Slow Clothing Manifesto back in 2015 to summarise the actions and choices we can take to reduce our material footprint: think, natural, local, quality, few, care, make, revive, adapt, salvage.
It becomes more relevant each year, with each new report on the need for transformative change. The power is in everyone, through everyday choices, to change the culture of consumption to one of conservation. Use what already exists, don’t feel pressured to buy more new, think bigger than yourself.