CategoriesSustainabilityby

Eco-anxiety: Developing a coping mechanism

If you are an eagle freak then you might know what it is like when one experiences eco-anxiety. “Eco-anxiety” refers to persistent worries about environmental damage caused by certain human activity or climate change and so on. It refers to a feeling of helplessness post learning about climate change. We often come across some nerve-wracking news articles on climatic incidents which generate a certain amount of anxiety. Being aware of the environmental crisis is essential but, it usually associates with anxiety, feeling helpless, or feeling sad.

“As a maker, I feel overwhelmed too after learning about the environmental effects caused by the fashion industry. Sometimes, the anxiousness takes a toll when I see news articles on climate change and its adverse effects on the future. It creates a sort of panic. I even start to question the need for manufacturing garments and many associating things as we are doubling down on products that already exist. Making a product with purpose seems very difficult at times when I think of the effects caused by human actions on earth.”

“So, after being in such a situation I slowly developed some coping techniques that helped me reduce my eco-anxiety. I would be sharing some of my go-to tips when it comes to coping with such emotions.”

  • Acknowledging both sides of the coins-

“The first step in solving a problem is to recognise that it exists.”

– Zig Ziglar

Instead of getting overwhelmed by the information, we must see the pros and cons of our actions. From a maker’s point of view, we measure our steps anticipate the consequences while we do our design process and manufacture our products. Purpose behind every product becomes our action step to tackle our emotions.

Sustainability is a process and it can be achieved when we become more decisive about our product range and the way we manufacture it.
We can subtract actions that cause adverse effects on the environment.

We try to procure and make our products from our own city, this helps us reduce our carbon footprint. Procuring and manufacturing locally has been instrumental as we follow the path of ethical practices.

  • Finding new approaches- Having a perspective helps to reduce anxiety. Observing other people’s work and getting inspired has helped in a way to sail through rough waters. There are many inspiring stories that become like a survival guide to other people. Local businesses with different ideas, narrating unique stories to achieve sustainable lifestyle can fetch us the motivation to generate ideas.
  • Associate> Collaborate> Educate- As makers we educate ourselves by joining hands with local craftsmen and learn from them. Traditional methods often help us understand how to become more conscious with the design process. Association with such intellects can feed our brains with ideas and we feel that things can be in control. We don’t feel lost or overwhelmed with what is happening in our surroundings. So, associating with local craftsmen, collaborating with them and educating ourselves and others is one of the action plan that helped to deal with eco-anxiety.
  • Know your reach- When we know our capability we can achieve our goals and feel less anxious. It grounds us when we accept that many things are out of our control so the next time when we come across “Only 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe” we would not panic and continue with our small contributions to achieve our little goals.
  • Contribute in your way- When we start small we can develop our lifestyle. Narrating your story, making changes, acting over-worrying is the actual solution! We can stay authentic to ourselves and see the change which we wish to see!

We believe strongly that in the world of too much information, we should try to find ways to cope with our emotions. We should have a solution-inclined mindset instead of alarming someone’s anxiety. We hope you find this blog helpful. We hope you find solutions to cope with the current times in your own way. Let us know your thoughts on your own coping mechanism so we can learn from each other.

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CategoriesSustainabilityby

Spot the difference- Sustainability or Greenwashing?

The increasing amount of buzz around the word sustainability has given a rise to greenwashing. It is often seen that fast-fashion brands following unethical practices spend more money on marketing their eco collections than actually taking steps to implement ethical practices. So, let us take a look about false marketing strategies.

What is greenwashing?

Greenwashing is forging a false brand image through campaigns about their sustainable measures so that consumers are attracted to the brand and feel that they have saved the planet by buying a product. Fast-fashion brands produce a large amount of garments and then label it as sustainable. The strategy involves bombarding the idea of protecting environment through these collections. This creates a bubble for consumers to make them less guilty about excessive buying/purchase from fast-fashion brands.

What is the purpose behind greenwashing?

Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good.

Jochen Zeitz

Sustainability is the destination so, to achieve the same brands have to take several measures, follow ethical practices to achieve a sustainable model. It takes lot of efforts to create a sustainable model. But often, fast-fashion brands portray that they have achieved sustainability within little time and advertise the same to gain attention.

There are several incidents wherein few fast fashion brands were called out for their unethical practices. So, to save their wrongdoing many fast fashion brands have adopted greenwashing as a tool to pretend to come out clean after serious incidents or after being called out by the people and media. This led to a drop in their sales so brands started greenwashing consumers with their Conscious Collections and false campaigns to project or market their so called sustainable clothes. Deceitful marketing campaigns were made in order to restore consumer’s faith in fast-fashion brands again.
Sustainable Campaigns create a false image that the fast-fashion brand has considered the problem/ unethical practice and is implementing on the same. They usually make a lot of claims as they market their products, but in reality, the implementation is either minimal or missing.

How to identify between greenwashing and sustainability?

Identifying between greenwashing and sustainability is necessary, it could be subtle or very evident. Greenwashing can be identified by few characteristics. Greenwashing may look like this:

  1. Ambiguous: Campaigns may just throw around some buzz words like “eco-friendly”, “green” etc., and would ignore the actual problem and create confusion.
  2. False claims: Fast-fashion brands can claim things like “recycled polyester” dress or so, whereas in reality it is not recycled it is just polyester fibre. Coining words or claims with no evidence is a sign of greenwashing.
  3. False certifications: Phrases like “certified by “some vegan website”, non-toxic, vegan are deceiving, there has to be evidence on how brands work behind the scenes. It is hard to trust phrases and certificates when the products are no different from any other brands in the market.
  4. Ignoring major problems: Focusing on few sustainable elements and ignoring major issues can also be a red flag. Brands will focus on different sustainable aspects and ignore the ones which they were called for.
  5. Plain Lying: Usually brands name garments like sustainable shirt, or dress which further do not elaborate on how it is sustainable is also one of the keys to greenwashing.

Brands who follow sustainable practices will reflect through different ways, they will demonstrate their process in unique way to reassure their claims. Specifying how they have achieved a “sustainable” range is the important when we differentiate between greenwashing and sustainability.

How can we educate ourselves and bring change?

Understanding is the key!

Buying a sustainable t-shirt would not save the planet, reusing will. Not falling for coined phrases and marketing gimmicks will get us a step closer to the truth. As consumers checking the fabric and quality of a garment can tell the truth. Buying less/ in moderation will lead to less demand and less demand will lead to less/ moderate production.

“I believe that staying informed and investing in good-quality clothing can help in long run. Awareness will help diminish greenwashing practices. Consumers need to stay informed so they do not fall prey to greenwashing. Being mindful is necessary, looking beyond labels or claims will fetch us the real image of any brand. An aware consumer can definitely spot the difference between greenwashing and sustainability.”

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