How to survive in a world of destructive overproduction
Going from “fashion is dead” to a style rebirth as the reflection of a thoughtful lifestyle involves a renewed education to value. Which, in an era of devastating overproduction and immense confusion, takes time, a lot of time. Also, patience and humble work–getting rid of pointless stuff. And silence rather than loudness and obsessive presence. Because it can be ok to post on social media, but for instance, if designers’ voices speak louder than their product, they are not for us.
The paradox of sustainability
Paradoxically, because of sustainability, buzz increased, yet no change ever happened. Noise, just a lot of noise. Who’s the greenest one? The show is on, but the conversation is demeaning. Thanks to green capitalism, in fact, many individuals found new job opportunities even though it has nothing to do with being sustainable. It’s about making money, not making change. Apart from climate activists, sustainability and green capitalism turned out to be a profitable bandwagon.
Indeed, green brushstrokes seemed very cool. And what’s absurd is that most people buy into it.
Therefore, from the perspective of seeking value and offering value, favouring interactions in smaller communities seems more effective than social media screaming. More real, more human. Fake conversations lead nowhere.
Education to value: what does it mean?
How can you educate yourself to value?
Start by avoiding mass production, mass tourism, and intensive farming. Specifically, in fashion, rediscovering value means developing an understanding and appreciation of good design, as well as learning about quality and artisanal craftsmanship.
Respect workers’ rights and human rights, and care about whether workers receive fair wages.. Above all, it’s essential to work within the planet’s means.
It involves the need to eliminate the garbage that brands try to sell, and not wanting to be part of a system that wants to promote it. Rather than buying pointless stuff, buy nothing at all.
Break the moulds.
Escape marketing slogans,
Search for quality, not quantity.
Because education to value means learning that less is more, even if the rest of the world still follows another direction.