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The Island In The Desert

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Have you ever wondered where our textile waste ends up?


Talking about the cost of fast fashion and the madness of disposable items can be upsetting and frustrating. No one wants to listen.

We could define it as a hidden cost, assuming people do not see it directly. Except that there’s nothing hidden anymore. And so, we call it the true cost because it happens before our eyes. Although, people refuse to see it intentionally.

To illustrate the abnormity, perhaps a visual image helps awaken the conscience more than words.

Atacama desert in Chile - fast fashion leftovers
Atacama desert in Chile – fast fashion leftovers

Here, in front of your eyes, is the Atacama desert in Chile, the driest desert in the world. And that is an island of discarded clothing, including Christmas sweaters and ski boots, piling up in the desert. Horribly revealing the cost of fast fashion.

Chile is a hub for secondhand and unsold clothing coming from all over the world. USA, Europe and Asia. Approximately 59,000 tons of garments arrive there every year. Clothing merchants buy part of it, but the majority, about 39,000 tons, end up in rubbish dumps in the desert.

That happens because those garments contain chemicals and are not biodegradable, therefore not accepted in the municipal landfill.

The cost of fast fashion


We wonder what’s going to happen over time. Do you still feel ok with fast fashion and disposable goods?

On Monday, we posted about the need to shift our consumption habits. After reading this, the sense of urgency becomes imperative. It doesn’t need any further explanation.

Educating ourselves towards thoughtful consumption habits is fundamental. If brands don’t produce items made to last, we don’t buy from them!
Stop overconsumption. Stop purchasing disposable items. That is how we bring our contribution.

We know that expecting a change from brands is an illusion, yet it’s just a way to exclude ourselves from the game. If we pretend we do not play an active role, we hide our responsibilities.

On the contrary, we have to educate ourselves in order to become conscious and make intentional choices.

Break the loop. Take action now!

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Black Friday and The Promotion Spam

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Exploring the overload of discounts and endless sales


Retailers spam promotion, and if Black Friday was not enough, now there’s early black Friday too!

The distribution model clings to this tactic as if it were the only way to capture attention. Forget evolution from brands and retailers. Educating people towards an improved and conscious consumption model is not on their agenda. Just not worth it to them.

Obsessive promotions are the result of a hyper-saturated market driven by overproduction. And the lower the product quality, the higher the markup—enabling discounts (real or fake?) of up to 70%. But the illusion of a great deal remains intact.

Heavy discounts and obsessive promotions are indicators of a sick system.
The environmental impact fostered by Black Friday and never-ending promotions is really huge. Not to mention the ethical implication, if you do not pay the full price of products, someone will pay for it. So we go back to the disturbing modern-day slavery practice.

As a matter of fact, there is too much of everything, and our blind habits contribute to feeding this vicious cycle, which has no way out.

Black Friday & promotions spam - Image of a shopping bag - Pointless shit
Image via: drops of devotion – Tumblr

The solution to Black Friday & obsessive promotions


Is it possible we cannot find a better system? Can we move beyond Black Friday and the promotion spam?

In fact, the solution is a distribution model that abandons large quantities to shift towards good quality. A sustainable production system that grants proper living wages and limits its impact on the environment. Things made to last and healthier consumption habits.

In this balanced context, promotions and discounts would be necessarily limited.

In short, changing attitude is a necessity. We started from us first, adjusting our activity to an evolved lifestyle. So, we offered a thoughtful consumption model represented by a capsule selection of quality pieces.

We don’t lure consumers by offering wild discounts. But, we try to educate ourselves and our audience on meaningful consumption.

We respect people, and we understand the worth of their work. We appreciate the products we select. We value quality, and we value our customers.

Modern humans are conscious consumers. Say no to Black Friday! We don’t need all that stuff.

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Climate Change, Fashion Taskforce and Private Jets

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Industry responsibility, and environmental impact


Climate change is the alarming issue we discuss frequently, but the sad irony behind the latest news is creepy.

G20 and COP26 – the world leaders meetings to address climate change represented the bla bla bla we are used to hearing. Words, not facts. In some cases, they offered us something to laugh about with their sleepy faces. Even if there’s nothing to laugh about, in fact, we should only cry for what we did to our planet, as it wasn’t our source of life.

Does it make sense to discuss Joe Biden flying on his jet to Rome and then to Glasgow? Is that the point? How about the other 400 VIP jets that landed in Glasgow for the occasion? The problem wasn’t Joe Biden’s flight. The problem was all of them gathering together – 400 flights for a climate change summit! That is ridiculous!

To make it really sustainable, wasn’t it better to arrange a zoom meeting? Perhaps they had some problem with their wi-fi. Or maybe, world leaders intended to make it appear more spectacular to make us believe they are doing it for real. And so, they needed more impressive backgrounds than computer screens.

climate change: image of the artwork Killing me softly by Gianluca Traina - showing a planet earth melting
Killing me softly – by Gianluca Traina


The agreement: -30% gas emission by the end of the decade, and a halt to deforestation by 2030.

it’s truly disheartening that China, India, and Russia didn’t show up. They can say whatever, but if the biggest polluters are unwilling to sit at the table and openly find a solution, we have lost at the start.

As a matter of fact, after the Paris agreement in 2015, nothing positive followed. On the contrary, a lot of bad events occurred.
That is the demonstration that capitalism will never change, and money rules even when the house is burning.

At G20 in Rome, Prince Charles guiding a Fashion Taskforce, launched the idea of the Digital ID: a digital passport that carries all the information of a garment in order to provide transparency and traceability.

Although they are the Illuminati, those who created the problem cannot be the solution. All the businessmen with skin in the game have no interest in real change.

Eventually, Draghi thanked the climate activists. And undoubtedly, that is the pathway to follow: make the change and trust ourselves, not the world leaders.

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Belief and Bias – Teatro Litta

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Confirmation: challenging your beliefs through a show


Confirmation is the title of a brilliant play we saw last week at Teatro Litta, that challenges belief and bias. We received the invitation from a friend we made through our boutique, and it seemed like something different.

The sentence on the invitation was so intriguing:

“If we only try to confirm the things we think we know, then there is a whole sphere of possibility that we will never allow ourselves to know.”

The play was written by Chris Thorpe in collaboration with Rachel Chavkin and translated into Italian by Jacopo Gassman. Directed by Claudio Autelli and played by Woody Neri.

In shaping an intersection between solo and conference show, Thorpe set off an exploration to understand how we build our beliefs.

The text develops around a series of research on confirmation bias. In short, we tend to form our ideas, mental schemes, and relationships starting from prejudice – the confirmation bias.

A show that challenges your beliefs


Undertaking a dialogue with the public, the performer prompts us to find a link on a short sequence of numbers. That is to explain how easily we tend to find confirmation of something we already know. Then, the investigation evolves in a conversation with a far-right extremist aiming to find common ground.

“We could have similar tastes. For different reasons, we could both prefer the same local bar rather than supporting capitalism and big chains.”

The performer piques opposing political sides, and on this point, it’s obvious that a thoughtful interaction among the parts is crucial. But, when he enters into the dialogue with an extremist who is a racist, white-suprematist and holocaust denier, we have to admit that the interaction gets complicated.

The conversation is both real and imaginary, and it pushes those who have liberal ideas to the limits keeping the audience on the hook. Indeed, more than an hour and a half passed like a bolt, mind-blowing. We couldn’t believe it was already over.

See the show, read the book.

This challenge to our beliefs and biases is a good exercise for our contemporary time.

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Modern Slavery: The Hypocrites

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Enes Kanter exposes Nike’s hypocrisy on forced labour and Uyghur Minority


Modern slavery is a topic we frequently discuss because it is horrific and unacceptable. What concerns us even more is the hypocrisy surrounding it.

Brands are the new gods. Sell people a famous name, and in return, you’ll get silence and blindness.

However, as members of an evolved society, we cannot turn our heads to the other side pretending nothing happens.

The system of exploitation, built on forced labor and minority oppression, is directly linked to superbrands. Not only fashion brands, to make it clear. Indeed, every field finds benefit and – profit – in this rotten practice. In fact, there’s no better way to maximise profit.

Though we are just a drop in the ocean, we believe it’s crucial to voice our thoughts and help raise awareness about this issue.
While popular magazines have highlighted it, many people simply don’t engage with written content. People don’t like reading. Or they don’t care enough about things that do not affect them personally. Which, by the way, is a scary attitude.

So, how can we make the message resonate with a large audience?

modern slavery - via Enes Kanter
Modern Slavery – via Enes Kanter


Here comes Enes Kanter, an NBA player. We admit we know nothing about the sport he plays. Zero. But that’s not the point. In fact, we admire him for his bravery in showing up consistently in support of human rights. For many that tend to hide, there are a few who talk out loud.

And so, it was with immense pleasure that we saw his recent posts about the Uyghur minority, forced labour camps and brands hypocrisy, asking Nike’s accountability.

We need more brave humans like Enes Kanter to speak the truth to reach the masses. Just like we need more people that open their eyes and feel touched. Fundamentally, we must find a way to put an end to labour exploitation.

Hypocrite Nike - via Enes Kanter
via Enes Kanter


In conclusion, if as humans, all we have done is invent new forms of slavery to satisfy our fake needs, then we have failed.

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