sustainability

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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The Fashion Debate

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Old systems, false progress, and mixed messages


The fashion debate that follows the shows navigates oscillates between clinging to the same old system and pretending to embrace new ways. The interviews recently released seemed to send nonsensical messages. Indeed, it’s easy to notice a glaring lack of consistency. Words fail to align with actions, creating a disconnect that reverberates like a short-circuit in the industry.

However, if we want to change for the better, understanding what’s going on in the fashion field is fundamental. So, we have to analyse designers’ messages and perhaps, read between the lines.

The debate highlights


On the one hand, the runways were all about merchandising. With the fashion shows, designers promoted a compelling ‘shop now’ message – more than ever. Proposals perfectly aligned to the pre-pandemic era, with no interruption regarding the lexicon.

On the other side, they are releasing interviews about sustainability. Some send ethical messages, eco-friendly references. While some others are talking about couture as a decisive strategy.

And so? What is the sense in that?

To be clear, it’s one way or the other—otherwise, the fashion debate is pointless!
Designers have to choose on what side they are on. A brand cannot produce tons of goods and then feel better because they select some sustainable materials. Or because they also have a couture line that, maybe one day, will save the world. In case the world shifts its direction for real. Yet in the meantime, they push for over-consumption.

The choice is between overproduction or couture, mass-market versus lesser productions. It’s one or the other.
Focus on pure merchandising or conscious proposals, one or the other.
Empty marketing claims to show to the world how ethical or sustainable they suddenly became versus providing value and beautiful collections.
Again, between fostering the status quo or having the courage to start something new. It is one or the other.

They can’t have it both ways.
The two ingredients don’t fit on the same plate.

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Awakening: Social and Ethical Consciousness

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Exploring the impact of modern issues on personal responsibility and collective action


Awakening means developing your consciousness – ethical and social – in order to become a better human.

Awakening is an intentional choice. Indeed, it is the act of opening our eyes to realise what happens inside and around us. Once we understand the reality, the damage we have caused to other people and the environment, awakening follows.

Therefore, we become aware that acting without considering the consequences – in other words, acting without a long-term ethical vision – is not a worthy choice.

Awakening requires our eyes to see, our brain to think and pay attention, freeing our conscience to emerge. For instance, we reach a higher level of consciousness by reading books, essays, or newsletters. Following thoughtful leaders. Interacting and sharing ideas in a community. Perhaps we could list other ways, but honestly, meditation is not our field of knowledge.

Ultimately, awakening is free.
So, you can pay someone to turn on the light for you, but then the process is yours, and no one can do it for you.

How does it all connect to fashion?
Believe us, it does. Fashion, as a reflection of our society, is part of a system based on exploitation. Part of the world is living at the expense of others and the planet.

The result of awakening is that we are no longer satisfied with this system. We cann’t take it as it is. So, we want to bring about change.

How do we do it?


We do it by offering you a thoughtful selection. By intentionally choosing fewer items – only what we really need. Unique pieces. By no longer conforming to fashion rules but instead being active agents of change. By infusing our own vision and values. More is not the answer. Rather, less but better with more ethical choices.

How do fashion brands do it?
Smaller production runs, higher quality, and shorter and adequately paid work chain. No sales, just real, balanced value. No modern slavery serving fast fashion.

How do you do it?
Consume less. Choose wisely.

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Design Against Waste

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Innovative solutions for a sustainable future


Waste is a major issue in our culture–perhaps one of the biggest. It is undoubtedly a side effect of our lifestyle. Waste is the ignorant byproduct of our times, meaning the etymological non-understanding of what we leave behind.

In other words, it represents a blind and egoistic short-term vision. People simply don’t care. Their children will live in an open-air landfill, but that’s not their concern.

However, the problem is real, devastating, and we cannot ignore it anymore. There’s no way to sweep waste under the carpet or make it magically disappear.

Acknowledging the problem and the environmental cost it carries along, is the first step. But what is the solution?

Design is the answer.
An accurate design is at the core of solving the waste issue. Changing the way we conceive products is absolutely crucial. We need intentionally designed items in every single field and category–fashion, furniture, technology, and beyond.
Products made with eco, recycled materials taht can have multiple lives and eventually enter a circular pattern.
Items made to last. In other words, design against waste.

By the way, this was the standard in the past in terms of lifetime. Products were built to endure. Now, the life of a garment barely exceeds a couple of washes, and a mobile phone lasts less than a year.
Moreover, convenience culture played a significant role in exacerbating wasteful habits and proliferating a throwaway mentality. Buying a new item is cheaper than repairing it. So people throw things away and replace them—even if the new item lasts only a few months. And so, the never-ending cycle continues.

The point is that real designers make good designs. But fashion–like any other industry–is in the hands of people who are more attracted to marketing than design. So It’s unlikely that change will emerge from within the current system.

Unless a new generation of designers, aware of the issue and moved by it, steps forward to make a difference–to change for the better.
We remain optimistic!

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