Meg Pirie
Our twenty-first member of the month is Meg Pirie
UCRF is running a ‘Member of the Month’ feature on this blog, where a member, selected at random from the membership database, is sent five questions to give us all an overview of our members. Our twenty-first participant Meg Pirie is a writer, slow fashion advocate and a leader in sustainability and regeneration policy.
—1 How would you sum up your research/practice?
I am Head of Sustainability and Regeneration Policy at think-tank and change-agency Fashion Roundtable. I also work freelance on a project by project basis, and regularly contribute to publications and research.
I hold an MRes in Journalism, specialising in storytelling, sustainability, slow-fashion, regeneration, heritage and culture and in particular how this can intersect with policy. In my role, I focus on distilling the complexities within the fashion and textiles sector to a range of audiences and engaging across a multitude of policy issues across the UK, EU and UN.
My research and practice has focused on a number of avenues, from slow-fashion through to regeneration. More recently, my research has taken on a wellbeing aspect with my work on Creative Wellbeing with think-tank Fashion Roundtable. Prior to this, my focus on increasing British wool uptake through a national wool mapping project evolved into a series of roundtables, articles and map of the current British wool supply chain resulting in, 'The Great British Wool Revival.'
— 2 How do you address fashion and sustainability in your work?
Sustainability is particularly complex, particularly in the current linear economic and business models which have documented negative impacts on social, economic, and political systems. This leaves us consistently grappling with the overuse of finite resources, placing people and the planet in jeopardy and ultimately leading to consequential issues of recession, poverty, rising social and sustainability crises, and an escalating climate and refugee emergency, among many other threats. Through my recent project on the Creative Wellbeing Economy (CWE) we devised a new systems approach that centres creativity and community as essential drivers of human and planetary wellbeing. Unlike traditional economic models that focus solely on growth and production, CWE prioritises access to creative opportunities as pathways to mental, physical, and social health, and the overall health of our planet. By fostering this interwoven relationship between people, community and the environment, the CWE creates an economy of opportunity that extends from cradle to cradle, ensuring that creativity and its benefits are accessible to all at every stage of life. It reimagines the economy by integrating nine core pillars into a dynamic, regenerative system where people thrive rather than merely survive. You can read more about this here.
— 3 What are the conflicts you have encountered around fashion and sustainability in your work?
I aim to incentivise and take people with me on the complex journey that is sustainability. I feel a lot of sustainability in fashion communications and policies penalise, instead of incentivise. This is an area which has a lot of opportunity, particularly from a policy perspective. Imagine for instance, if we were to provide tax incentives for companies with proven positive social and environmental contributions who commit to manufacture in the UK, something which is enjoyed by HETV and film companies who make scripted productions in the UK? This is a natural conflict as we aim to instil necessary change, but something that I explore regularly.
You can read more on policy recommendations for the UK fashion industry here, which I wrote for Fashion Roundtable.
— 4 What do you consider the key sources and cases when it comes to fashion and sustainability?
Fashion Roundtable research, produce and author reports addressing key topics to influence policy, educate decision makers and share unique expert insights for the fashion and textiles industry and are certainly worth a look.
— 5 Could you recommend some less-known sources or cases you think should be more widely shared?
The Great British Wool Revival is a website that connects stakeholders across every facet of the supply chain from natural dyes, best-case practice and on-shore manufacturing from field to final product, which of course connects to consumers. This makes the production process for designers as easy and simplified as possible, making British wool more accessible and encouraging best-case practice. Acting as a hub for sharing knowledge, The Great British Wool Revival was developed to support our ambition to see British wool grown on our hills and take pride of place in our collective wardrobes. Since launching, 200 stakeholders have joined the map. This is a very exciting initiative, which we partnered on with the King’s Foundation as well as YOOX Net-a-Porter, plugging a systems gap from the farm to designer and industry output, and directly links to consumers. This project brings visibility to sustainable, long-lasting fibres and supports near-shoring and regenerative practices.
My website also showcases a number of my articles on slow-fashion, sustainability, heritage and culture.
Thank you Meg for sharing your work!
