I signed this manifesto because …
The Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion’s founding document is its Manifesto. This, our rallying call to like-minded individuals, invites people to support the Union by putting their name to the manifesto and saying why these actions matter. Their responses speak volumes. Here is an inspiring selection from recently joined members.
“We join together and amplify this movement from a position of genuine concern, free from industry bias and dominant paradigms.”
“We have only a limited time to make radical changes to the fashion industry, and therefore we need a coordinated effort to do so.”
“I advocate for a radical change in this unjust completely unethical system that has dominated and pushed humanity towards a state of complete unworthiness. This fierce proponent of obsolescence has the potential to be a critical change maker towards a positive and regenerative system where all life thrives. I have advocated such change since the start of my fashion career at the age of 14 and 31 years later I forge forward to see it happen.”
“There is no other way and time is so short.”
“Having seen first hand the catastrophically detrimental impacts the fashion industry is having on the planet, I cycled everyday past a river which changed colour depending on the leather which was dyed upstream, I could no longer be passive on this topic and needed to take a positive stance and support tangible actions against these practises.”
“We may have diverse conditions and conventions, but all roads lead to one global vision. Fashion has a voice that matter. It has to be heard loud and clear.”
“I see great value in bringing like-minded individuals together to serve a great cause collectively.”
“As a fashion educator, it is my duty to be actively engaging with (and contributing to) future thinking, innovation and progressive solutions for a cleaner, transparent, earth/people focussed and more consciously engaged global industry.”
“I believe in a culture of care, and we need to actively change our fashion system. Now is the time.”
“We need a cohesive (yet complex) vision for us to save the planet, and to not ignore hard truths, rather embrace them and use them to push forward. I am in my early 20’s, starting a PhD and wondering what the world will be like when I finish it. I’d like to use this time of research to take knowledgable action, and being a part of this Union empowers me to reach for that.”
“I am concerned about the negative impact the fashion industry is having on our planet. As an academic teaching future fashion professionals I believe we need to alter education to promote new forms of clothing production and consumption.”
“I want to be a part of the change to transform the fashion system for our planetary ecology and human wellbeing. It is a movement of imagination, not of outlandish thoughts, but of courageous actions that we urgently need today.”
“My interest, passion and occupation is in sustainable fashion. I am very concerned about animal welfare, pollution of and depletion of the natural environment, human population explosion and its impact upon the Earth’s finite resources and finely balanced natural systems, and ultimately the survival of the biosphere including human and all species. To be involved in the endeavours of UCRF, even if only by way of membership would be a great honour.”
“Our relationship with clothes – their design, production, use, care and disposal – needs to change fundamentally. Sustained collaborative effort is necessary to lead the debate, provoke action and make the need for change vastly more apparent to more people more quickly. I’d like to join with others in this work.”
“First, because I agree with the principles – as a fashion teacher and researcher I work towards fairer, better, less damaging ways of producing and using clothes. Second, because I want to stand with colleagues seeking to galvanise action in this area, rather than being a researcher-bystander. Third – I am never wholly certain of the paths I take in my research and teaching, partly because all paths seem to curl back into sustaining the unsustainable. So it would be great to connect with others who may also struggle with this, even if uncertainty seems a bit of a dodgy reason for signing a manifesto.”
“I want a peaceful future for my children and many more generations to come. I am concerned for the planet and all of its inhabitants because of the impact humans have had on the environment and its change of climate. I would like to see less suffering and more equality for all who live here. Being a sustainable fashion advocate gives me purpose in my daily activities and continues to challenge me creatively and continually inspires me. My work is in fashion because I love textiles and design and the many ways we as individuals can express ourselves, sharing our ideas and stories. I believe there is no need for over-consumption and we all need to take responsibility for our actions and demand that our politicians do the same.”
“I am opposed to the never-ending quest for economic growth, and the exploitation of our earth and our people in the name of fashion (and other things). We are smart enough when we work collectively and share ideas, to come up with new models and systems to redesign how we make and use clothes so that people, communities our planet and all its ecosystems can flourish.”
“I am signing (on Black Friday, coincidentally) because consumers are both being misled by companies’ greenwashing and being manipulated into over-consumption, all of which is in effect condoned by our governments – whilst the future of planet Earth is in jeopardy. As a fashion lawyer, my fervent wish at this critical point is for stringent regulation of the fashion industry. As a consumer and brief resident of planet Earth, I want to see a radical shift in our relationship with nature and how we value our goods. I have decided to dedicate my professional life to contributing, in however small a way, to the creation of a different system where Mother Nature takes centre stage, and where decisions in the political and business spheres are made on the basis of a sound approach and actionable information – I believe this will collectively set us on a better path.”
“We need to join forces.”
“I agree with the manifesto and I think that we must act to protect life and future by showing the connections between fashion and living systems.”
“Fashion can not continue to be a cause of global pollution and human suffering. The fashion system is in dire need of reformation. If fundamental change is not instigated by the fashion industry, it has to be brought forth through the protest of professionals in the field.”
“In order to accelerate the necessary paradigm shifts in (over)production and (over)consumption of fashion, all participants in the process must change behaviours, assumptions and practices. This does not have to equate to the end of fashion, but the end of the current fashion system, and the implementation of radical ideas that can also be delightful and regenerative.”
“I am responsible for the education of young people, bring ethical and environmental issues connected to fashion production to their attention. I seek to transfer curiosity about alternative economic systems to capitalism, activism against consumption and political consciousness about the world. I work in an environment where sustainability is at the centre of our teaching, research and engagement with communities. I believe in university teachers’ ethical conduct in their daily lives and as examples for their students.”
“I want to hear garment worker voices in conversations related to responsible fashion and apparel, and I feel that this community has a responsibility to hold space for these voices. I am concerned that efforts for transparency (“seeing” and “knowing” workers) border on voyeurism and poverty porn. The lens is designed for a Western gaze, and power relations are not often considered. Research has long since told us these strategies are problematic; this is not a new take. And yet, here we are. I am therefore signing this manifesto because I am interested in research, projects, and movements, which are not afraid to confront root causes, and those which aim to include and understand garment worker voices as nuanced, distinct, and complex. We must challenge ourselves to avoid recycling problematic narratives which position Western stakeholders as saviour to the problems facing this planet, and to the challenges faced by those most impacted by them.”
“The rights of indigenous people and traditional creative communities should be part of the sustainability discourse in fashion. Identifying the limits between appreciation and appropriation requires a re-calibration of the moral compass and a detachment from the capitalist mindset that is dominating the industry. I see fashion as a form of education. Traditional garments, traditional identity designs and traditional manufacturing techniques are complex sources of knowledge and communicate values, identity and beliefs. I founded the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative as a support platform for artisans as custodians and transmitters of traditional knowledge. Often seen as simply skilled labour force and victims of cultural design plagiarism, artisans are cultural sustainability agents. Cultural sustainability means successful transmission of traditional knowledge to future generations. Fashion is an extraordinary medium for achieving this noble goal.”