Environment – Pike & Hurricane

hejhej – Founding a sustainable business at Malmö University

Maya Diekmann — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 10:32:14 +0000

In 2017 Anna Souvignier and Sophie Zepnik, then-students at Malmö University, founded hejhej. Starting out by selling recycled and closed-loop yoga mats, the company now sells a range of circular yoga products. We have talked to one of hejhej’s members, Pia, about the brand, what it stands for, and what it takes to found a sustainable business as a student at MAU.

Pike & Hurricane: Can you tell us a little bit about the background of hejhej? How did Anna and Sophie get the idea to found a business selling recycled yoga mats?

Pia: When Anna and Sophie got the idea, they were studying the master’s programme Leadership for Sustainability at Malmö University. While the nature of the programme made them consider sustainability issues all the time, it was an art exhibition in Gothenburg that gave them the actual idea for hejhej. There was one piece by an artist called Pinar Yoldas that was calling out the hypocrisy of yogis: On the one hand they very much embrace the respect for the people and environment around them but at the same time they practice with equipment that is made out of plastic. And Anna and Sophie felt like they were caught red-handed. And they absolutely agreed with the artist. They were practicing yoga without even thinking about the implications of what kind of material they used. So after the exhibition they kept thinking about the issue. They never really considered the option to found a business before, so in their case the whole foundation process was very intrinsic. They departed from this problem that really spoke to them and then weighed their options: What can we do, what do we want to do? That’s how they came up with their very first product, the hejhej-mat. And when they thought about the product that they wanted to produce, and how they wanted to go about it, it was clear to them from the beginning that they wanted to reach for the highest sustainability standard, which is the closed-loop approach, the circular approach. They would never create a product that does not fulfill these sustainability criteria.

P&H: So they created a business because there was a need for it rather than because they wanted to merely supply something?

P: Exactly. hejhej follows something called the “sufficiency strategy”, which means that they openly communicate: “Do not buy our product if you don’t need it.” It’s a major part of their communication and their beliefs that you should only buy if you need it and that you ask informed questions about where and how something is produced. For their second crowdfunding campaign, they launched a video that started with: “If you already have a bag for your yoga mat, then this video isn’t for you.” That’s a pretty bold statement and they felt that this was something very courageous––of course they need people to buy their products. But they 100% believe in the sufficiency strategy and that they only want people to buy when they need it. Because that’s part of the highest standard of sustainability, that you consume when you need to, not for the fun of it.

P&H: hejhej advertises their products as being 100% recyclable. How about the resources that are used in the production? Are those 100% recycled, too?

P: Most of the material that we use is already recycled, yes. And as you said we only use material that is recyclable. Otherwise that wouldn’t meet the closed-loop criteria, if we couldn’t take back the products at the end of their lifespan and recycle them. So every product is designed to be sent back to us and be recycled.

The biggest part of the mat is the foam and that is made from recycled foam off-cuts that we get from other productions, like mattress productions for example. So it is actually waste for others but we turn this waste into a new resource and turn it into the hejhej-mat. There is a textile between the foam layers that is keeping the mat together and making it tear-proof and very durable. In the beginning it was not recycled, but a few months ago we finally developed this layer to be made of a recycled material. Often it is also a very long process for us to talk to our producers, develop new ways of doing things, or producing these materials. The one part of the hejhej-mat that is not made from recycled material is the top layer, because that needs to be medically confirmed. So there is a very thin layer on top that is made from a virgin material. We would love to also use recycled material there too it is just not existing yet. Once we recycle the mat though, we can use all of the material again––including the top layer.

The bag is made of recycled PET bottles and the zipper is made from recycled fishing nets. The strap of the bag, which is also the yoga belt, is made from hemp. This material is chosen very consciously because it uses much less water than other alternatives like cotton for example. But we actually have to import this from Asia, just because there is so little hemp being cultivated in Europe. This is the only material that we import from afar, all the other materials are from Germany or neighbouring countries, like Austria, Switzerland,France, and Italy.

The outer layer of the bolster is made from a mix of material: cotton, recycled cotton, and hemp. With these, as with all materials, we always opt for the organic version. We also, if possible, try to go for recycled materials or at least a mixture. What is also cool about the bolster is that it is filled with the husks of spelt grains. It can be given to animals as a supplement to their food or as a natural fertilizer for soil, but in the end it is mostly considered as waste product by the industry. But we can use this perfectly as a filling for our bolster instead of using a virgin material. So what we always try to do is to use material that either exists in abundance or is considered waste by other producers.

P&H: “Sustainability” is such a catch phrase these days––it’s the red thread in every major company’s responsibility report, even those whose nature is wholly unsustainable. As a circular business that whole-heartedly believes in and promotes sustainability, how would you create more awareness around the problem of greenwashing?

P: Yes, many companies have started introducing what they call “circular products” or “sustainable fashion”. The problem is that there is no catalogue of criteria that a company needs to fulfill before they can call something sustainable. So even Primark offers “sustainable” jeans now, that still only cost 20€. At this price it is self-evident that there will be workers in the supply chain that are not paid fairly, and it is virtually impossible to uphold environmental standards in the production at such a low price. The same goes for closed-loop or circular products: There are big companies that are advertising circular denim––but they are not taking the products back. They are not closing the loop, which means it is not circular. They merely use recycled fabric, which in itself does not fulfill the circular standard. We sent them a message because we are always interested to see how other companies apply the concept and they replied: “Bring the product to your local denim recycling at the end of the lifespan.” There is no such thing as a local denim recycling!

We always have to remind ourselves that not everyone is familiar with the concept of a circular economy and we have to keep explaining a lot and try to be as transparent as possible about everything. So that includes being honest about our progress, for instance the top layer of the mat. Okay, the top layer isn’t made from recycled products yet but hey, we just found a way to use a recycled middle layer. We are not perfect but we are always aiming to become better, more sustainable and circular in every aspect. And most importantly we are transparent about it. People know exactly what material we are using, where we are producing, how we are producing, that we take products back and so on. And by that we want to motivate people to ask well-informed questions-–Where is it from? Do I need it? Who is involved?––when they are buying products elsewhere, too. So hopefully people will realise that when other companies advertise something as “sustainable” or “circular” that this might not actually be the case.

P&H: What role do sustainable startups play, in your eyes, when it comes to building a truly greener economy?

P: I would say that especially startups that are financially independent from investors and follow a strong vision––something which I have often experienced to be the case––are moving towards their goals in very determined and fast ways. Larger companies, where many more people, especially investors, are involved take longer to achieve these goals. Of course you can’t generalize this, but in my perception, there are so many startups with great visions, full of ideals, that are striving to change the way people think and consume for the better. They are really acting out of their ideals and their wish to change the economy. They are not only driven by their profit but by people and the planet. They are just always a great source of inspiration and they help create a climate in which well-informed customers ask the right questions. And that pressures larger and less-sustainable companies to change their approach.

P&H: Sustainability does not just include environmental aspects but also social dimensions. How does hejhej score in this area?

P: That’s definitely a very big and important part of hejhej’s business. For one, the company is donating a Euro for every product sold to a non-governmental organisation in Cape Town, South Africa, called “Earth Child Project”. The NGO is supporting children in difficult life situations, by enabling them to have weekly yoga classes and gardening classes. The aim is to teach the children resilience: How to listen to their bodies, take care of their bodies and minds. They support kids that already have faced a lot of struggle in their young lives. Through our donations over the years we have enabled 327 kids to participate in weekly yoga classes for a year, and 235 to attend the gardening classes.

Locally, parts of the production take place in workplaces for people with disabilities. So the yoga mat bag is produced there and they also take care of sewing the label on the mats, and they handle the shipping of products. So there is a team in the workplaces that is dedicated to working with hejhej. Sophie visits them approximately once a week to keep in touch, make sure the processes are clear, and include them in the bigger process. It is Sophie’s and Anna’s goal to one day employ a team of their own that can for instance handle the shipping and that hejhej can be an inclusive team, too. Of course, for now that is not possible because we all work remotely all over Germany and we don’t even have an office. But Sophie tries to still work very closely with them.

P&H: hejhej was founded with the help of Drivhuset Malmö, the startup hub for MAU students. How was the experience with Drivhuset?

P: Anna’s and Sophie’s experience was extremely good. They just took the idea to Drivhuset and they found it really helpful to get feedback, to have someone asking the right questions, to get input from people with entrepreneurial experience. They said that before it was just them and their friends talking about the idea and planning, and then through Drivhuset they had contact to experts that helped them develop and grow their idea. They also instructed them about the next steps, which is very important because in the beginning you have no idea about so many things that are awaiting you down the line. Drivhuset also connected them with external experts who could help them further down the line, and informed them about scholarships like Leapfrog, for which they applied and received funding. They really recommend Drivhuset and are very thankful for the experience. They would suggest to anyone with even just a vague idea to go there, make an appointment, and make use of this great opportunity. The Swedish spirit of founding is so different from the German one, for instance, so for them it really was a unique opportunity to start a business. Especially because that wasn’t on their agenda before.

P&H: What are some of hejhej’s favourite circular startups founded in Malmö?

P: Seljak Brand is definitely a startup that we’d recommend. They produce wool blankets made from wool offcuts. They are located in Tasmania, Australia, but Sammy, one of the co-founders, also studied at MAU. Anna and Sophe met her during their master’s. They have been a great inspiration for hejhej because Sammy had already founded the startup before starting her studies at MAU, so she gave some really helpful advice. Basically all the lessons that Sammy had learned, she passed on to Anna and Sophie so they could avoid those mistakes.

There is also Repamera, located in Malmö. They are founded by Henning (who is the founder of Circular Monday) and they are a shop that repairs clothes. A very cool circular startup!

P&H: Is there anything that has been left unsaid?

P: I have some advice from Sophie and Anna: They say that the most important thing when it comes to founding is to really trust in your idea. There will be a lot of obstacles––there is no way there won’t be––so that basic trust is absolutely necessary. Also, talk to other people! In the beginning, they were worried to talk to others, because they worried others might be stealing their idea. But there is so much to be learned from others and advice to be gained if you discuss your idea.

Check out their website here.

Related articles:

Circular Economy – Interview with the founders of “sveeka”

Photo credits:

hejhej founders Anna Souvignier and Sophie Zepnik. Photo Credits: Maria-Bayer

hejhej mats and straps. Photo Credits: Maria Bayer

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When everything fails: lessons from Nauru

Isa Tiilikainen — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 09:49:11 +0000

In the Pacific Ocean, 4500 kilometers northeast of Australia, there is a tiny island nation called Nauru. The population today is at around 12 000 and it is one of the least visited countries in the world. In the 1970s Nauru earned the reputation of being the wealthiest nation of all, measured by GDP per capita. But the tragic chain of events that followed can now serve as a lesson for the rest of the world.

A long way to independence

Let’s start from the beginning. The history of Nauru has been a road paved with tears. In the 1800s European merchants brought alcohol and firearms to the island, leading to a ten year civil war during which one third of the population died. Then the Germans took over and Nauru was made part of Bismarck’s Empire in 1888.

After the First World War, the UN ordered Nauru to be under the mandate of Britain and Australia. Then came the Second World War. Nauru was occupied by the Japanese and bombed by the US. Japan took over half of the population as slaves to the Chuuk islands and left Nauru close to extinction.

For the next two decades Nauru was again ruled under Australian mandate, until the year 1968 when the island nation declared its independence.

Nauru’s wealth

But how did Nauru end up as the richest nation in the world? It’s all thanks to a natural resource called phosphate.

In the year 1900 an Australian prospector, Albert Ellis, was the first to discover phosphate on the island. In an agreement with the Germans, the British ’’Pacific Phosphate Company’’ began exploiting the reserves in 1906. Phosphate is a key ingredient in fertilizers, which started becoming increasingly used in intensive farming during the 1950s. For decades, all the money gained from Nauru’s natural resource went to the Brits and the Australians. But with the declaration of independence in 1968, Nauru nationalized it’s phosphate mines. And so the fun began.

The increasing population of the world needed more and more food, which created a huge demand for agriculture fertilizers. Ship after ship of phosphate was transported to Australia and from there onward, and money was flowing to Nauru. There was no need for taxes. Education and health care, everything was free. Phosphate made every single citizen so rich, that by 1970s Nauru had the world’s largest GDP per capita. If we count the total in euros, Nauru exported 2,2 billion worth of phosphate in less than 35 years.

Turning tables

But what follows when one gets too much money too quickly? Foolishness. Nauruans began importing all kind of electrical equipment and refreshments to the island; fridges, freezers, televisions, sports cars, steaks, cheeses, soft drinks. Building bigger houses and establishing its own airline for a nation with a population of then 7000. Buying sports cars didn’t make much sense either, as the country only has one road with a speed limit of 50 km/h. But everyone needed to have a car, or two or even three. And when people didn’t have to work much anymore, traditional professions like fishing practically vanished.

Years rolled by as Nauruans were enjoying their life. Until the century changed to 2000s and the nation made an observation. The phosphate had run out. So, not only was Nauru now facing economic devastation after losing their only source of income, the mining had left the island’s nature severely contaminated. Nauruans had been digging the land under their feet. It is estimated that 40% of the marine life has been lost as a result of the pollution.

80% of the land mass in Nauru is uninhabitable today. Practically the whole center of the island is in ruins after of the phosphate mining. Where there used to be tropical mango, lime and papaya trees, there now is landfill where the wrecks sports cars lie on top of each other. Nauru has become unable to sustain any agricultural crops of their own and is fully dependent on imported and highly processed food that comes in mostly canned.

During the 80s and 90s, there had already been some talk about the financial state of the island, and the nation had found a brief source of income from becoming a tax haven. Especially the Russian mafia took advantage of this and allegedly laundered several tens of billions in cash through Nauru.

When all the phosphate then ran out, the State of Nauru declared bankruptcy in 2001. This meant that all of nation’s banks fell and the properties that the state had gathered in previous years had to be sold. Nauru turned to cash economy and unemployment rate at the island rose to 90%, a rate which it still is at today. A new plan was needed, to get the nation back on its feet.

Nauru and Australia

Australia came to the rescue, but with a hefty cost.

Around the same time in 2001, a refugee crisis was erupting in Australia and the country had started to adopt strict immigration policies. It was decided that any migrants who came to Australia by boat would not be taken in anymore. However, all these refugees that were turned away, needed to be relocated. And so, Australia made a proposition to start collecting them at Nauru. This decision is known as the ’’Pacific Solution’’ and it ended up becoming Nauru’s economic lifeline.

Today, Australian aids form a large part of Nauru’s GDP. By estimate, the refugee deal benefits Nauru with several tens of millions a year. But the fact which Nauru doesn’t want media attention on, is the conditions at the detention camps. Human rights organisations have reported of assaults, sexual harassment and child abuse. Refugees are not allowed to leave the island. Some have even ended up committing suicide.

Nauruans are annoyed at the negative media attention the country gets. They view the detention camps as a matter of Australian politics which they have little to do with as the camps are largely run by Australians. And as a country with major financial issues, the deal was impossible to turn down. The Australian Labor Party has suggested that the refugees should be moved to Australia, where they originally were headed. But this would then be a another major blow to Nauru’s economy.

Protesters in Perth, Australia, 2015

Climate change as an added threat

Not only has Nauru faced environmental devastation and economic catastrophe in recent years, the island is now also in the front lines of the climate change. It is estimated that if the sea level keeps rising with the current speed, before the year 2100, Nauruans themselves will become climate refugees. Less than one meter rise is enough to cover the only habitable part of the island, the one road where every citizen lives.

While the story of Nauru poses frightful omens for the future of the world, it could just act as a warning example. The rest of us still have a possibility to choose a different path. Just by looking at the historic statistics on increasing global average temperature, average energy consumption or the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it becomes evident that the current rate of exploitation of natural resources is in no way a sustainable plan for the future. It is now up to the world not to replicate the mistakes that Nauru has made. At least the former President of Nauru, Baron Waqa has some hope. In 2017 he was asked: Could the story of Nauru be a lesson to the rest of the world? He answered: “Well yes, it was a learning lessons for ourselves too. We didn’t plan for this to happen. So, could the rest of the world learn from this? I sure want to believe that they would.’’

by Isa Tiilikainen

Photo Credits

Nauru, 2013, casjsa CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Air Nauru Boeing 737-400;C2-RN10, August 1994, Aero Icarus, CC BY-SA 2.0

The site of secondary mining of phosphate rock in Nauru, 2007, Lorrie Graham /AusAID , CC BY 2.0

Love Makes a Way, 2015, Louise Coghill , CC BY-SA 2.0 CC BY-SA 2

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How life will disappear if we continue to overexploit nature

Aimée Niau Lacordaire — Sun, 17 May 2020 14:35:59 +0000

The Amazonia and Australia’s fires, the coronavirus, and the invasion of insects in Africa: those four disasters that hit between 2019 and 2020 have one point in common; they are all due to the impact of humans on nature.

The extent of the damage

During the years 2019 and 2020, 4,700 square kilometers of the Amazonian forest burned, the equivalent of the size of 628 football stadiums. There are at least 1.6 million hectares of the Australian forest which burned and 2000 koalas that died during the fire. And more than 228 000 people have died of coronavirus in the world. Furthermore, East Africa is being invaded and ravaged by locusts. Due to the lack of information on the impact of the locust invasion, we don’t exactly know the extent of the damage, however, this greatly affected the harvests and therefore risks famine. But the worst is yet to come. Because these phenomena are only going to multiply if we continue to overexploit nature.

What are they due to?

In fact, the forest fires in Australia are the results of an exceptional drought and heat waves which are unquestionably linked to global warming. Likewise, the cyclones that hit Africa have favored the insects’ circulation and reproduction. It’s the extreme climatic variations that caused those cyclones, and so ideal conditions for these locusts. In Amazonia, the climate alone does not explain forest fires, but they are also due to humans who want to appropriate the land to cultivate it. In the 90’s, deforestation was principally due to agriculture, but now it’s the expansion of soybean plantations in order to feed livestock, which is the number one cause of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

The coronavirus were been transmitted to humans by a pangolin, and these animals are heavily poached, “researchers estimated in 2017 that between 400,000 and 2.7 million pangolins are now hunted each year in the forests of Central Africa to supply the Asian market”.This animal is on the verge of extinction, not only because of poaching but also because of deforestation, which made them lose their habitat. Moreover, the passage of virus from animals to humans is easy because of intensive breeding which makes it easier for the virus to move between species; as with the H1N1 flu. It has also been proven that the coronavirus causes higher mortality rates in regions with a high rate of air pollution.

What does the future hold for us ?

In Australia, temperatures and droughts peaked in 2019 and researchers have shown that if we do nothing about global warming, these high levels of heat will be the norm in a few decades. The forest allows the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is why the Amazon constituting the largest forest in the world is called “the lungs of the Earth”. Unfortunately, when the dynamics of tree mortality intensifies, the trees will no longer absorb but reject this CO2, and therefore contribute to global warming. Evidently, this leads to a devastating loop and therefore the death of thousands of plant, animal and human species.

If we continue to poach and eat wild animals more and more diseases will be transmitted to humans. In addition the food chain would collapse if animals were to disappear. And if we continue to consume as much meat as we currently do, and therefore encourage intensive farming, more viruses will be transmitted and cause more and more deadly pandemics.

We saw that nature takes over during confinement, animals have reclaimed the territory of humans, and pollution has slowed down. It is therefore possible to limit our impact on nature. It is therefore more than necessary to take drastic measures if we want to prevent the extinction of species. It is necessary to stop overconsumption, to stop animal exploitation, to fight against overheating. If no action is taken, thousands of plant species will disappear causing the death of the animals, we will face extreme weather, which will slowly destroy the human species, starting with those who already suffer from it, the poorest.

by Aimée Niau Lacordaire

Photo Credits

Koala, Mathias Appel, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)

Fire, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region U.,S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Regio, Public Domain Mark 1.0

Sheep, Bernard Spragg. NZ, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)

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Anthropocene: how humans shape life on Earth

Nina Kolarzik — Sun, 17 May 2020 14:30:03 +0000

What is the evolution of life actually? In its essence it is that a species has the best chance in reproducing itself and surviving the longest if it is the best at adapting to its environment. This is the same for all the different life forms, plants, animals… and also for humans (if you want a specific kind of animal) this was for a long time the standard. But is it still?

A group of researchers claim that the earth has entered a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. Since the last ice age around ten thousand years ago, humanity has lived in a very stable epoch, the Holocene. Compared to previous times, when the temperature of the earth has fluctuated much more and made living conditions far more difficult, the average temperature during the Holocene changed by plus-minus one degree celsius only.

As far as we know, this is the only epoch that makes life as we know it possible. But what happens when we move out of it? What happens if we cross the boundaries of our planet? According to the Anthropocene Working Group this is already happening as we enter the Anthropocene.

The human force

As explained by Johan Rockström, the development started around 1750 with the industrial revolution. In the beginning, humans still impacted the earth system little. The human pressure through greenhouse gas emission, extracting resources, overuse biodiversity etc. grew linearly. However, from 1955 onwards, the impact increased exponentially. The Earth today faces a geologic epoch in which humans define it more than any other species or natural process. The name “Anthropocene” says it: Other Earth systems in our geologic time period, the atmosphere, water systems, biospheres, are human-influenced.

The term proposed by the Anthropocene Working Group is not official in science yet, but there is increasing evidence that this is not just a symbolic name and that humans leave behind their geologic mark in stones and ice. If in the future researchers study sediments of our time, as archaeologists and geologists do today, they will find evidence of pollution, fertilizers, human waste, nuclear weapons and other signs of the human conquest. We are the force of change. The sun, any other living forms, seismic activities of the Earth… they all change the planet less than we do. Not only would it be the first time that we are witnessing a new era, but it is also the consequence of our own actions.

Acknowledging this is important to understand that the climate change the planet is currently experiencing is anthropogenic. But human impact on the Earth is not limited to climate change. It includes many more phenomena: urbanization and agriculture, mining and the production of new materials, loss of biodiversity and invasion of species, being some of them. Imagine cycling through Skåne and its agricultural fields. Imagine swimming in the sea and finding rubbish along the shores. Imagine walking through a forest nearby – the trees would not grow the way you see them if they were left alone. And when visiting the area around the Italian town Carrara, you can find that complete mountains disappear because they have been turned into one of the biggest marble quarries in the world. You see: nearly everywhere our environment is shaped according to human will. Can you imagine a place that did not carry any signs of human influence?

The Anthropocene argument has been criticised of its duality of human society and nature as reducing the world to simplistic binaries. It is challenged by the alternative understanding of a Capitalocene, that “signiﬁes capitalism as a way of organizing nature— as a multispecies, situated, capitalist world-ecology”. It describes the way we are attaching a monetary value to everything, we economise our world. The concept “Anthropocene” still needs to be developed and is not uncontested. However, it directs our attention to contemporary environmental concerns and raises an important question: Should we continue that way?

Local tip

The exhibition “Antropocen” in the Teknikens och Sjöfartens hus of Malmö Museer is taking place until the 7th of June. It is telling through photography and film the terrible beauty that science is warning us about.

by Nina Kolarzik

Photo Credits

photo 1, analogicus, no attribution required

photo 2, digital341, no attribution required

photo 3, dexmac, no attribution required

photo 4, MitchellShapiroPhotography, CC by-NC-ND 2.0

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Sámi music and activism: a historic and contemporary struggle

Merle Emrich — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:51:30 +0000

The joik is the traditional music of the Sámi, the indigenous people of northern parts of the Fennoscandian Peninsula. It’s scales differ from those of Western music, it is purely vocal and if it includes instruments, it’s drums – at least that’s how it’s been for generations. Now a new generation of Sámi musicians is combining traditional joiking with other genres such as pop, jazz and hiphop – and in recent years the music of artists like Sofia Jannok and Maxida Märak has become increasingly popular.

They not only mix joiking with other musical styles, but also the music itself with activism for Sámi rights and environmental protection, as well as against racism. The colonial oppression of the Sámi people is reflected in songs such as Snölejonnina (“Snow lioness”, Sofia Jannok) and Andas (“Breathe”, Maxida Märak). And in This Is My Land Sofia Jannok sings: “This is my home, this is my heaven, this is the earth where I belong and if you want to ruin it all with big wounds in the mountains then you’re not worthy of listening to this song.“

A history of oppression

Starting in the late Middle Ages and lasting well into the 20th century, the Sámi were subjected to colonial discrimination and assimilation policies. Race biology that was supposed to prove the Sámi’s racial inferiority served as justification to take their land from them. Joiking was discouraged and, since it served as refuge from and a form of resistance to colonial oppression, it was later banned. Likewise, the Sámi were forbidden from speaking their own language. By the time these assimilation policies were officially ended, both joiking and Sámi languages had disappeared from several regions.

Since then Fennoscandian countries have granted the Sámi language and cultural rights, although, unlike Norway, Sweden and Finland have not ratified the ILO’s convention of indigenous people. The Sámi have schools teaching their language, as well as their own parliaments. But still, it would be naive to say that the north of Europe has left behind colonial discrimination in its entirety. “It’s like ‘Do you even exist?’ (…) That has been, and still is, very challenging, especially living in a society that is considered the most democratic in the world”, said Sofia Jannok in an interview with NewsDeeply. And in an Amnesty International campaign video, Maxida Märak stated that “to me the violation are the same as they were 400 years ago. Only that they’ve been modernised.”

An ongoing struggle

With a law passed in 2007 the Norwegian government is limiting the size of reindeer herds. Not only might smaller herds lead to a smaller income which could result in their herding licences being revoked by the state should they not make enough profit, but for the Sámi, reindeer herding is more than a job, it is a way of life and an integral part of their culture. Therefore, because he “could not see my culture die”, reindeer herder Jousset Ante Sara sued the Norwegian state. Elle Márjá Eira, whose father launched another case against the state due to an energy project that threatened to diminish their summer grazing lands, pointed out that they would have to find another, not yet occupied, place for their reindeer. “By pushing us into smaller areas they are forcing us into conflicts with each other.”

The ongoing struggle of the Sámi is not only tied to political conflicts, but also to social issues. In 2016, the Arctic village Girjas (Sweden) was granted exclusive rights over hunting and fishing which the Swedish state had taken from the Sámi in 1993. Not only were the state lawyers accused of using “rhetorics of race biology”, but the village’s Chairman, Matti Berg, faced threats of violence when the case began as many local Swede’s are worrying that their snowmobiling and hunting activities will be further restricted in future. And both in the real and the virtual world a multitude of examples of hate against Sámi can be found: from insults, over accusations that Sámi herders kill their own reindeer to reap financial compensation, to (often unsolved) cases of killed reindeer.

Over the last 100 years undisturbed reindeer habitat has decreased by 70%. Lapland is not only serene mountains, endless snow fields under northern lights and rocky, mosquito-haunted plains; the land holds resources that conjures up dollar signs in some people’s eyes. In Sweden, which provides 90% of the EU’s iron ore, there are around 1000 mines. Most of them are located on traditional Sámi land where pasture land is reduced by the mines and the areas flooded to store – at times toxic – mining waste. Certainly, the mining industry creates jobs and offers a possibility to keep up the declining population of places such as Jokkmokk. But at the same time it poses a threat to wildlife and the traditional way of life of the Sámi. At the same time, the timber industry is replacing ancient forests holding a variety of tree species of different height and age creating an uneven canopy under which snow can accumulate unevenly leaving some areas grazeable with monoculture plantations. There, the trees grow fairly evenly resulting in a more uniform snow blanket that makes it harder for the reindeer to find food.

In addition, global warming might make free access to even more resources in northern Europe: not only are 5-13% of the world’s untapped oil and 20-30% of the world’s untapped gas located in the Barents region, the melting of Arctic ice would also open new shipping routes. It is this development on which Finland’s proposal to build a €2.9 bn railway to Europe’s first Arctic port in Norway is based. The railway would cut off the reindeer’s migration routes in six different herding areas, and could lead to reindeer being run over by trains. This infrastructure would make it possible for companies to encroach even further on the still untouched parts of Lapland. Sámi parliament president Tiina Sanila-Aikio told The Guardian that she only heard about the project in the media.She describes government and company practices as a “slow colonisation” that functions by dividing the land with railways and handing it over to outside industries.

Reindeer are an integral part of Sámi culture and way of life, but also of the Arctic ecosystem. Without reindeer fast growing grasses and shrubs will no longer be kept in check leading to less plant diversity and the higher growing shrubs creating a more uneven layer of snow that reflects less sunlight and thus contributes to increased global warming. Finish climate scientist Tero Mustonen argues that Lapland will be fundamentally transformed by the railway running through areas providing us with climate security. On top of that, it is a project that depends on global warming. Global warming, which threatens the survival of reindeer as spikes of warm winter weather lead to the melting and refreezing of snow. Thus, layers of ice appear on the ground that trap lichen – reindeer’s main winter food supply – underneath. The Sámi’s reindeer are then either at risk of starving or the reindeer herders must bear the extra cost of feeding their animals throughout the winter.

Music as activism

“In Saami I don’t have to say ‘This is our land’, ‘We are still here’, (…) it’s like saying planet Earth is round (…) But when I write in Swedish and English I have to write the most basic stuff”, Sofia Jannok explains the difference between her Swedish and English, and Sámi song texts. She says that she started writing in Swedish and English when she addressed people in power in her head. “By the reactions of listeners, politicians and journalists, I realized how necessary it was that we actually use words so that people understand (…).”

In Swedish schools not much is taught on the subject of the Sámi and their oppression, and often inaccurate information is mixed into the little that is taught: “But I can put it in a song and tell the truth through arts. And I think that is a more efficient way, and actually truer too, because the politicians and people in power are always describing our society with a hidden agenda.” In that sense, Sofia Jannok believes, music can be an effective tool of activism and decolonisation. Maxida Märak, too, argues that culture, including music, has contributed to the improvement of conditions for Sámi people, and remains important as “it was not neutral to have racists in the government (…) and now they sit in Parliament” and point to groups, including the Sámi, they perceive as a threat to Swedish society. “People watch World War II movies and talk about how it could happen, but it’s exactly the same thing that is happening now (…)”

by Merle Emrich

Photo Credits

Sofia Jannok EM1B1389, Bengt Nyman, CC BY 2.0

DSC_4496_Maxida Márak, Riddu Riddu, CC BY-SA 2.0

A day at work, Mats Andersson, CC BY 2.0

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Veganism, vegetarianism: trend or real awareness?

Pauline Zaragoza — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 12:48:19 +0000

Festivals, restaurants and even butcher’s shops… Vegan and vegetarian lifestyles have gained ground over the past decades. Videos on animal cruelty and deforestation show the terrible side of our industrial society. It all raises attention on our consumer behavior, facing environmental issues, and our eating habits. But do these diets really reflect an understanding of contemporary issues or are they a new business trend?

Veganism, vegetarianism – what does that mean?

Depending on the person, the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle can be influenced by various motivations such as animal wellbeing, health issues or even religion. The vegetarian lifestyle was born in 1847 with the Vegetarian Society; the word comes from the Latin “vegetus” which means healthy, fresh and alive. From this word, the term veganism was coined in 1994 by Donald Watson, co-founder of the Vegan Society created in the United States in 1948.

There are a hundred ways to practice those diets: ovo, lacto, ovo-lacto, veganism, raw veganism, fruitarianism, Buddhist vegetarianism, Jain vegetarianism, Jewish vegetarianism… But the main and more marked difference between vegan and vegetarian is the lifestyle. A vegetarian person doesn’t eat any product from slaughter such as meat, fish, or even gelatin. However, vegans stop eating all types of animal products such as milk, honey, eggs, fish and meat. And if you want to look further as a vegan, in addition to the diet you have to cut your consume of animal products such as clothes (fur or leather), make up, or any product derived from animals.

An environmental issue

The vegan and vegetarian lifestyle became significant thanks to a heightened media coverage. Especially Netflix, the giant media which gathers more than 139 million subscribers, offers a lot of documentaries about environmental issues linked to food on its platform: “What the Health”, “Food Matters”, “Cowspiracy”, “Forks over knives”, … the list is long. This raises the question on the role of Netflix regarding food and environmental awareness which has for sure increased these past years.

In fact, those revelations have foundations. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has recognized the impact of the livestock sector as the largest user of agricultural land, through grazing and the use of feed crops, but also its influence on climate change, management of land and water, and biodiversity.

Figures show that farming is responsible for 14,5% of greenhouse gas emission and 63% of Amazonia’s deforestation. Moreover, according to the Harvard Medical School a huge reduction of meat consumption would be as efficient as halving the world’s car fleet. On average, we need 4,660l of water to make 1kg of vegetal protein instead of 7,900l of water to produce 1kg of meat. Also, farming is responsible for water pollution, especially due to pisciculture which releases chemical products, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones into the water. All in all, the livestock sector is responsible for 80% of acid rain.

A bobo trend?

But we can question some aspects of those diets. There is a growing trend of celebritiessuch as Joaquin Phoenix, Pamela Anderson, Natalie Portman, Jared Leto, Ellen DeGeneres, and, more surprisingly perhaps, Bill Clinton whot follow a vegan diet. Today, 5% of the world’s population, namely 375 million people, are vegan or vegetarian. The countries where the most vegan and vegetarian people live are India (38%), Israel (13%), Italy (10%) and finally Germany and the United Kingdom (both 9%). That represents a huge business area, and therefore the vegan/vegetarian label has become a new marketing tool.

McDonalds, KFC, Stella McCartney, Lidl, Adidas and others have conceded to the sirens of the veganism/vegetarianism trend. In France, this market increased by 24% in 2018. In the United States, according to Forbes, consumers spent nearly $1.9 billion on plant-based milks and $3.3 billion on plant-based foods in 2018 which represents a huge potential for business, even more so since the number of vegans in the United States jumped from 1 percent in 2014 to 6 percent in 2017.

Plant based foods are now offered in trendy coffee shops, plant based fast foods, vegan restaurants, major league baseball stadiums and even by vegan butchers, which was named a top new job trend for 2017 by Time Money.

Nevertheless, the product and place access is still concentrated and unequal. Most of the people in Western countries which adopted a vegan/vegetarian diet live in big cities. Paris and Lyon, two of France’s biggest cities, are more inhabited by vegans and vegetarians than smaller cities and towns. Therefore, veganism and vegetarianism are an urban trend and practiced mainly by the middle and upper class.

A sustainable movement?

Despite various positive effects for health, environment and animal wellbeing, veganism/vegetarianism is not without its negative sides. In fact, plant-based food can lead to vitamin deficiencies such as vitamin B12 deficiency (B12 is primarily found in animal products) and sometimes hide eating disorders. Vegetarian diets do not cause eating disorders, but “may be selected to camouflage an existing eating disorder. In addition, sometimes veganism isn’t tolerated by some bodies.”

Those plant-based diets can also have a bad impact on the environment as shown by the avocado controversy. During the past years, not only the number of vegans and vegetarians has increased, avocados have become the latest trend of the Western world’s diet. However, their industrial production is also harming the environment by the use of energy, water, fertilizer and pesticides.

Moreover, there is what we can call vegan extremism. Recently in France, we’ve seen an increase in attacks against butchers, and sometimes those attacks have been violent. These attacks are motivated by a vegan ideology named antispecism. According to this concept, the human species isn’t superior to the animal species but equal.

Some intellectuals expressed their position on the matter. One of them is the essayist Paul Ariès who considers “the alternative is not between the shitty meat produced in inhumane conditions and fake meat prepared by biotechnology.” For Ariès, we have to go back to being conscious eaters, in other words, we have to switch to small farmers who respect animals and support biodiversity.

In a more trivial expression the French sociologist Jocelyne Porcher denounced veganism which according to her will bankrupt traditional farming and favorize the false meat industry. She thinks that “vegan people are not revolutionary but idiots useful for capitalism” because it makes us more dependent on industry.

The comeback of normal human consumption: flexitariansim

Before the World Wars humans did not eat meat every day. The overconsumption of meat only came with the rise of the industrial modern society. What we can be sure of is that most agree on the fact that animal wellbeing matters and that reducing meat consumption is better for one’s health.

But we shouldn’t fall into the black and white thinking that all carnivores are bad people. Everyone has to take responsibility for facing those issues. Maybe the solution is to go back to the way we used to behave: being flexitarians. And the good news is, this lifestyle is growing.

To conclude, we have to act for a better future, planet, food consumption, animal care, health and, most importantly, we should stay tolerant and respect everyone’s choices.

by Pauline Zaragoza

Photo Credits

Vegetables Avocado, Jill Wellington, Pixabay

Sheep, Couleur, Pixabay

Bar Coffee Restaurant, Free-Photos, Pixabay

Chicago Fur Free Friday 2010, Jovan J, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Breakfast Food Eating, Free-Photos, Pixabay

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Environmental horror and utopia

Merle Emrich — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 12:29:51 +0000

It is not even 3 a.m. as the first activists leave their tents getting ready to establish the blockade at the Großer Stern (Great Star) roundabout not far from Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) climate camp in Berlin. In the following week there will be blockades on streets and bridges, glue-ons and lock-ons at ministries, the governing Christian Democrats’ (CDU) headquarters and Vattenfall to protest against inaction, or at least insufficient action, against climate change. At the roundabout, what is to become a small arch later in the day is guarded by the police who don’t want the climate activists to build their symbol of climate justice on the street, and by protesters who fear the police might confiscate their building blocks. Some of them, forming a human chain around the disassembled arch, have locked their arms onto metal pipes from which only they can free themselves without destroying the tube. “It feels a bit like being crucified”, jokes one of them, his breath rising up in clouds made orange by the street lights.

Throughout the morning more activists arrive at the blockade at the Großer Stern that will last for 58 hours is accompanied by more actions throughout the city including swarmings and the occupation of Potsdamer Platz, which the police soon tries to disband. Yet at 10 p.m. a mic-check at the Großer Stern, where the activists get ready to be moved but are willing to keep up the blockade, announces: “The police at Potsdamer Platz has given up. Tonight it belongs to us!”

October 9, sees several bridges occupied for several hours for up to two days. Throughout the week there are protests, glue-ons at several ministries and at the CDU headquarters, swarmings and other actions including a picnic organised by XR Youth. Meanwhile, similar actions happen in many other major cities, and around 40 cities, including Stockholm, declare climate emergency.

Horror

But why did all these activists come to Berlin? Arriving from all over Germany and as far away as the Nordic countries, including a delegation from Skåne and more than 200 Swedish activists, prepared to camp for a week and sleep on roads under the open sky, some of them willing to be taken into custody… What is it that drives them to take to the streets? “I fear many environmental catastrophes and that we will have a great deal of flooding, just as it has happened in the last few years. And then, on the other side, that in the really dry countries things start to burn because it is way too dry”, explains Lili, a young activist from Saarland. And her horror scenario for what the future holds is shared by others.

“My horror scenario is just the eco system collapsing, all the animals dying and we’re dying, too. But my absolute horror scenario would be that we could survive but no one else. Everything would be sterile and the world would be dead and we’re just walking around like prisoners”, Elsa from XR Skåne says. To which Sasha adds that social collapse will follow ecological collapse: “A lot of people are starving and then just rich white men oppressing everyone even more than they already do, and the divide between privileged and minority groups getting bigger. It’s going to be very bloody and very ugly.”

These worries are not only shared by the young generation but also by the generations before them. Sipping on warm tea provided by the camp volunteers, Ulrike and Jens stand under the colourfully foliated trees on the edge of the climate camp. “The first thing that comes to my mind as a horror scenario is that the people who are where the climate catastrophe hits harder than by us lose their home, and that they then come here and we don’t really have any capacity left”, says Ulrike. “And I realise that here in the north, where it is still fertile at the moment, people already don’t want to take in those who arrive anymore and racism and xenophobia are getting worse.”

It seems to be hard to imagine a future standing in the October sun while all around people are chatting, laughing, as they participate in workshops, queue for warm soup and busily carry around colourful flags and banners. But once one listens to what they talk about, reads their banners and pays attention to the topics of the workshop – once one remembers why they are here, it is less unimaginable. “I am of course scared that as a consequence [of the catastrophe we are headed towards] there will be further destruction and more wars and conflicts”, agrees Jens. “To begin with, what already happens, is that powerful groups decide on how to deal with resources of others. That is, not share the natural resources of the world with everyone but control our destinies egotistically and capital- and profit-oriented.”

It is clear to him that if environmental degradation and climate change are not stopped, an increasing number of people will be forced to leave their homes. “I have worked for over ten years as a development aid worker in various regions of the world and I know the internal migration that already exists due to similar reasons. We know of many who must leave because they lost their basis of life.”

Citizens’ Assemblies

The activists worries and frustration, but also their hopes and ideas, do not only find expression on the streets but as well two times a day in small-scale models of the citizens’ assemblies that XR demands on a national level. During the expert talk of the citizens’ assembly on Climate Justice, Sea-Watch captain Carola Rackete and Kathrin Henneberger, co-founder of the Institute of Environmental Justice, voice some of the same concerns that are prevalent among many XR activists.

“There is a danger that the politics that already now let people drown at their borders goes even further”, Carola Rackete says in her talk on climate refugees. “The criminalisation of me and Sea-Watch is not a single case.” But apart from this criminalisation and EU policies aimed at securing borders instead of saving lives, there is another problem, she explains. The collapse of the ecosystem will lead to an increase in global poverty and eventually to ‘climate apartheid’. “There must be a legally defined protection for [climate refugees].”

Kathrin Henneberger brings up yet another issue: “The climate crisis is not a classical problem that we can solve if we regulate the economy a little bit.”. cThe effects of climate change do not affect all people equally”, she elaborates. Whereas powerful industrialised countries such as Germany where some of the biggest European sources of CO2 can be found are the main emitters of greenhouse gasses, those who are hit hardest by climate change often have little agency and decision-making power. “Especially women are often disproportionately affected”, Henneberger argues. But simply bringing in more women, not only because they are often more vulnerable but because they possess valuable skills and knowledge, won’t do the trick: “We can only solve [the climate crisis] if we fundamentally change the economic system and power structures.”

Dialogue

The effects of climate change are not bound by national borders, and neither are their causes. On October 11, a group of mostly Swedish XR activists heads towards Vattenfall’s Heizkraftwerk Reuter where some of them glue themselves to a gate in protest against the use of fossil fuels and to send a signal to the Swedish government. “Vattenfall is a state-owned company”, one of the activists explains, “thus, the Swedish government has more possibilities to regulate Vattenfall and press for a faster transition to sustainable energies than is the case with private companies.”

“We have already changed a lot and need to continue”, says Stefan Müller, Vattenfall’s Director Media Relations & Editorial Germany. Accroding to him, this goes beyond the question of energy production and includes issues ranging from hydrogen and electric cars to reducing the offering of meat in Vattenfall’s canteen. Some of the XR members present doubt, however, that Vattenfall is changing fast enough. Müller replies to the activists’s concern that Vattenfall’s sustainability strategy was within the framework of the Paris Agreement but also says that there can be, and might need to be, a discussion about Vattenfall’s transition.

Utopia

In light of the horrors of climate change – potential and already existing – what would be the best case scenario? “Anarchy!” replies Elsa, intentionally or unintentionally echoing a line from Irie Révoltés song Utopie. In the same song they sing: “Utopie, tu me donnes la force pour continuer” (Utopia, you give me the strength to continue). And of course, the activists of XR all have their own visions for the future that they fight for. “My best case scenario is getting out of fossil fuels now, reducing our animal agriculture by a lot, organising locally, farming locally and organically, organising in flat hierarchies and communes”, says Sasha. And when it comes to our cityscapes, Lili has a clear picture in mind: “It would be nice if everything would become much greener, if we didn’t have as many concrete buildings – and on those you can of course grow plants and make everything a bit greener that way.”

“I see the positive that I wish for in small signs, for example in social behaviour as it is fortunately lived again or rediscovered primarily by the young generation and that therein a lot of creative possibilities are created through which people can live together no matter their background, no matter their origin”, says Jens. “And that is also why I am here. Because I want to support this dream myself.” Yet, despite the presence of these small signs not all have come to the conclusion that change needs to happen. “I experience this sometimes even among my friends who are environmentally aware”, elaborates Ulrike. “When it comes to giving up certain things they somehow say ‘Nah, I want to continue living as I did until now,’ and I wish that, without a catastrophe having to happen here or that there are bans, they’d say ‘Well, I thought about it, I need to change.’”

“The best moment to stop the climate crisis was 30 years ago. The last moment is now”, Kathrin Henneberger said in her talk. “But first of all”, says Jens, “a big fight is important and will happen.” Judging based on the rapidly growing support for XR within less than a year and the activities of other environmental movements and organisations such as Fridays For Future and Ende Gelände, the fight has already begun.

XR Rebellion Week photo story: here

by Merle Emrich

Photo Credits

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The horror of fast fashion industry in the globalized world

Elena Wasserzier — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 13:04:14 +0000

The “I want it, I got it” mentality

We shop it, we toss it. Only after a couple of years, or in some cases months. But do we, as the consumer, really consider the working conditions under which our acid-washed denims or cosy coats have been produced? How little money can be spent, without any second thoughts, on numerous pieces of clothing in stores like Primark compared to how little money is received on the other end by the seamstresses?

What is fast fashion?

The term “fast fashion” depicts the speed, at which clothing designs are drafted, come into product and are available for purchase in stores worldwide and online. Fast fashion is mainly characterised by huge amounts, low profit margin, fast-paced production and extremely cheap and disposable items.

Globalisation contributes significantly to the rise of the acceleration of fast fashion, because open markets are existing all over the world and industrialisation is on its peak. Furthermore, the consumer is also responsible for the well-known “I just want that, so badly” mentality, following weekly trends which of course give us instant satisfaction but also lead to mass consumption and an unreasonable shopping of items, we do not need. In most cases the clothing is produced cheaply, hence, it does not last long which then again sends us in an infinite spiral of shopping and tossing.

Developing countries as financial remedy?

We have to ask ourselves why our everyday life clothing is produced in developing countries such as Bangladesh, China or Vietnam. It would make so much more sense for huge apparel companies like Zara or Primark to produce the clothes in the countries they sell it to, right?

Many people would like to believe so, but the EU labour law regulates working conditions that are ought to accomplish high employment and social protection, improve the living and working conditions and help to build a healthy work community. Therefore, the payment for seamstresses is way higher and more expensive for fashion companies in European locations.

Here, globalisation comes into play: To avoid having to pay their workers reasonable salaries many fast fashion companies set up their manufacturing business in Bangladesh. Production there is even cheaper than in China, the previous number one for cheap fashion production, because wages in China have started to rise due to the country’s overall increase in wealth. The minimum wage for Chinese garment workers fluctuates between 100-200 USD whereas Bangladesh’s seamstresses may earn as little as 38 USD per month due to the country’s general lack of regulations.

And of course, the low wages it pays its garment workers make it really attractive to fashion companies giving them an opportunity to reduce their costs and make more profit. The minimum wage in the garment sector, remains one of the lowest in the world, even though the government in Bangladesh raised it as a result to the Rana Plaza collapse.

Mass consumerism and its results

The irresponsible cheap prices of fast fashion clothing brands promote mass consumption solely by their price tags. An obvious example would be the clothing store Primark, where people often leave the store with ten or more items in a huge shopping bag, bragging about their yields. And this word-of-mouth recommendations clearly work for Primark.

Often in our society, clothing and “shopping” is considered a hobby without second thoughts regarding the consequences globally, economically or the exploitation of the seamstresses. After all, it is always a question of demand and supply and the more people that fall for “unethical cheap thrills” the more seamstresses suffer under bad conditions and get exploited for an inhumane minimum wage, often not even able to care for their families. “A report by Sabina Dewans Just Jobs network found that the typical wage in Bangladesh was just 14% of a living wage that would provide for the basic needs of a worker“

Labourers life as commodity: the Rana Plaza collapse

The tragedy of the collapse Rana Plaza which was housing five garment factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh that happened in the year 2013. The collapse of the building killed over 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500. As a result of the disaster, the world finally noticed the poor labour conditions of workers in the garment sector in Bangladesh where millions of low-paid people, most of them children and women, are working in an unsafe work environment with a high occurrence of work-related accidents and deaths, as well as diseases caused by toxic chemicals. Most of the factories are not meeting international standards required by building and construction laws. Therefore, deaths from fire incidents and buildings, which are caving in happen on a regular basis. The worker and their labour are considered disposable and convertible, a commodity to reach fast production under cheap salary.

Alternatives

After all these bloodcurdling news we should ask ourselves how we, as consumers, can change these circumstances. Well, after all it is in our hands: Do we want to act based on laissez-faire principles and just continue to mindlessly consume, or do we want to try and alter the conditions for seamstresses and rebel against this exploiting, inhumane system that treats labourers as commodity and only sees the product and not the person behind it?

To be more political and set strong examples one can always use the streets as a form of protest. Demonstrations against working conditions in third world countries are highly common and frequently made use of. Many seamstresses in Bangladesh, their families and families of the deceased used the uproar after the Rana Plaza incident to protest against their working conditions and to express their mourning.

Another method would be to boycott the fast fashion industry and brands like Primark or Zara that produce their disposable items in countries like Bangladesh under inhumane labour conditions. Thrift shopping in second hand stores is a great, and budget-friendly, alternative. This way we will not support the fast fashion industry and its huge money-stacking, capitalist companies.

Slow fashion brands like Reformation try to set a new example with ethical clothing which, however, does come with a price tag. Reformation sets their aims in using eco-friendly materials and reducing its carbon footprint by manufacturing many of its products close to where they are sold. This means the production, manufacturing and designing takes place close to the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles

Along with every item, their website shows how many gallons of water were used to produce it. Additionally, they are working towards paying 100% living wages extensively. About a third of Reformation’s management team are women, people with a disability or minorities.

Another improvement towards conscious clothing and shopping is the German green button, which since 2018 stands for ethical work conditions, fair fashion and better payment. It is also known as the “world’s first government sustainable textile label” drafted by the federal government in Germany and will make it easier for buyers to recognise ethical fashion. The seal is only awarded to vendors that comply with social and economic minimum standards, for instance minimum wage and sufficient health protection. Certified by external institutions, companies have to prove that they align with those standards to obtain the green button for their clothing.

And if one still cannot resist to buy the cute top presented on the mannequin in the next forever 21 store, one should be aware of the true cost of that little piece of polyester and cotton. There should always be a regard towards the buyers consciousness. In the end, it is always a question of demand and supply.

by Elena Wasserzier

Photo credits

Dhaka Savar Building Collapse, Jaber Al Nahian, CC BY-SA 2.0

BANGLADESH-BUILDING, coolloud,CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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Rebellion Week Berlin [Photo Story]

Merle Emrich — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 12:35:52 +0000

Berlin, Germany (7-13 October 2019)

read the article about XR Rebellion Week in Berlin here

Photo Credits

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Extinction Rebellion: Creating stoppage to move climate politics forward

Merle Emrich — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 15:49:03 +0000

Extinction Rebellion (XR) is an international movement founded in the UK in November 2018. Their aim is to evoke social and political change in regards to climate change by means of peaceful civil disobedience. Extinction Rebellion’s protest is centred around three demands: the declaration of a climate emergency, actions to protect biodiversity and reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025, and the creation of Citizens’ Assemblies.

In early August, Extinction Rebellion Copenhagen brought traffic on Holmens Bro – located between parliament and the climate ministry – to a halt for twenty-four hours.

Two weeks later, Extinction Rebellion Skåne called for a ‘Nordic Uprising’. Activists from several countries came together to ‘flood the streets’ of Malmö in protest. Fourteen activist were taken into custody. They were not charged and the police released them in the morning.

by Merle Emrich

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