London Fashion Week: Extinction Rebellion Calls on Fashion Industry to Acknowledge Climate Emergency

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Wearing black to mourn for โ€œthe hundreds of species that daily go extinct,โ€ protesters from campaign group Extinction Rebellion swarmed roads leading to Londonโ€™s Fashion Week on Sunday, creating trafficย gridlock.

One protestor, known as Fox, said the fashion industry is only interested in sustainability when โ€œitโ€™sย fashionable.โ€

โ€œThe sins of the fashion industry never end,โ€ they said. โ€œThey hide behind the culture and theย art.โ€

The action follows a letter Extinction Rebellion sent to Caroline Rush, Chief Executive at the British Fashion Council, calling on the organisation to declare a climate emergency. Itย said:

โ€œThe fashion industryโ€™s influence permeates deep within culture and radiates globally. It is a powerful engine of culture and could be a revolutionary force forย changeโ€.


Image: Soila Apparicioย (c)

Extinction Rebellion, which launched in October 2018, is known for committing acts of peaceful civil disobedience in order to bring attention to the climateย crisis.

At the action, protestors initially broke into four groups, then joined the main disruption together outside the British Fashion Councilโ€™s show space at the Strand – one of the main venues for a fashion week event from 15 to 19 Februaryย 2019.

The swarm, where around 100 activists blocked traffic for seven minutes at a time, allowing people and traffic to pass for three minute intervals, was a first for David, who did not want to give his lastย name.

โ€œThis way of doing it seems to stop the tension,โ€ he said. David joined XR after being encouraged by the groupโ€™s early momentum. โ€œIโ€™ve not seen anything build up so quickly,โ€ heย said.

Anna, who also did not want to give her last name, said Extinction Rebellion was โ€œone of the most exciting movementsโ€ she had been involved within 10 years. โ€œThe more we can disrupt things, the more awareness weโ€™re going to raise,โ€ sheย added.

Activists handed out leaflets to the public and encouraged cars to turn off their engines while stopped. Some onlookers were not clear why the group was protesting and were overheard questioning why they โ€œneeded to beย here.โ€

In June 2018, the House of Commons launched an enquiry on the sustainability of the fashion industry, including the โ€œenvironmental impact of disposable โ€˜fast fashionโ€™ and the wider clothingย industry.โ€

According to the UNFCCC, the production of textiles adds 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually –ย more than those of international flights and maritime shippingย combined.


Image: Soila Apparicioย (c)

WRAP, a waste reduction and sustainability charity, estimated that the value of unused clothing in wardrobes is around ยฃ30 billion and that ยฃ140 million worth of clothing from the UK goes into landfill eachย year.

โ€œThis is the time to act. This is the time to tell the truth,โ€ said artist Heather Ackroyd, who had brought coats she and fellow artist Dan Harvey had grown from seedling grass. โ€œIt cannot just be fashion companies, it has to be the whole industry,โ€ sheย said.

Harvey added: โ€œIf it can get people to think, then changes canย happen.โ€

Image: Soila Apparicioย (c)

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