I don't know about you but I've heard the word "sustainability" thrown around so much and find it hard and overwhelming to keep up with all the news. What are industries doing? How bad is climate change really? How successful are all these fancy initiatives? So many questions! Using the December 2022 Sustainability Bulletin from WGSN, a leading analytics company, this blog outlines some key initiatives in 2022 - just to have a little brief overview of what's going on!
Carbon Capture Technology:
If you don't know about carbon capture, have a read: What is Carbon Capture?
Global Carbon Dioxide emissions are expected to rise 1% this year, accelerating climate change. Industries are increasingly investing in carbon-capture innovation to plan for the future. LanzaTech, a Chicago-based firm worked with Zara and Lululemon to create synthetic fibre using waste gas from factory pollution and turning it into bacteria, resulting in a PET polyester ingredient to use in activewear collections.
Sustainable Subscription Services:
Companies are trying to incentivise sustainable behaviour amongst consumers. Nokia announced a sustainability subscription service where customers earn "seeds" for using their devices longer and extending their life cycle. They can use these seeds for tree planting, carbon reduction and plastic removal from rivers. The service also includes recycling, refurbishing or donating returned devices to keep them out of landfills.
Environmental Racism:
Environmental pollution affects minority communities disproportionately due to the actions of largely white northern hemisphere countries which make up 20% of the global population but contribute to 80% of the emissions. Hence, the term "environmental racism" was coined. An American advocacy group 'As You Sow' created a list of 500 large public companies and scored them based on 26 racial justice indicators, bringing environmental racism to the forefront. It was found that Black Americans are exposed to 1.5x more fossil fuel pollution. The Biden administration has promised the population to account for environmental justice and it's climate-related investments.
Brazil's Presidential Election:
Brazil used to be governed by Jair Bolsonaro who was defeated by Lula da Silva in the recent, extremely volatile presidential elections. Bolsonaro's policies were deeply harmful to the Amazon rainforest, famously known as the lungs of the earth. Bolsonaro was also known for major financial frauds, human rights crises', disregard for democracy, etc. Lula has raised hope amongst the population of Brazil with promises to prioritise sustainability and reduce deforestation. Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have pledged to work together to preserve rainforests through a funding mechanism. Hopefully, Lula's policies and promises are actioned and the fear of the Amazon ceasing to exist will be no more!
By: Avisha Jaising
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Sources:
Palmer, et al. (2022) Sustainability Bulletin: December 2022 - WGSN Fashion. [Online]. 2022. Oclc.org. Available at: https://www-wgsn-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/fashion/article/6364e1be391c376e08dd3367 (Accessed: 8 December 2022).
Image Sources:
- Levis x BentGableNits
- @TheWoolmarkCompany