Our economies and our jobs depend on mass consumption, argues Oliver Williams. If we all consume less to save the planet, the economy will tank and millions will lose their jobs. The answer is not frugality, but reductions in population.
… Unravelling the Relationships between Used-Clothing Imports and the Decline of African Clothing Industries , is that African countries fail to establish their own clothing industries due to the competition of …
The mainstream fashion industry is trapped in a competitive spiral of ever shorter and faster sales and production cycles, writes Ruth Styles - and that inevitably stresses both textile workers and natural resources. But there is another way: the way of 'slow fashion' in which clothes are timeless, beautiful and made to last.
… and made to last. 'Slow fashion' refers to clothing that lasts a long time and is often … exactly where and how products were made, but clothing didn't" , explains co-founder Rob …
Some people like fixing things - others have things to fix. Repair cafés are a new global phenomenon that brings the two together, writes Jade Herriman - giving satisfaction to both, sharing skills, keeping stuff out of landfill, fighting 'designed obsolescence', and building communities sustained by mutual help.
… repaired at repair cafés is huge: bikes, clothing, cameras, mobile phones, computers, …
Nuclear power is neither beautiful, nor safe, nor cheap, writes Justin Keating - a message to the United States, where the Obama administration has pledged to waste over $200 million financing the 'Small Modular Reactor' (SMR).
Nuclear power - small isn't beautiful, safe, or cheap Justin McKeating Greenpeace | 22nd June 2014 Comment Nuclear USA Energy Technology hms-ambush-cut.jpg Nuclear power is neither beautiful, nor …
America might be better known for Calvin Klein and co but as Ally Boyd discovered, eco-designer Annie Le is giving them a run for their dollars
… and department stores that offer her clothing line. She wants to continue expanding … children. She hopes to continue building her clothing line so it becomes an internationally …
The Tea Party of Miami put up a convincing demo last week to oppose a 'land grab' that would see 46,000 acres of sugar farm land restored for Everglades conservation. Just one problem - the 'protestors' were actors each being paid $75 for the two-hour shift.
… banners or signs that will be provided. Clothing is almost anything!! Use common sense … banners or signs that will be provided. Clothing is almost anything!! Just wardrobe …
Last week's 'War on Waste' - throwaway coffee cups were the deserving target - was an exemplar of effective single-issue campaigning by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. But the answers to our waste problems go way beyond recycling. We must begin to plan a societal transition to a post-consumer culture of caring, sharing, and knowing when we have enough.
… a few. When 'Hugh's War on Waste' considered clothing and textiles back in the autumn, it … on the mountains of old, last season, unfit clothing that is thrown away to landfill each …
How can we reduce our ever increasing throughput of raw materials? By breaking out the the 'iron cage of consumerism', writes Mariale Moreno: make things to last - whether clothes, houses, cars, or washing machines. Join a car club. Share domestic appliances with neighbors. And bring back the laundromat!
Recycling is not enough! Sharing is the way to achieve a circular economy Mariale Moreno | 13th March 2014 Ethical Living Green Economy Consumerism Waste Recycling laundromat-cut.jpg How can we …
The rise of corporate eco-activism makes a refreshing change from the usual 'campaigners versus corporation' dynamic, write Steffen Böhm & Annika Skoglund. And for companies that embark on this path - like Lush, Ecotricity and Interface - it can work out well for them and the environment. But heed the disastrous consequences for those, like BP, who said one thing, and did another.
… like BP, who said one thing, and did another. Clothing brand Patagonia gives 1% of its sales …
After a peaceful protest against nuclear weapons showed up shoddy security at a $19 billion nuclear bomb factory site, writes Kevin Alexander Gray, Uncle Sam got mad - against the protestors, now jailed for up to five years. Will Peace Prize winner Obama set them free?
President Obama - pardon the 'Oak Ridge Three' anti-nuclear activists! Kevin Alexander Gray | 19th March 2014 Activism Nuclear Weapons USA Religion y12.png After a peaceful protest against nuclear …
The President-elect may be determined to lead America down an environmentally damaging path, writes Andrew J. Hoffman. But he may find few in the corporate world, where a growing number of major players are committed to eliminating CO2 emissions and making sustainability a core element of their business systems and supply chains, leading to global green transformation.
Trump, carbon neutrality and the next phase of business sustainability Andrew J. Hoffman University of Michigan | 14th December 2016 Comment Green Economy Fossil Fuels Climate Change Sustainability …
The world has become intolerable for people everywhere, and for Earth herself, says Pope Francis. Profound, transformative change leading to social and economic justice is now an absolute necessity and something we must all fight for. We must also act to safeguard the Earth herself, our common home.
The system is intolerable: the change we need is in our hands Pope Francis | 18th July 2015 Comment Religion Conservation Natural World Society Economics Green Economy pope-francis-cut.jpg The world …
Jeremy Corbyn came under attack yesterday for his refusal to countenance the use of nuclear weapons, writes Commander Robert Green. But his stance is honourable and both legally and strategically correct - especially with his opposition to renewing the Trident nuclear missile system.
… government has needed to find intellectual clothing for what has always been a gut …
A orchard garden has taken root on a long-vacant lot in an economically and racially divided neighborhood of Boston, writes Orion Kriegman. In the making it has united a community, helped to heal deep scars of violence, and inspired a wider reclamation of the urban commons.
Making it happen - a community orchard in downtown Boston Orion Kriegman | 7th November 2014 Ethical Living Commons Cities USA Farming sunflower-cut.jpg A orchard garden has taken root on a …
The new Commission may have dropped environmental protection from its 2015 work plan - but it's pressing ahead with a new Directive to protect corporate secrecy, threatening consumers, journalists, whistleblowers, researchers and workers.
… to hide information on chemicals in plastics, clothing, cleaning products and other items …
The European Commission has proposed new rules on foods derived from GMOs that would allow EU countries to opt out from the Europe-wide approval system - a move that has attracted strong criticism from all parties in the GMO debate.
EuroComm proposes EU country opt-outs on GMO foods Euractiv | 23rd April 2015 News EU USA GMOs Politics Law norway-gmo-demo-cut.jpg The European Commission has proposed new rules on foods derived …
A voter initiative in Maui, Hawaii requires a suspension of GMO crops pending a safety review to be paid for by Monsanto and other corporations - although corporations spent almost $8 million trying to defeat the measure. Monsanto is now preparing a legal challenge.
… or send their kids to school or provide clothing for them. This will affect our …
President Obama's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions may look like a climate victory, writes Tim Kruger - but it's no such thing. It's feeble because the US can meet its targets by reducing emissions to 2030 more slowly than it has since 2000. And it's fragile as any future President can scrap it at will.
Obama's 'clean power plan' is feeble and fragile Tim Kruger | 15th August 2015 Comment Climate Change USA Politics China EU COP21 navajo-power-plant-cut.jpg President Obama's plan to cut greenhouse …
We have a problem, writes Samuel Alexander. Even the most eco-friendly rich world lifestyles are overconsuming resources and over-dumping wastes. To put us on track to 'single planet living' will mean far deeper changes than any yet envisaged, including deliberate 'degrowth'' and the abandonment of consumer culture.
To live within planetary boundaries, we must contract the global economy Samuel Alexander | 5th July 2015 Comment Green Economy Society Consumerism Climate Change Population world-cut.jpg We have a …
Greens are united in opposing neoliberal 'austerity', write Rupert Read & Sandy Irvine. But there's another kind of austerity to which we are committed - that of living within ecological limits. But base the transition on social, economic and environmental justice, and there will be nothing austere about it. The future we're working for is one of sustainable, life-enhancing abundance.
… like luxury food, sugar, cars, fuel and clothing was massively controlled and …
After over a decade of fracking, oversight of the industry's radioactive waste is still lacking, reports Sharon Kelly. Over half of the 280 billion gallons a year of radioactive waste water from fracking ends up in rivers and streams.
… enough to potentially penetrate a person's clothing and skin, making it hazardous to …
We do not have to be constrained by our current dysfunctional system of capitalism, argues Michael Townsend. People are already finding and implementing more attractive alternatives. A quiet revolution is under way ...
… from. Patagonia, the Californian outdoor clothing company, is perhaps one of the best …
Hunter Lovins is on a mission, writes Sophie Morlin-Yron: to put the transformational technologies we already have to work for the benefit of people and business - and to re-create the economy so it's no longer a machine for polluting the planet and devouring natural resources, but a mechanism for building and sustaining natural and human capital.
… sustainability pioneer Interface , Unilever, clothing company Patagonia and US retail giant …