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More trash


Building on the latest Sustainable Sunday Quote, this article will dive deeper into the topic of waste. In case you missed it, the quote of last Sunday was by Annie Leonard, and it stated: "There is no such thing as 'away'. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere". Rarely have I heard something so true, yet so complicated to apply. Because let's be honest, we create a lot of trash. Not only is this incredibly irresponsible due to the harmful consequences it had on the environment, but even worse; we often completely neglect the issue. Most of us simply continue our consumerist practices. However, recently I stumbled upon a documentary that might shake you awake: 'Trashed'.



Trashed
Trashed is the award-winning documentary by Candida Brady. “We buy it, we bury it, we burn it and then we ignore it." That is how the trailer of the documentary starts, summarising the core of the problem in a few, powerful words. The documentary highlights not only the harmful repercussions on the environment, it brings it a lot closer to us, by showing how our waste imposes risk on our food chain, through the pollution of our air, soil and water. To do so the star of the film, Jeremy Irons, moves from Iceland to Indonesia. Showing not only daunting images of wasteland but also giving us a sneak peak into the most beautiful corners of our world. Even though the documentary is a definite wake-up call, it ends on a positive note, showing how sustainable approaches to dealing with waste are available and making you wonder why landfills and incinerators even still exist. Next to that it shows how these sustainable approaches can provide more jobs than the current consumerist waste industry.

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Sources:

Halpin, M. (2016). Student art goes green to celebrate Earth Day 2016. Illinois State University News. Retrieved from: https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2016/04/student-art-goes-green-celebrate-earth-day-2016/

Movieclips Trailers. (2012, May 11). Trashed Official Trailer #1 (2012) - Documentary - HD Movie. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z2s_klZkFg

Brady, C. (Director). (2012). Trashed [Video file]. United States: BullFrog Films.
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Sustainable Sunday Quote #10


What is a goal-oriented blog without a little inspiration and motivation from time to time? Let me introduce you to the weekly Sunday rubric of Our Toxic Fashion: the Sustainable Sunday Quote. In the words of the legendary John Lennon, some say that I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one. Many clever minds before me have spoken, written or sung beautiful words that deserve to be shared. From fashionistas like Coco Channel to environmentalists like Anna Lappé, on Sundays, Our Toxic Fashion will give them a stage! Ready for the tenth one?

The Sustainable Sunday Quote


                                “There is no such thing as 'away'. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”

This quote by Annie Leonard addresses another part of environmental pollution: our trash. In her video Story of Stuff Annie Leonard explains that around the 1950s many goods have been designed to be obsolete, to quickly become unusable. Light bulbs are created to provide less hours of light. Phones are designed to be outdated in two to three years. These are all examples of planned obsolescence. However, there is another way to make people dispose things faster: perceived obsolescence. This is when designers make people throw things away that are still perfectly usable, by solely changing how it looks. Fashion is perhaps the best example of perceived obsolescence. Those shoes with the big platform? They can't be worn anymore in 2016, because they are so last year. You might just as well throw them away. Yeah, no.

That is where the problem comes in. As Annie said it nicely: "There is no such thing as 'away'. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere."  The average American produces 4.5 pounds of garbage per day! All of this garbage gets dumped in a landfill or gets incinerated and then gets dumped in a landfill. Both polluting the air, soil and water. Incineration is very harmful as the toxins that are used in the production stage, will be released into the air. Next to that, due to chemical reactions incinerating trash can create new toxins, like dioxin. Annie highlighted: "Dioxin is the most dangerous man-made substance known to humans and incinerators are the number one source of dioxin".  Now how do we stop dangerous pollutants from entering our environment? One of the main solutions might be stopping to produce these huge amounts of trash. Environmentalist Lauren Singer even took it that far that she is now living a zero waste lifestlye, meaning (surprisingly), that she doesn't produce any waste. Perhaps her TED talk might inspire some of you to try the same, or at least motivate you to start thinking about your own disposing behaviour.


Write it down

So from now on, shout it from the rooftops, write it on the skylines, or perhaps just make a note in your agenda: Every Sunday from now on there will be a new SSQ!


Stay fashionable, stay sustainable.
Until next time!   


Ps. Bonus points for the ones who got the lyric references hidden within the texts.  
  

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Sources:

Halpin, M. (2016). Student art goes green to celebrate Earth Day 2016. Illinois State University News. Retrieved from: https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2016/04/student-art-goes-green-celebrate-earth-day-2016/

Linak, W. P., & Wendt, J. O. (1993). Toxic metal emissions from incineration: mechanisms and control. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 19(2), 145-185.

McKay, G. (2002). Dioxin characterisation, formation and minimisation during municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration: review. Chemical Engineering Journal, 86(3), 343-368.

Storyofstuffproject. (2009, April 22). Story of Stuff (2007, OFFICIAL Version) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

TEDx Talks. (2015, May 25). Why I live a zero waste life | Lauren Singer | TEDxTeen [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF72px2R3Hg
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Trashion

Bag Lady, modelled by Christine Spehar - Source: theguardian.com / Photograph: Monching Flores 
The 13th of September, the day the blogpost about plastic pollution was published, the headline of the Guardian caught my attention. "Trashion' designer Marina DeBris turns ocean rubbish into high-end outfits – in pictures".  Perhaps the topic was still so fresh in my mind that I was unconsciously looking for it. In any case, it is interesting enough to share it here.

The article told the story of artist Marina DeBris, who is campaigning against ocean pollution. To generate awareness for the problem she creates garments from garbage found in the ocean or at the beach. The video below gives a nice little sneak peak of her art.



Where can you see this? 


If you are by any chance in Sydney, then definitely visit her exhibition at the Bondi Pavilion Gallery at Sydney's Bondi Beach. And hurry, as you only have until the 17th of Septmeber to do so!





Stay fashionable, stay sustainable.

Until next time! 






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References:

The Guardian. (2016). 'Trashion' designer Marina DeBris turns ocean rubbish into high-end outfits – in pictures. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/sep/13/trashion-designer-marina-debris-turns-ocean-rubbish-into-high-end-outfits-in-pictures
Marina DeBris. (n.d.). Marina DeBris. Retrieved from: http://weadartists.org/artist/marinadebris