Is Fashion a Dressed up Dinosaur?

According to Permaculture co-founder David Holmgren we have enough clothing produced for the coming 20 years, so we don’t need to waste our resources or time any more on clothing production, and can just let fashion die out like a lipsticked dinosaur. In a Treehugger Interview he criticizes the development of greening up fashion, saying: “nowadays there is much focus on how we can make clothing manufacture more ecologically friendly, but we have enough clothes in the world for the next 20 years, we don’t need more clothes manufacture.”

Holmgren states we have to focus our resources on food production and not on transports or goods production. Well, if it true that we have enough clothes to wear for twenty years, can we just kill fashion? Just say food is more important than our daily beauty? Change our aesthetics in such a way, that we don’t need to wear something new every single day? And what about the billion people working in the clothing sector, should they just produce food instead?

It is a far out critics on both fashion and eco fashion. Basically, I think it is important that we challenge our vision and underlying presumptions and economic philosophy a bit more often. Currently, the assumption of a friendly capitalism is so whide spread, that we often forget questioning our paradigms.

In that light it is even much more interesting to challenge the fashion production chain with the question what a future lack of fuel resources and Peak Oil could mean for our clothing industries. Should we really start localizing our production chains? What can be the implication if transport systems like we have them now simply can’t exist anymore?

It is biting concepts, other worlds, just not fitting. It is not done to question, I know. It is absurd and ridiculous. And the current move towards more a sustainable clothing production is already offering a big time alternative to the highly polluting and dehuminizing practices that we have to deal with. But in the light of what is really an effective way to make clothing ecologically sustainable, we should discuss all options, and be open to challenge our underlying presumptions and ideology. Even if it’s just for a mind game.

A big thanks also to Lars Schmidt from Art Ecology Education, who challenged me today.

Well, what do you think?

Image: Turner Classic Movies