‘Swishing’ – a Movement Championing Sustainable Fashion

Ever snapped up three tops for 8 pounds, and then wondered how they could be so cheap? Who made it? Is it a good thing that they should be paid so little?

It’s a morally tricky world out there if you want to enjoy the pleasures of fashion and live ethically at the same time. The dynamics of sweatshop labour, disposable fashion and the high carbon footprint of goods lugged half way around world are imbedded in the industry. However, in 2007 a movement was created that will give trendy types with a conscience some reasons to be cheerful.

It’s called Swishing, and it involves going to parties, getting pissed with your friends and swapping your unwanted clothes for someone else’s. Founded by Lucy Shea, the CEO of Futerra Sustainability Communications, it has fast become a global phenomenon.

Sustainable Technology

Our gadgets are often missing one crucial feature for sustainability – a personal connection to the user. Developers can help us learn to love the tech we use.

Sustainable consumerism, not exactly two words that fit together well, but if developers were to change their business models, and we were to change our attitudes to the products we use and throw away every day, they could be reconciled.

Most consumer electronics we use today are designed to work well for a few years, before more or less giving up the ghost at conveniently around the time the update comes out. They are designed with built in obsolescence in mind. Not just in terms of your iPhone’s battery, for example, spluttering out after half a day of use 18 months after purchase, but they are also made to look old as soon as they are superseded. The problem with smartphones is that they are not designed to be customizable. You can shift your apps around, but the device in your pocket will always look exactly as the designers intended it to, specifically, older than that new one you saw in a shop window last week.