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Tune in to the insightful discussion from Fashion Revolution Singapore who venture beyond the fashion industry to explore this question with 3 knowledgable speakers, who grapple with the same sustainability conundrum in their own spaces, and learn how every one of us can be catalysts of change through both our personal choices and our voices.
How can the need for change expand beyond individual action. How do you campaign for your change? What is activism and how does Singapore rate in terms of ‘regular people’ making everyday changes and encouraging others to do the same.
These questions are explored in the 2021 Singapore Fashion Revolution week on “Fashioning a better tomorrow today - as individuals, businesses and government”.
“Fashioning a better tomorrow today - as individuals, businesses and government” - Watch and Listen here: FASHION REVOLUTION SINGAPORE
The panel featured our very own Kai Paul, Head of Sustainability and Production and co-founder of Indosole, Audrey Yang (IG: @thisisaudsomee / @a.tiny.warrior), Visual Designer & Sustainability Advocate, Estella Ho, organiser with SG Climate Rally.
The top line discussion delved into the interconnection between different sectors and their changemaking strategies, how you can be part of the solution as individuals, and how advocacy can look in Singapore.
For change to happen, people need to be made aware of issues then they question whether they want to do something about it and then they look for ways to make that change or champion a cause.
For Audrey @thisisaudsomee, who considers herself a ‘regular person’ she plays a strong role in Singapore in that first stage of awareness with her Instagram account @a.tiny.warrior
Estella agrees and talks about the later stage of change where activism plays a role. She goes on to talk about what an entry point to activism looks like - usually this is when people begin to feel strongly about a subject and go further to better understand the issues. Further down the activism route is when they are feeling empowered and thirdly, they have the time and energy to dedicate to the cause that matters to them.
Just because someone is not an activist in society and in a public domain, it does not mean they are not an activist in their own home or close community of friends and family which can often have very positive effects.
Kai goes on to talk about the role of business in making change. The role business can play in shifting the fashion industry norms to more sustainable models. He talks about the B-Corp certification (read more what is a B-Corp?) which Indosole has held since 2014 and what the real point of B-Corp is
The real point of B-Corp is to spread out the stakeholders beyond the traditional monetary shareholders, to People - both society at large and the people directly involved in production and manufacturing, to the Environment both in terms of pollution and resource management, but also animal welfare.
Kai points out that B-Corp is not only thorough but encouraging to businesses at every stage of their journey towards a more sustainable future because it shows how and where your business can improve - from everything to the types of lightbulbs used, to the amount of hours worked by ALL employees, to the choices of resources to boardroom pay cheques.
Fashion Revolution is the world's largest fashion activism movement, mobilising citizens, industry and policymakers through our research, education and advocacy work. You can read about the Fashion Revolution here: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/
Fashion Revolution week might have officially finished for 2021 but we hope that you continue to look closely at your fashion consumption, questioning where do your clothes come from, who makes them, what are they made of and can you and the brands you choose do better for the Planet and the People that make them.
Fashion Revolution is constantly striving for a fashion industry that’s kinder to People and the Planet and you can follow their story using the following hashtags:
#whomademyclothes #whatsinmyclothes #whomademyfabric
Speaker bios:
Audrey Yang (IG: @thisisaudsomee / @a.tiny.warrior), Visual Designer & Sustainability Advocate
A visual designer by profession, Audrey advocates for sustainable living by communicating complex issues through bite-sized posts on her Instagram account @thisisaudsomee. As a firm believer of both individual and collective action, she inspires her audience with green habits from her everyday life as well as ways to push for systemic change. Lately, she finds joy in clothes swapping and is learning to live more mindfully in general.
Estella Ho, organiser with SG Climate Rally
Estella (she/her) has been an organiser with SG Climate Rally since the movement's inception in 2019, and has worked on multiple campaigns that centre systemic change and the need for a just transition to a net zero economy. As her day job, she oversees regional sustainability for an e-commerce platform.
Kai Paul, Head of Manufacturing & Sustainability at Indosole
Sustainability cannot be created overnight. It is a steady progression through adaptation and change, an exploration of discovery and innovation, and for Kai Paul, this is his life’s journey.
Kai is Head of Manufacturing, Innovation and Sustainability at Indosole, a solutions-based company focused on innovation and community development for a better future. (You can listen to Kai's Ted Talk about using Waste as a Resource here)
Moderated by Chu Wong, Country Coordinator of Fashion Revolution Singapore
Having worked on business strategy and implementation in the corporate world, Chu now focuses on solving problems and increasing efficiency in projects related to the environment and social causes. Chu specialises in sustainable fashion, with experience spanning across multiple organisations in the industry, both non- and for-profit. She is the Country Coordinator of Fashion Revolution Singapore, and was the founder of Shop Bettr (@shopbettr).
