In a world where the algorithms dictates desire, it’s easier than ever to shop without thinking. A single swipe on TikTok can trigger a chain reaction – from viral trends to overstuffed wardrobes to the textile landfills of the Global South. But as the fashion industry races ahead at breakneck speed, a growing movement of thinkers, innovators, and educators are hitting pause – and asking us to do the same.
Leading the way is Aja Barber, a writer, activist and author of Consumed, whose work has been pivotal in exposing fashion’s entanglement with colonialism, capitalism and climate breakdown. “I had to have a real cold turkey watershed moment,” she says. “I found I had a massive amount of clothing I couldn’t just dump at a charity shop knowing what I now know about the colonialist waste stream that flows into Ghana.”
