When: July 5th - 7th, 2021
Where: Online | Social Media Challenge
Register: https://bit.ly/2TyhHfw
The Anatomy of Action (AoA) and GO4SDGs are disseminating the 3-day social media challenge #MadeinAfrica that engages organisations, global influencers and the public to encourage their communities to make sustainable lifestyle changes.
In developing economies and much of Africa, the pressures to meet basic needs overshadows the rush to cut carbon - but societal and consumption aspirations remain similar. Considering the impact of household and lifestyle choices on climate, nature, and pollution, we must shift our thinking, re-examine our relationship with nature and swap unsustainable actions for those that have a positive impact on people and planet.
Increasing consumption, manufacture and use of textile products affect the global climate, the quality of ecosystems and human health, through their high use of energy, chemicals, land, and water. Clothing production approximately doubled in the last 15 years, whilst the number of times a garment is worn before being discarded has decreased 36% [1].
The fashion industry is the world's second largest pollutant and currently poses a major problem for African nations. WRAP estimates that 70 per cent of all the UK’s used clothing is sent overseas [2], and prior to the pandemic, 15 million items arrived in Ghana alone weekly, with about 40 percent of those being discarded [3]. Waste management systems on the continent are under remarkable pressure and much of this #stuff chokes drainage systems, pollutes oceans and damages ecosystems.
UNEP's Anatomy of Action separates lifestyles into 5 areas of action: food, stuff, move, money, and fun. Based on scientific evidence, the framework outlines the top-level individual changes to support the growing shift to global sustainability.
Join and support the #MadeInAfrica challenge! You will have 3 days to show how you care about redesigning textiles, saying no to plastic and to celebrating local designers! From July 5th- 7th, the focus is on Africa: Sustainable Fashion Movement.
Follow the #AnatomyofAction #MadeInAfrica challenge on Instagram
[1] Fashion and the circular economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017
[2] Where do your old clothes go?, BBC, 2015.
[3] Why our second-hand clothes are causing an “environmental catastrophe” on the other side of the world, Fashion Round Table, 2020.
