Many just jump on the bandwagon of just looking pretty on a magazine cover, giving a shoutout to the MUAS, photographers, stylists of all sorts as they post the photos online. They even cite their experience about making it on the cover. But not Swedish climate activist & teen icon Greta Thurnberg! She's using this attention for social awareness.
Only the great Greta Thunberg can go on the cover of the world’s best fashion magazine and talk about how the same fashion industry is killing the climate around us. The confidence! Swedish climate protection activist goes off on fast fashion and its negative impact on the environment in an Instagram post announcing her Vogue Scandinavia cover. The teen icon threw up one photo from the cover on the 'gram to state, "While I have your attention, let’s talk about how fast fashion is contributing to the climate crisis."
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Thunberg appeared on the cover of the first-ever issue of Vogue Scandinavia. Now while we’re sure she was honoured by the distinction by the famous fashion brand, she used the spotlight to address climate change. She further opened her no-holds-barred takedown in an Instagram post, “The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate-and ecological emergency, not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables”.
“Many are making it look as if the fashion industry is starting to take responsibility, by spending fantasy amounts on campaigns where they portray themselves as ‘sustainable,’ ‘ethical,’ ‘green,’ ‘climate neutral’ and ‘fair.’ But let’s be clear: This is almost never anything but pure greenwashing. You cannot mass produce fashion or consume ‘sustainably’ as the world is shaped today. That is one of the many reasons why we will need a system change,” the young activist continued. And she’s not wrong.
For example, it takes over 2,000 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans. Of course, there are brands trying to become more sustainable, like Levi’s Water< Fewer jeans, which it says uses up to 96% less water in the manufacturing process. However, there’s no such thing as ‘eco-friendly clothing’ — i.e. all garments have at least some negative impact on the environment. The most sustainable thing you can do is buy clothes that have already been worn before second-hand or new ones made entirely from recycled fabrics.
Thunberg actually confirmed Vogue Scandinavia in her interview, “The last time I bought something new was three years ago and it was second-hand. I just borrow things from people I know.” Obviously, Vogue Scandinavia and fast fashion are not one in the same lane, so it’s not exactly like Thunberg is roasting the magazine.
However, she really went off on the industry that this iconic magazine represents. Greta, as always, remains a damn queen. It’s just extremely on-brand for the fiery queen to use her status as a magazine cover star for an imprint devoted to fashion to call out the same industry in one fell swoop. As always, iconic!
(Source: Instagram/Vogue Scandinavia)
