TIMES SQUARE BILLBOARDS AND CLOTHING WASTE 'ZOMBIE' ILLUSTRATE DEVASTATING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FUELED BY FAST FASHION

(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)

The Clothing Zombie and Times Square Billboard

The Or Foundation urges brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, and Disney to publish their production volumes, help combat global waste crisis

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 13, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- The Or Foundation , the leading mobilizer of solutions to fashion's waste crisis in Ghana and beyond, is calling on brands and retailers of all sizes to join the "Speak Volumes" initiative. This bold challenge seeks to foster greater transparency within the fashion industry by encouraging companies, including the brands found most often on Ghana's beaches, to publicly disclose their production volumes. The goal of“Speak Volumes” is to draw awareness to the business model of overproduction and to catalyze a more just distribution of responsibility when it comes to cleaning up fashion's waste crisis, which builds on The Or Foundation's overall goal of promoting a shift towards a justice-led circular fashion economy.

It's estimated that the fashion industry produces between 80 billion and 150 billion garments annually, with some sources suggesting numbers nearing 200 billion. This waste is wreaking havoc on ecosystems and communities around the world in places like Ghana's Kantamanto Market (the largest secondhand clothing market in the world), Chile's Atacama desert, and Kenya's Dandora dumpsite. Overproduction, rather than a lack of recycling technology, is the root cause of this fashion waste crisis.

In order to clean up fashion's waste crisis, develop data-driven policies, and transition from a linear to a circular economy, it's critical to understand how many garments are produced every year. The volume of units in production is a readily available data point for companies and a vital element in the transformation of the fashion industry, yet the data is not publicly available.

From September 9-22, three billboards in Times Square (above Forever 21, the Disney Store, and the Marriott Marquis) will demonstrate the reality and impact of fashion waste in stark contrast to the consumerist displays that dominate the area. Performance artist Jeremy Hutchison will make daily appearances dressed as an eight-foot-tall clothing 'zombie' made of discarded clothes to address the“zombie in the room” that the world must confront. The zombie is also making appearances at New York Fashion Week shows alongside activist Sophia Li to interview passersby about their knowledge of the clothing waste crisis.

The Or Foundation has inspired ambassadors like fair fashion campaigner Venetia La Manna, Saad Amer, and Thania Peck to amplify the campaign on social media to call on brands to share their production volumes. The Or Foundation will then share brands' public commitments via social media and the Stop Waste Colonialism website, alongside companies like Collina Strada, Finisterre, Lucy & Yak, and ASKET that have already shared their production volumes. The initiative will continue until the biggest producers step up.

Brands and retailers are invited to take action today and be part of the first 100 brands to "Speak Volumes," while consumers can petition their favorite brands to participate. To join this vital movement and embrace transparency, visit:

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Melody Serafino
No. 29 Communications
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