From the field to your closet, your clothes go on a long journey before they enter your life. Designer Amy Powney explores the fashion industry’s brutal impact on the environment and human health, modeling what ethical, planet-friendly clothing can look like — and inviting us all to think beyond the label.
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Stephen Catton
October 9, 2023 at 7:53 am
Fashion is the definition of a waste of time, effort and Energy. Your whole industry is based on a throwaway economy. Without changes in fashion there’d be no reason or no wish to change your clothes other than You need something you haven’t got or they have become Unreparable. Clothes should be functional, repairable and well made. By the way I hope she realises that the windmill the television and practically everything that she touches or uses has had some material derived from crude oil. The consumers of fashion is mostly women. Even before the Industrial Revolution most clothing was created by women. This is nothing new and it allowed them to work from home whilst looking after their children. This is a good thing and shouldn’t be derided. To say that it’s mostly women who are creating clothing as a bad thing is to get it 100% wrong. What will make an impact is women not buying clothing as fashion. That would be the biggest driver in reducing and changing the amount and way we use clothing. Even the clothing that men buy is mostly decided by women. Women make 80% of the household purchase decisions. So if she’s going to bring gender into this this is not caused by men this is caused by women.
Sushant
October 9, 2023 at 8:06 am
Dear entitled owners of nature,Please save earth, please open your eyes now 🙏
Larry
October 9, 2023 at 8:37 am
Produce more than we consume. Did you not develop fully?
Dubie Dubie Do
October 9, 2023 at 8:53 am
You are ALL delusional to believe that 😂
Flowerfloc__
October 9, 2023 at 9:06 am
how about get rich of rich scum and their companies
DDD HHJ
October 9, 2023 at 10:08 am
TED ED made me loose interest after the vegan wala video
K4R3N
October 9, 2023 at 10:14 am
Fashion, meat industry and air travel killing the planet. We are being too frivolous with our consumption.
John Sirois
October 9, 2023 at 10:15 am
How much does her stuff cost, and why the f**k do we need “Fashion” anyway?
Jason McClain
October 9, 2023 at 10:23 am
Fashion means nothing, period. It’s just vanity and ego.
scribbler60
October 9, 2023 at 10:38 am
“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.” Oscar Wilde
Except now it’s every 3 weeks.
Terros
October 9, 2023 at 10:55 am
Wait,.. I can keep consuming to the same degree without any guilt, sign me up! Capitalism really is the solution to the climate crisis!!! 🎉
Ashley Densmore
October 9, 2023 at 10:57 am
Fashion is in the eyes of the beholder. I see no real fashion trends anymore. Most people just where what is cheap and comfortable, has a brand name stamped on it, and/or accentuates their body in the way they like. It is easy to throw stones at consumers of Shein, Temu, Forever21, etc. But we each need to look at our own consumption practices. Letting produce go to waste, pouring paint or other toxic chemicals down drains, what certain foods do to our bodies. Ask the question “how can what I’m purchasing harm me, others, the planet by what it’s made of, how it’s made, where it will go when I’m done with it?” We no longer just have to live with buyer’s remorse, we now get buyer’s guilt as well. Watching Ted Talks is tough these days.
Heart Touching Songs
October 11, 2023 at 3:06 am
Yeah it’s tough as it’s absolutely realistic
joowahn
October 9, 2023 at 11:49 am
shop in asia
Isaac Kotlicky
October 9, 2023 at 12:20 pm
She’s positing that 3.4 BILLION people work in the chain of clothes production? That over HALF the world’s working population makes clothes for a living? I’m… skeptical. Otherwise, I appreciate the focus on sustainability.
burcipek
October 9, 2023 at 2:13 pm
This is a good point and the number being too high is what could make it hard to believe. (I will try to verify the number later) but I want to emphasis that clothing is a birthright, right? In a world where every single thing is supposed to come from a production and logistics chain, the number now seems even less to me.
Saran Bhatia
October 9, 2023 at 12:46 pm
What a great and meaningful talk…..thanks for this!
Smith Js
October 9, 2023 at 1:05 pm
it’s all greed.
Buy YouTube Views | Grow Views
October 9, 2023 at 1:09 pm
Have you thought about making a second channel on youtube, I think a lot of people would watch you
あきら
October 9, 2023 at 1:21 pm
I wear the same clothes everyday.
Akira
October 9, 2023 at 1:21 pm
I wear the same clothes everyday.
Parves Shahin
October 9, 2023 at 1:47 pm
Fast fashion detrimental for our entire plant.If we want to a healthy environment for our next generation we must be concern about when buying new items.
Mylee Martin
October 9, 2023 at 2:43 pm
I personally love fashion and I think there is a way to save the planet and also love what we wear. But most huge companies aren’t making business decisions with the environment in mind.
Nichole
October 9, 2023 at 3:01 pm
There were laws lifted back in I think the late 80’s that allowed other countries to produce cheaper clothing and undercut the value of their products which in turn priced out other countries being able to compete. This caused the issue we are in now. But also the mindset of so many generations has changed. Many of them simply do not care past “their front door”. Coupled with how inflation has priced out people that normally would be able to afford daily necessities which includes clothing and shoes.
cat server
October 9, 2023 at 4:30 pm
Made a New Years Resolution a few years ago to rid my wardrobe of synthetic fabrics. With how the world is working and what is available this is impossible. I’ve been trying for three years now, I can’t find socks, bras, underwear, shoes or anything in my price range to replace some of the stuff I am able to get rid of. So, my opinion is get affordable plain but well made items out there again. I once had a ten minute argument with a sales person whom I told I wanted a plain white tshirt. She said “We have microfiber. We have 50/50 and 40/60 cotton and poly.”. And none of it lasts, I have allergies to synthetics, and the quality clothes I do have are wearing out. As soon as the market gets decent stuff available, I am there. But even high end stuff is made of polyester and nylon. It’s ridiculous.
Ronald L. & Angela M. Vaught
October 9, 2023 at 8:37 pm
does tell us& not invisable
zmmm88
October 9, 2023 at 9:32 pm
TED please upload more 💩💩💩
Lorenzo
October 9, 2023 at 11:19 pm
The founder of TED should be removed and a new person introduced to bring back intellectual curiosity and honesty. Shame on Chris.
oh hi there
October 10, 2023 at 6:46 am
3:10 so many clothes have lost their quality as well – after just a couple of wears, they look already worn out, lost their shape and fibers make up into the “bubbles” which are very difficult to remove. such clothing is unmendable – there are no holes to mend yet, but it’s already misshapen and fabric is heavily pilled. i’m very upset with this because i do prefer to wear my clothes for longer. i have my own taste, and i don’t chase fads. when i have my own taste, it’s often difficult to find to buy what i like (yes,i end uo making some things myself). so when i do find to buy what i like, i want to wear it as long as possible.
quality of everything has declined, tbh, not only clothes… trying to save costs, quality suffers. trying to mass produce in greater numbers – quality suffers.
just sad.
my favourite fabric is cotton, and i struggle to find 100% cotton tshirts (or other garments) in shops – it’s most often either mixed with synthetic fibers like polyester, or is pure polyester to begin with. (but cotton + elastan is also a favourite fabric.)
wool is too itchy, silk is too cold and too smooth, i don’t like fur as i didn’t find it as warming as synthetic filling or natural dawn. viscose is ok i guess.
i love cotton and denim (also cotton), i love leather (as it’s very durable and will last for a very long time, as opposed to “vegan” “leather” or PolyUrethane PU which is just plastic and glue, and will start peeling after a year or two no matter how well you store it, so real leather turns out to be better for the planet in the long run – if they can find 500 year old skeletons still wearing leather shoes, bby, you know it’s gonna last 👍). i can’t have – and don’t want to have – too much of leather goods. one of each for jacket, coat, boots, bag, belt, gloves – that is enough. but i sure do love cotton 🥰
Melanie Benoit
October 10, 2023 at 6:53 am
fully support this beautiful concept. but I believe that success will really come and only if we manage to make it economically profitable.
Topper
October 10, 2023 at 12:13 pm
Seeing and knowing the impact every small creature comfort should be understood. And not shipped to far away location making it a local issue for others.
Dvora *
October 10, 2023 at 4:11 pm
Thank You Amy. Beautifully said 👏👏👏
Joy L
October 11, 2023 at 12:34 pm
I love to sew and thrift a lot of my materials. It’s hard to trace things back beyond what fabric retailer it came from. Sometimes you can find a manufacturer brand, like Tencel, but it’s a complicated system. I like seeing recycled materials and bamboo more often, but they’re so expensive. That being said, expensive is relative. I made my wedding dress with Tencel, an upcycled sheet, some scrap lace I had, some zip ties, as well as new interfacing and boning. It cost about $80, but compared to local bridal stores where dresses started at $200 and went up to $2000, it makes mine sound a lot cheaper. People said I should sell things I sew, but when you add in the time it takes to make a pattern that fits, and all the work of putting it together, most people can’t justify spending more than $80 on one item of clothing.