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The Simple Solution to Fast Fashion | Josephine Philips | TED

Your favorite pair of jeans — the ones you refuse to throw out — are actually a part of a global climate solution, says fashion entrepreneur Josephine Philips. When you value your existing clothes instead of chasing the latest trends, you help reduce waste and protect our planet for generations to come. Learn more about…

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Your favorite pair of jeans — the ones you refuse to throw out — are actually a part of a global climate solution, says fashion entrepreneur Josephine Philips. When you value your existing clothes instead of chasing the latest trends, you help reduce waste and protect our planet for generations to come. Learn more about the impacts of what you wear — and the incredible power of repairing your clothes.

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51 Comments

51 Comments

  1. V. C.

    September 22, 2023 at 8:31 am

    She forgot to mention that the quality of “plastic” clothes today is so terrible that there’s no way to even reuse them in the second season.

  2. CW Wong

    September 22, 2023 at 8:34 am

    you need to understand, if you repair clothing and never buy new ones. Fashion will die because nobody will follow the trends and nobody will create new trend back to the hunting and gathering. Back to rome times where everybody wearing a cloth.

  3. fairytale143

    September 22, 2023 at 8:38 am

    Love this message!

  4. Alethia Hoff

    September 22, 2023 at 8:47 am

    Growing up poor has already got me most of the way there lol. You keep clothes that fit you until you just can’t repair them anymore, anything else goes to a second hand store so someone else can have it. (plus the coupon you get from the donation helps)

  5. Angela Sealana

    September 22, 2023 at 8:48 am

    Thank you for spreading this message!

  6. Jody Roper

    September 22, 2023 at 8:54 am

    If your just stay in shape and keep your weight the same, you can wear clothing for a long time. People just keep getting fatter each year and need to buy new clothes to meet their new size.

  7. Jared Mease

    September 22, 2023 at 8:58 am

    Thank you 😘😍🥰❤

  8. Dean Vincent

    September 22, 2023 at 9:18 am

    Great talk! Thank you.

  9. SexyDalton

    September 22, 2023 at 9:32 am

    This is giving big “brush your teeth in the shower to save fresh water“ energy. I don’t watch a ton of Ted talks but is Al Gore the only one that puts the pressure on the corporations and on the industry for their destructive and self-made unsustainable business model of infinite growth in a finite world?

    • Simon Clarkstone

      September 22, 2023 at 2:55 pm

      That said, I don’t know *how much* of the problem it is tackling. Halving 1% of a problem doesn’t get you far.

  10. Zinzi Williams

    September 22, 2023 at 10:07 am

    What about people that purchase fast fashion because it’s affordable and they keep it for a long time?

  11. Bologna Tony

    September 22, 2023 at 10:24 am

    I recommend starting witg the album, Speak and Spell. Then in order all the way through to Memento Mori. Great body of work over 5 decades!

  12. Crishamae Alday

    September 22, 2023 at 10:37 am

    this did not seem like 8 misn

  13. Nancy Kelly

    September 22, 2023 at 10:42 am

    I am a fashion designer and grew up wearing and designing fast fashion for large retailers. Today, I purchase upscaled apparel and accessories as much as possible. I often useThread Up. The site quantifies the amount of waste the user has saved and makes them feel better about their purchase. That said, sometimes we can’t find an appropriate piece of clothing that fits us… i.e., a mother-of-the-bride dress in the right color and size. Valuing your clothes is only one part of the equation. Fashion, more often than not, is an emotional purchase. I hope that the new emerging technologies of AI will help analyze buyers, and trends to reduce overproduction, find ways to recycle consumer waste to make textiles, analyze consumer buying patterns, and solve for waste.

  14. Lynn Rolaf

    September 22, 2023 at 10:57 am

    This is the same for EVERY product we consume. The United States is wholly responsible for this disposal ideology because producers and manufacturers created the BUILT IN OBSOLESENCE!
    Who’s heard this term? It’s the reason the US AUTO makers lost American buyers in the late 70s & early 80s. They imagined that having their cars not working in 3 years would encourage us to buy another car much sooner than we needed to. This started the trend to poor quality EVERYTHING. It’s how the clothing industry can make disposal fashion. It falls apart in the first wash! We HAVE to replace it. It’s also cheaper, making it easy to replace.

  15. Hikaru Katayamma

    September 22, 2023 at 12:57 pm

    I still have shirts that I got back in the 70’s. I never could understand this “fast fashion” bull. You want something disposable, make the clothes out of paper.

  16. bingo!

    September 22, 2023 at 1:08 pm

    Nice talk ! 🎉

  17. John

    September 22, 2023 at 1:18 pm

    I hold consumers responsible for fast fashion, and consumers responsible for progress. Governments and businesses are derivative of people. Personal dollars and actions are votes determining our shared future. Please, let’s do well.

    Thank you, Josephine, for your contributions!

  18. João Bernardo Cunha

    September 22, 2023 at 2:25 pm

    👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

  19. Matt

    September 22, 2023 at 2:57 pm

    Not only is this great for the environment, it’s also great financially. Saving a few hundred dollars a year on clothing and instead investing it in retirement accounts will pay off later in life.

  20. David Holaday

    September 22, 2023 at 3:03 pm

    Ever since I was young, I got all my clothes from my older cousins and from thrift stores. I never bought a single pair of shorts or clothing from a TJ Maxx, or a superstore until three years ago, and that was only once. After hearing this Ted talk, I resolve to never do so again.

  21. Mat

    September 22, 2023 at 3:05 pm

    Just thank you

  22. CatOfSchroedinger

    September 22, 2023 at 3:36 pm

    tldr: buy less ?

  23. Maple Hill Munitions

    September 22, 2023 at 5:31 pm

    Climate change is natural and to think we can stop is… is very sad. Can we cause damage…. yes we have.

  24. Daniel Buraimo

    September 22, 2023 at 6:18 pm

    Powerful…. I’m happy to have stumbled on this! I’m working on something very related… This brought more fuel to my fire

  25. sigh

    September 22, 2023 at 6:46 pm

    Polyester

  26. AUGUSTO SMILE

    September 22, 2023 at 9:43 pm

    “Valuing the things that we own is a climate solution.” Josephine Philips

  27. Travellll

    September 22, 2023 at 9:52 pm

    To be honest, I clicked it because of her

  28. ken juan

    September 22, 2023 at 10:50 pm

    Companies need to make less stuff…theres absolutely no need for there to be a new iphone every year

  29. anar kissed

    September 23, 2023 at 12:16 am

    I am wearing pants of cotton I wove myself. I did not grow or spin the cotton. I am working on this. I spin wool and make the yarn and also the processing waste wool into products and garments. It is my intention to make long lasting quality clothes that can fit well in a wardrobe for life. Mind you, people need to learn how to care for their garments. We need more emphasis on this skillset.

  30. Olive

    September 23, 2023 at 4:20 am

    Good talk but I never heard what sewjo is???…. @Ted, where are the speaker’s details in the description under the video!?

  31. Spiri Rosetti

    September 23, 2023 at 6:01 am

    Don’t recommend channel!

  32. Shakhina

    September 23, 2023 at 8:10 am

    A creative approach to care for our planet. It’s just amazing

  33. Donald Hobson

    September 23, 2023 at 8:32 am

    This is about giving something up. In this case what you are trying to get people to give up is massive amounts of cheap cloths.
    Most people don’t want an emotional relationship with their cloths. They just want cloths that work and that they can ignore.

    The “if ripped, bin”, “if short on cloths, buy some” is a simple rule for people who mostly want to do other things.

  34. Vũ Yến My - 21 - A10

    September 23, 2023 at 9:19 am

    it’s extremely inspiring <3

  35. Simo Kokko

    September 23, 2023 at 6:00 pm

    Many say that H&M, Zara, etc. clothing is poor quality and does not last after a few washes. That might be true in some cases. But not all the time. I have a few pairs of H&M jeans, which have been very durable. I have used those jeans during construction work and washed them tens or maybe over a hundred times, and they still are okay. There are some minor holes, but they are generally very durable jeans. So fast fashion brand clothing is not necessarily evil if you keep using those clothes, not throw them away. Josephine gave an excellent TED talk.

  36. Timothy Harper

    September 23, 2023 at 6:02 pm

    Make disposable things out of disposable materials rather than some plastic thread that lasts an eternity.

  37. policeman 110

    September 23, 2023 at 6:12 pm

    Great talk

  38. Christine Li

    September 23, 2023 at 8:20 pm

    Cannot agree more. Absolutely correct. 🎉 don’t don’t buy so much and just wear once. It causes too much waste and the plant is on the verge of collapse.

  39. Vstm

    September 24, 2023 at 4:12 am

    What a wise woman. For the last 10 years since I understand this I only buy clothes when they wear out outside of repair. So… I don’t reallt apend money on clothes anymore, they last years ❤

  40. Khalid Sakib

    September 24, 2023 at 5:35 am

    Great ❤

  41. Patrick Mclaughlin

    September 24, 2023 at 6:18 am

    Luxury items need to ne banned.

  42. Wszechrzecz

    September 24, 2023 at 9:32 am

    🔥🔥🔥

  43. Kishor Chaudhari

    September 24, 2023 at 3:26 pm

    Unfortunately this gives livelihood to many people in some countries. In india, the sarees are handover to next generation even now. Few decades earlier the clothes were given to relatives as you grow up

  44. William Santana

    September 25, 2023 at 12:48 am

    Ive got a starter jacket i had since 2009 i still wear it today and people ask me where i got it from….not to mention vintage clothing is always gonna be in so saving your good garments make sense

  45. World of Imagination

    September 25, 2023 at 3:59 am

    🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

    00:08 👗 The Value of Clothing
    01:08 🌍 The Fast Fashion Generation
    02:07 ♻️ Reducing Fashion Waste
    03:37 👕 Valuing and Caring for Clothes
    05:07 💬 Clothing with Stories
    06:40 🌎 Responsibility and Opportunity
    07:38 🌿 A Climate Solution

    Made with HARPA AI

  46. Parker

    September 25, 2023 at 5:01 am

    A very touching speech!

  47. Rob Hannaford

    September 25, 2023 at 7:53 am

    FAQ’s Link on your site is broken.

  48. Gianluigi Galeota

    September 25, 2023 at 1:25 pm

    Utterly speechless! I’m so very touched by this! It really strikes a chord!

  49. Rachna knowledge hub

    September 26, 2023 at 8:32 am

    Very very very very nice 👍🏻 ❤❤😊😊😊

  50. AntonyoKnight

    September 26, 2023 at 1:40 pm

    There’s the same pattern of production problems all around the world by manufacturing rubbish…

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