I've long been interested in the clothes we choose to wear—who and what we don—to express our individuality or to look fashionable.1I thought I had a pretty good view of the totality of the all-encompassing fashion industry until I discovered Collective Fashion Justice, when I came to realize that my and others' views only reflected the tip of the "fashion iceberg." I immediately reached out to their founding director, Emma Håkansson, and I'm thrilled she agreed to answer a few questions about a total ethics and comprehensive fashion system "which prioritises life and wellbeing for all."2 Emphasizing that we must have concern for humans, nonhumans, and the planet forms the foundation of a model eclectic ethic for others to follow.

Marc Bekoff: Why do you do what you do to change the fashion industry?

Emma Håkansson: Collective Fashion Justice was formed because the fashion industry is far from operating within a framework that respects and prioritises life over profit—despite both the environmental and long-term economic sustainability of the industry demanding it (there’s no other planet for us to make money on should we destroy this one).

Specifically, it exists because the current definition of ‘sustainability’ in fashion is sterile and lifeless. It considers greenhouse gas emissions, chemistry, water use, and other important factors, but fails to acknowledge that the environment we work to protect is made up of biodiverse and sentient life—both human and other than human. The fashion industry remains unable to truly grapple with the idea that for it to be sustainable it must not only operate within planetary boundaries, but moral boundaries, where sentient life is not exploited and taken for profit. As humans, we are one of many phenomenal animal species, and all of us animals don’t just live in nature, we are a part of it. Our work exists to look at sustainability through this more holistic and accurate lens, towards policy change that respects and protects life.

MB: How does your work relate to your background and areas of........

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