Before publishing her book, “Consumed,” about society’s relationship with consumption and sustainability in September, Aja Barber was already a voice on Instagram (256,000 followers) in the fashion sustainability space. Her focus was on breaking down the stigma around overhauling fast-fashion shopping patterns and encouraging her followers to change their own.
Sustainability has been brought forward as a more important issue during the Covid-19 pandemic, as production halted and the emissions stopped for the first time in generations. However, for many consumers, the language around sustainability is still difficult and inaccessible, even as many of them understand its overall importance. As a previous fast-fashion consumer, Barber looked at education as a key way to engage the consumer.
“There’s this weird barrier to entry, [when it comes] to information, yet we need everybody involved in the conversation,” said Barber, regarding the impetus to writing her book. She saw it as a fitting next step, as she has used her platform on social media to engage consumers while also encouraging them to think about their purchases. From talking about waste colonialism in Cambodia to the spending addictions in the U.S., Barber breaks down these topics simply.
In April, Barber also led Vestiaire Collective’s #CollectiveforChange campaign that raises awareness of the vast quantities of waste produced by the fashion industry.
As an expert on race and intersectional feminism, Barber also aims to bring to the sustainability conversation the topic of intersectionality, which was severely neglected at this year’s talks at COP26. Although China remains the world’s largest exporter of apparel, at 32% of the global total, Bangladesh remains a close second. Eighty percent of the country’s earnings come from garment exports, according to the International Finance Corporation.
“The fashion industry was built on key colonialism factors within our history. We talk about the history of colonialism, but we talk about it removed from the systems that we see today that are super oppressive,” she said. “Things like chattel slavery that kick-started the Industrial Revolution brought us the fast, accessible fashion that we depend on today. Nobody ever does their production in countries like Bangladesh in the Global South because they’re being altruistic.”
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