Dear Influencers,

If you read last month’s blog post, you know that the report informing my 2024 Fashion Challenge discusses in large part the fact that the top 1%, the wealthiest individuals have the biggest role to play when it comes to reducing consumption in order for us to live in alignment with our planet’s 1.5 degree Celsius threshhold. So for today, I want to address the top 1% of influencers.

I’m not talking to the small creators, particularly those from BIPOC, Disabled, or other underrepresented communities; nor am I talking about the educators, environmentalists, activists, artists, and business owners who are just trying to support themselves.

I’m talking to the 100k+ personality whose style and content are often informed by product deals that come in from places like Boohoo, Shein, Princess Polly, and so many other fast fashion brands. Influencers who absolutely have the means to afford pricier, ethical fashion pieces but don’t know (ideal) or care (less than ideal) about garment worker conditions and the state of the planet. Influencers who have shared endless clothing hauls, those ‘I spent $1k at Shein and here’s what I got’ videos, bringing home dozens of pieces at a time and giving followers the impression that buying endless amounts of clothing is par for the course. Influencers who are excited to share closet cleanout videos, only to then use that as an excuse as to why they should now go out and buy more clothing. If I may quote Uncle Ben from Spiderman:

With great power comes great responsibility.

As influencers, we do not get to feign accountability because we didn’t ‘know’ that H&M and Shein and Zara underpaid their garment workers. I know I’m not the only one who sees people commenting their critiques of fast fashion in your branded posts! Nor can we feign accountability because the climate crisis isn’t personally impacting you. It will, and in fact it probably already has. Whether you’re in New York, Los Angeles, London, or anywhere else, the climate crisis is here. And as a person with a platform, you have a responsibility to use it wisely.

Unfortunately that means no more fast fashion brand deals and hauls, but it does mean that you now have an opportunity to get creative and help usher in a new era of influencing. Go thrift shopping, learn how to sew and make your own clothing, repurpose the clothing items you’re not wearing anymore, host clothing swaps to make friends. There are endless opportunities when it comes to making the fashion industry, and the world, a better place. We need you!