What was I thinking again? Stomping through the desert like some virtuous envoy, capturing social-media shots of the second-hand & textile waste environmental catastrophe in the Chilean Atacama Desert, recording the "real voices" on-site, only to return home and endlessly preach about the world's evils and our ugly consumption habits? Supposedly, the crucial element of this visit was the spine-chilling footage, because that's what would have brought at least a little compensation for my independent, self-financed investigation and attracts Western NGOs and companies. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a group of fantastic, creative people (intentionally politically active) who swiftly brought me back to reality.
"Enough with the Global South shaming," they said.
"Enough with the exponential use of populist (drone) shots that have been circulating in the scene for three years, utilized by nearly every fashion brand and environmental group to highlight a problem whose complexity hasn't been truly and comprehensively understood."
"Enough with the empty promises of projects financed by the Global North and supposed product-level solutions to solve the systemic waste problem."
So, my research goal was completely flipped upside down, leaving me temporarily bewildered and disoriented. Please find my article for Ecotextile here attached.
