This week, we're joined from Berlin by author and sustainability expert, Alec Leach. As a former fashion editor, Alec has spent a large part of his career understanding how men in particular are convinced, persuaded and tricked into buying things they don't really need. While in the past, we might've thought of the young woman at the mall as the stereotypical overconsumer, Alec argues that there's a new paradigm at play, that the so-called hypebeast—the nerdy, internet-obsessed, sneaker-collecting guy—has become the new model that fashion and luxury brands have cultivated. With disastrous consequences for the planet.
For more Non-Toxic fashion advice, check out my conversation with Nicolaj Reffstrup, former CEO of Ganni. And to hear more about consumer culture and the climate crisis, listen to this episode with sustainability advertising expert Lucy von Sturmer.
Bio:
Alec Leach is a sustainability strategist, former digital editor at fashion magazine Highsnobiety, and the author of The World is on Fire, But We’re Still Buying Shoes. He's also got a great substack.
Links
Why we shouldn't believe what consumers say when it comes to sustainability
Clicking the boredom away – Exploring impulse fashion buying behavior online
Why lonely people bought more stuff online during Covid-19 lockdowns
The regulators are coming for greenwashing brands.
Many men are buying more sustainably, but they're calling something else, like "Buy it for life" aka BIFL.
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