What a week. (Does anyone know what day it is?)
This week saw the digital landscape flooded with action: Earth Day turned 50 and went digital for the first time – and Fashion Revolution, the world’s largest fashion activism movement, named (and shamed) the transparency of the world’s biggest brands.
As fashion, culture and climate change go hand in hand, this week’s AtlasNews is celebrating the conservation badasses and fierce fashionistas looking after the planet. Plus, we’ve a hip hop climate-comedy and Earth Day giveaway.
Until next week, stay healthy, future-curious and useful in this time of reflection.
Lisa Goldapple, Your Editor
1. Transparency is trending ?
“We can engage you with your wardrobes, with your principles, with your gut feelings and show you something you can do. Now, more than ever, we need to keep asking #whomademyclothes?”
Do you know who made your clothes; who grew the cotton & spun the threads? This week, Fashion Revolution has been throwing light on fast fashion – and revealed that H&M is the world’s most transparent fashion brand. Who else made the cut?
2. This is not a joke ?
“An Eskimo on a mass of ice, a Bedouin in the desert and a Polynesian at sea are planting a tree. This is not just the beginning of a joke.”
New project: So reads the website of Treedom, the world’s first e-commerce website that enables people to plant trees and follow their progress online, while helping farmers in the global south. On Earth Day, the Italians behind it turned video views into trees.
► Make the world greener with one click
3. Ever heard of a climate-comedy? ?
“Just like the coronavirus pandemic, people of colour are on the frontlines of the climate crisis.”
Watch: During yesterday’s ‘Earth Day Live’, the world got its first look at Hip Hop Caucus collective’s new film, Ain’t Your Mama’s Heat Wave!. Finding humour in existential threat is a new genre of climate justice storytelling that speaks our language.
► Hip hop, the Caucus don’t stop
4. Meet the tree-defenders ?
“When it comes to keeping trees standing, that’s the question the inhabitants of the world’s forests are asking. If not us, then who?”
AtlasAction: As the coronavirus reaches every part of the globe, Indigenous organisations are asking for public donations to help protect those leading the fight to protect our forests. Get lost amongst the trees in this online video library and learn more:
► Explore communities from Panama to Peru
5. Transform your junk into trees ✂️
“Junk Kouture inspires outstanding creativity and environmentally aware behaviour about how much we consume.”
New approach: A Fash Rev favourite, Junk Kouture encourages teens to recycle by creating outrageous trash fashion. On Tuesday they released the online voting for the 2020 finalists under the theme ‘Barking up the wrong tree’ – and a new film competition.
► Create high end couture at home
6. Explore ‘frugal science’ ?
“It’s important to bring open-ended tools for discovery without dumbing down the tools.”
Popular project: Citizen science is a key theme of Earth Day 2020. With this Foldscope paper origami microscope, you can analyse all kinds of things at home, like leaves or soap. The cheap and easy tool is used for science in the global south.
► It’s important to get kids into science
7. Spot pangolin DNA ?
“Knowing within minutes whether something is an endangered or invasive species is critical to protect biodiversity on our planet.”
New project: This low cost DNA barcode scanner by CXL is designed to ‘democratise genetic analysis’ so that everyone from conservationists to everyday citizens can identify species without a lab.
► Protecting diversity can stop extinction
8. Special: Earth Day giveaway ?
“Everyone should have access to friendly, reliable, low-cost tools.”
Competition: Because Field Kit believes, as we do, that there’s power in collective action, they’re giving away 50 open source sensor stations, so we can all monitor things like pollution in the world around us.
► Apply for a Field Kit here (we have!)
► Follow us to the future ⚡
Remember: we’re here for you. There are over 1,000 positive projects to cheer you up on Atlas of the Future. Discover the #FutureHeroes making the world a better place in English, Spanish & Catalan.