Our stand against waste
Karen, Richard, and Matt are professional relations: business partners who are also family members. This issue, Karen interviews her husband Richard about the upcoming Action on Climate Emergency (ACE) Settle and area clothes swap he’s organising, with editing by their son Matt.
“An average item of clothing in the UK is only worn about seven times”
Karen: Why are you organising a clothes swap?
Richard: I’m hoping it encourages people to find out about fast fashion and clothing waste. An average item of clothing in the UK is only worn about seven times before it’s taken to the charity shop or the bin.
Karen: What is a clothes swap?
Richard: It’s an event where people bring along clothing items and accessories, that they no longer want, and swap them for something that they would rather have, that’s new to them.
Karen: We’ve been lucky enough to get local celebrity Patrick Grant [the Great British Sewing Bee judge! –editor Matt] to open the event. What difference is that going to make, do you think?
Richard: I consider it a bit of a coup. Hopefully his presence will encourage more people, not just from Settle but from a wider area, to attend.
It’s just really nice to get somebody like him, somebody who is not only a celebrity but also passionately believes in the type of thing that this clothing swap is intended to publicise. The fact that we buy too much stuff and we discard it without really thinking about it too much.
Karen: What outcome are you hoping for? What will success look like?
Richard: I want it to be an event that people enjoy, that gives them a buzz from doing something different. In the process we’ll have given them a bit more information about fast fashion and the harm we’re causing by discarding so much unwanted clothing.
“having managed to get Patrick Grant to come along – I consider it a bit of a coup”
Karen: Why now and why here?
Richard: I’m a member of the steering group of Action on Climate Emergency for Settle and area. The majority of our members are people of a certain age, like me, and we decided we would like to encourage more younger people to get involved.
On behalf of the group, I explored several ways of doing this, and a clothing swap came up as a good way of getting this age group involved.
By younger people, we’re thinking late teenagers, 20s, 30s, who are interested in clothing and fashion but also have some sense of sustainability.
Karen: What are the challenges you’re finding in organising an event like this?
Richard: The challenges are the same with any kind of voluntary organisation: finding people.
If we’re going to make it a successful event, we need maybe a dozen volunteers on the night just to manage it all and make sure people understand how it operates. Finding those dozen people could be quite a challenge.
“we can’t give a lot of money away – so I try and give time”
Karen: So this isn’t a Foggy Outline venture, is it? How does your work with ACE fit into your work with Foggy Outline?
Richard: It’s always been my view, and I hope it’s shared by the rest of us, that Foggy Outline is much more than just a business. It has a social purpose as well.
Part of the way I demonstrate that social purpose is by getting involved with voluntary groups like ACE. I’m also a member of Friends of the Dales, which is a similar environmental group in the vicinity.
It’s a way of giving something back that’s linked to the type of work we do. We don’t make a lot of money at Foggy Outline, so we can’t give a lot of money away – so I try and give time.
There’s more to this interview. Buy us a cuppa on Ko-fi to support our work, and you’ll get to read the unabridged version.
👗 10 April, 18:00BST, Settle Victoria Hall: ACE Settle Clothing Swap, opened by Patrick Grant. Swap 3-4 clean, undamaged items; minor alterations available at the event.
🇳🇿 I Need A Miracle is one of the first official selections to be announced for NZ Web Fest, a festival celebrating web series and online content.
🌏 The remaster of What Do We Mean By Climate Breakdown? is complete! Our best-selling course now includes 50% more material and way better video and animation, improved by the years of experience we’ve racked up since it first launched. Enroll or revisit the course on Udemy.
📖 Behind the scenes, we’re also turning What Do We Mean By Climate Breakdown? into an ebook. It’s written, and being edited right now.
🔬 Matt published No stupid questions, chapter 1 of Camera Obscura – a new monthly serial about a research assistant in an abnormal lab.
Camera Obscura is powered by Outliers, a single-player roleplaying game by Samantha Leigh. For the price of a cuppa, you can get Matt’s writer’s commentary on the first chapter, which goes into how much of the story is coming from him, and how much from the game.
🎲 On Merely Roleplayers, the podcast where theatrical people play roleplaying games, we’re halfway through Vigil: Ill Wind, and the tip is coming to town.