Are we wearing out the planet?

Do you know where your clothes have come from? The conditions under which they have been made? And who made them?

Our discarded clothes are filling landfill sites, fibre fragments are flowing into the sea from laundry and clothing production is a major source of greenhouse emissions. Our panellists discuss these problems, their societal impact and the possible solutions.

Our panel:

Lucy Siegle is a writer and TV presenter specialising in environmental issues and ethical shopping and lifestyles. Lucy is an authority on the environmental and social footprint of the global fashion industry through her book To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World and as producer of The True Cost, the Netflix feature documentary. Lucy has honed her expertise as the Observer and Guardian’s eco agony aunt. 

Patrick Grant is a regular media commentator on fashion, clothing and textiles. After leaving a career in engineering, he took over as director of Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons. Patrick was named Menswear Designer of the Year at the 2010 British Fashion Awards. In 2016 Patrick launched Community Clothing, a social enterprise with a mission to sustain and create jobs in the UK textile and garment manufacturing industry.

Pauline Op de Beeck is the Carbon Trust’s lead on sustainable fashion, helping the industry overcome multiple challenges including resource constraints, supply chain transparency and their need to adopt business model innovation. She provides advice that enables companies to benefit from sustainable opportunities at both an organisational level and across their value chains, and to recognise environmental achievements.

Professor Joe Smith (Chair) is the Director of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). Before joining the Society, Joe’s work and research promoted a better understanding of, and action on, global environmental issues.