The Impact of Fashion on the Environment and Society

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Fashion needs to be viewed with the same ethical and sustainable lens as food. The dominance of synthetic fabrics, fast fashion practices, and excessive clothing consumption have led to severe environmental consequences like greenhouse gas emissions, plastic pollution, and microfiber contamination in oceans. Regulations are needed to control the fashion industry's impact on the planet, and supporting proposed acts like the Fashion Act in New York State and the Fabric Act in the US Congress is crucial to address climate change effectively.

In the early days of the Covid lockdown, many of us found ourselves taking up new hobbies, like playing guitar or baking bread. But Peggy Orenstein went a little further. A lifelong knitter, Peggy decided to try making a sweater from scratch. She taught herself to shear sheep, spin and dye yarn, and other skills. The surprising life lessons she learned are the subject of her new book, "Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater."