5 Fashion Insiders On How To Become A Conscious ConsumerWhile the influencer industry runs on the concept of selling an aspirational life, it subconsciously plants the seed of overconsumption in the head of the audience. There’s a small but strong community of eco-warriors, who happen to be fashion insiders and are actively helming the dialogue around sustainability, conscious fashion and mindful consumption on their personal platforms. In an attempt to amplify their voices and circulate the knowledge around the subject, we asked 5 digital creators to speak their mind and shed knowledge for those who are looking to learn and make a switch.
“No longer was fashion just about a pretty dress, it was about the politics of labor and the industry’s disproportionate burden upon communities of colour worldwide” Welcome to The Sustainable Shopper. Stylist talks to the people focused on creating a more conscious shopping space for all. This week, Aditi Mayer – sustainable photojournalist, public speaker and content creator – talks to fashion editor Harriet Davey about the moment that catalysed her passion for sustainability and how she expressed this through social platforms.
WaterAid showcases 15 young activists fighting to save our planetWith documentary makers, actors, authors, bloggers and more on its list, WaterAid’s Future 15 are the young, trailblazing climate change voices you need to know. LA-based Aditi Mayer is a leading voice in the sustainability movement. In her work as a photojournalist, blogger, and speaker, she explores fashion through the lens of intersectionality and decolonization and raises awareness about the unequal race and class power dynamics operating in the fashion industry.
What Exactly Is Greenwashing In Fashion & How Can I Spot It?"True sustainability is a nuanced conversation that extends not only [to] the materials used or the labour conditions but [to] the scale of production and consumption as well," says sustainable fashion and social justice advocate Aditi Mayer. Ultimately we all want to build a more transparent, fair and intersectional fashion industry. It won’t happen overnight but, as Aditi says, the goal is for brands to "not [use] sustainability or diversity as a pure selling point but a grounding philosophy of how the brand operates and understands the metrics of success."
Redefining Sustainability for 2021: The New PrioritiesADIFF, a design label that makes clothing and accessories from would-be waste materials and employs resettled refugees in its Greece factory to assemble them, called on designers and thought leaders including Christopher Raeburn, BrownMill, Otto von Busch, Aditi Mayer and Sophia Li as contributors with goals to make sustainable fashion more accessible and to spark a dialogue about the fundamental changes needed in the fashion industry at large.
Q&A • New Classics Studios"My style has always been informed by elements I found most in line with my photography style— earthy toned, interesting silhouettes and movement oriented. However, after learning so much about the process behind clothes— from the materials used, to techniques derived from artisan led/slow fashion, I’ve found myself drawn to airy, natural fabrics from linen to hemp, balancing minimalist pieces with statement pieces that are reminiscent of South Asian identity."
Aditi Mayer & Alok Vaid-Menon on Degendering FashionAditi and Alok discuss everything from gender neutral fashion, to the limitations of representation to what it means to truly redefine beauty. It's time for all of us to start asking difficult questions, say Alok. "Asking our favourite brands, our favourite designers: why do you continue to gender your product? What is the purpose of this? The next piece is, how are we subverting gender tropes in our own lives? Are we dressing to fit an idea of what women or men should be, or are we dressing for ourselves?"
Looking for Eco-Friendly Fashion Inspo? Follow These Sustainable Fashionistas on IG Aditi Mayer (@aditimayer) is a photojournalist who primarily focuses on social injustices within the style industry, decolonizing fashion, labor rights, and eco-style. She was inspired to get involved with social justice in fashion after the Rana Plaza Factory Collapse in 2014, and started looking into the industry's racist history. She has also become a huge voice in sustainable fashion, organizing in Downtown Los Angeles' garment district and serving on the council of Intersectional Environmentalist.
United In Art: Aditi Mayer & Simrah Farrukh On Erasing Political Barriers Through ArtThe field of creative arts makes the bond more perceptible than anything else. Forever unbounded, art makes its way through all the cracks and fissures. In ways more than one, it also becomes an adhesive — a glue so solid that it heals all the cracks and unites both ends almost seamlessly. US-based creative duo, Simrah Farrukh and Aditi Mayer, originally from Pakistan and India respectively, exemplifies of the aforementioned power of art.
Sustainability Must Mean DecolonizationIndian-American sustainable fashion leader Aditi Mayer reflects on decolonial approaches to fashion, drawing on her South Asian identity and heritage.
These BIPOC Fashion Influencers Are All About Sustainability & People Need To ListenWith the urgency of racial injustice consuming social media, people looked for leading BIPOC voices in different spaces to help inform — and change — perspectives. The sustainability movement was part of the groundswell.
Inside the Fight to End Labor Exploitation in LA Garment FactoriesAditi Mayer on the LA garment workers working to change a long history of wage theft and sweatshop-like conditions in Los Angeles.
