Fast fashion has been a problem for years; Instead of solutions, there is now ultra-fast fashion. Swiss civil society has enough: A coalition of 13 organizations prompted five tons of old dresses on the Bernese Bundesplatz on Wednesday morning. The message is clear: we suffocate in textile waste.
The organizations – including Watchdog Public Eye, Fashion Revolution Switzerland, the Fair Fashion Factory, the union Unia and the Consumer: Interior protection, want to use the Swiss Parliament and Federal Council to clarify the urgency of steps against Fast Fashion: They demand political measures and the targeted promotion of fair and environmentally friendly fashion.
“With the market success of Chinese fashion gigants such as Shein and Temu, the worldwide production and consumption of clothing have also increased explosively. Switzerland is also not spared from this phenomenon and its devastating consequences. Every year, 100,000 tons of clothing, manufactured under exploitial conditions and hardly worn, are burned as a waste or exported to less income”, it is said in one Notice.
Swiss organizations are calling for political measures
In addition to political measures such as the introduction of new clothing and shoes, promoting repair and resale, as well as incentives for sustainable production and the guarantee of human -ranging working conditions along the entire value chain, the organizations also demand the establishment of a Swiss mode fund.
This would oblige companies to participate in the social and ecological follow -up costs of their business model. A corresponding motion was submitted by National Councilor Sophie Michaud Gigon in June, but was rejected by the Federal Council. Like governments in other countries, he relies on the voluntary initiatives of the companies. However, these are inconsistent, often not very deep and therefore no more than greenwashing.
After the campaign on the Bundesplatz, a sorting campaign of the clothing took place in the Bern Kulturzentrum Progr.