As supply chain shocks rock the world yet again, we ask: is globalisation a failed experiment? As my guest this week points out, the idea that global trade is always beneficial for everybody is a lie. Big business just gets bigger, multi-national corporations lobby governments to win tax breaks and shape trade deals, while bankers bet on the misery of millions. There's no point pretending that this system works for the majority. So what's the alternative?

My guest this week is the legendary author, linguist and movement builder, Helena Norberg Hodge.

Helena is the founder of Local Futures, an international non-profit set up to promote ideas around a new economy, one rooted in place, "nature, community, and the deeper meaning that makes life whole". Her books include 2019's Local Is Our Future, and 1991's its called Ancient Futures, about her time in Ladakh, where she arrived in 1975 and began working with local communities there. She's also a filmmaker - you'll hear us discuss her documentary The Economics of Happiness. From the fashion side, she loves local textile heritage and her critique of the global fashion industry is around its focus on what she calls "the consumer monoculture". An expansive conversation about the failings of the current system and what we might build in its place - essential listening!

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In a future shaped by climate breakdown and extreme weather volatility, the current systems will be forced to change. Where does that leave fashion? My guest this week has ideas for "a profound structural shift away from fashion as trivialised, superficial and seasonal."

Indy Johar is the co-founder of Dark Matter Labs and a Professor of Practice at RMIT with the Planetary Civics Inquiry.

In his new paper, "The Future of Fashion, Toward an Entangled Economy" he outlines a whole new approach whereby "fashion is not simply worn, it is inhabited, augmented and co-stewarded. It is not just manufactured or marketed, it is programmed, maintained and integrated into complex civil, ecological, and technoligical systems. The garment becomes more than a product - it becomes a living protocol, a cultural interface, a microclimate shelter and a shared asset."

In this rollercoaster convo, we talk about everything from what he wears in the plane, to why he studied architecture, the climate reality and how we might design a better future, what it means to embrace 'interbecoming', and just what your Tshirt might cost if all the the externalities of producing it were factored into the price tag. Buckle up, you might want to listen twice!

If you find the interview valuable, please help us share it.

Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com

Support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

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In Tasmania's jawdroppingly beautiful Takayna/Tarkine lies the southern hemisphere’s largest single tract of temperate rain forest. It's home to an extraordinary wealth of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, and habitat for over 50 threatened species. Many of its magnificent trees were here long before colonisation, with some Huon Pines thought to be more than 2000 years old. It’s a pristine, mossy, magical place, that speaks of deep time and reminds us of our relative insignificance. To be lucky enough to camp deep in the forest is to feel an overwhelming sense of connection, gratitude, and our collective responsibility to protect it.

WAIT, WHAT....?!

WE’RE LOGGING IT THOUGH to produce woodchips, plywood and single-use packaging. Says the state government: "Around 5% of the Tarkine has been formally declared as production forest land to sustainably supply wood products." Mad but true. They don’t tell you that on the tourist websites...

Up for discussion: Why should Takayna be world heritage listed? What even is a temperate rain forest? How do they help us regular climate? Who lives there? What might the trees tell us, if they could speak? They're pretty stylish - what do they *wear? What technically is moss, and why is it such a thrill? What's it like to camp here? Are all Aussie animals out to kill you? What can we learn for First Nations people about stewardship? And how are creative activists stepping up action to save these vitally important places?

Featuring: Bob Brown Foundation campaigner Scott Jordan, Palawa activist Cody Gangell, microbiologist Lana Mišić, field ecologist Janey Ogilvie, and artist Imogen Yang.

If you find the interview valuable, please help us share it.

Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com

Support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.