Preliminary Presentation in Vienna of UN Study Results on Fast Fashion and Old Clothes
The Austrian-based foundation COMÚN and the Chilean study author, Beatriz O'Brien, exclusively show the disastrous consequences of "waste colonialism" in research ordered by the UN in the run-up to the "Austrian Consumer Dialogues: Textiles".
A landfill may become a destination for fast fashion goods. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons /Cezary p/ CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
Vienna is the focus of a major presentation of UN study findings that look at the impact of the fast fashion industry and the treatment of old clothing. The COMÚN Foundation and Chilean study author Beatriz O'Brien will reveal alarming findings about "waste colonialism" in clothing ahead of the "Austrian Consumer Dialogues: Textiles".
The global production of garments in the fast fashion sector has reached a new high, bringing with it a worrying situation. A significant amount of the clothing produced remains unsold and is subsequently discarded in countries of the Global South such as Chile. Chile has become one of the largest importers of end-of-life clothing, recording a staggering increase of nearly 200 percent over the previous year, with more than 150 million kilograms of textile imports.
The United Nations commissioned an investigation into the path of textiles and the disastrous consequences they have for people, nature, and the climate. The UN study uses the term "waste colonialism," which is particularly associated with fashion corporations from the European Union. The results of this groundbreaking study will be presented exclusively for the first time as part of the "Austrian Consumer Dialogues: Textiles".
The COMÚN Foundation and Chilean study author Beatriz O'Brien will co-chair the pre-presentation of the UN study findings. This event will provide a unique insight into the devastating impacts of "waste colonialism" as it relates to the garment industry. Media representatives* are cordially invited to attend the event.
The preliminary presentation of the UN study findings on Fast Fashion & Waste Clothing will take place on June 26, 2023, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am in the Press Club Concordia. Veronika Bohrn Mena from COMÚN Foundation and Beatriz O'Brien, author of the study, will share their findings and draw attention to the urgent need to combat "waste colonialism" in the textile industry.
About COMÚN
Established in December 2021, the COMÚN Foundation was born from the initiative of the Association for the Creation of a Common Good Foundation and the couple Veronika and Sebastian Bohrn Mena. The Common Good Foundation aims to create a sustainable financial basis for social change and to promote ecological as well as social progress. The sole beneficiary is the general public. The assets of the foundation are to be continuously increased through donations, endowments, and other contributions.
The foundation sees itself primarily as an institution for strengthening, promoting, and networking society. It implements its initiatives that are in line with the foundation's purpose and are of particular relevance to achieving its goals. Topic-specific foundation funds are established to support and promote social movements and sustainable structural change toward climate and environmental awareness, the self-organization of disadvantaged groups of people, and civic engagement.
The exclusive and direct purpose of the foundation is non-profit and charitable activities. In doing so, the foundation pursues the following purposes: support of people in need, promotion of environmental, nature, climate, species, and animal protection, promotion of popular education, promotion of education and vocational training, promotion of fundamental and human rights, promotion of development cooperation in developing countries as well as disaster relief on a national and international level.