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Aug 03, 2023

Slow Factory Founder Céline Semaan Writes Op

By Celine Semaan In this op-ed, sustainability maverick and Slow Factory founder Céline Semaan discusses how resistance to change comes from all sides. Working to “Change the World” is hard. Anyone

By Celine Semaan

In this op-ed, sustainability maverick and Slow Factory founder Céline Semaan discusses how resistance to change comes from all sides.

Working to “Change the World” is hard. Anyone who ever cared about making the world a better place in any way has learned that change is an uphill battle and resistance can come from unexpected places. Companies don’t want to change. Governments and institutions don’t want to change. Even friends and peers may turn on you and resort to shaming or bullying you for your attempts to create positive change in the world.

The poly-issues we face result in the existential crisis that is climate change. Eighty-five percent of textile waste in the U.S., which includes plastic, ends up in landfills or incinerated, with much of it overwhelming infrastructure in the Global South. According to Bloomberg, the fashion industry accounts for 20% of the 300 million tons of plastics produced, from petrochemicals that contribute to the overheating of our planet and tanneries that contribute to deforestation. All this is on a foundation of Indigenous land theft and industrialization releasing over 50 billion tons of greenhouse gasses annually, the majority of which is from burning fossil fuels for energy. Since 2000, an annual average of 70,025 wildfires have burned 7 million acres in the U.S.— that’s more than 5 million football fields.

Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

Wildfires are happening at an increased rate and burn faster due to drought — Canadian wildfires have already burned over 30 million acres in 2023, and what we have witnessed in Maui recently is not just a natural disaster but a result of colonial expansion, historic water theft for plantation crops and resorts and the ongoing pollution of the military, what most locals in the area and Indigenous people around the world, recognize as occupation. Water is polluted with jet fuel from a U.S. Navy-run storage facility and rerouted to resorts and plantations to serve the tourism industry. According to Kānaka Maoli elders, the once completely lush island has become full of zones of stark contrast between invasive grasslands and former plantations, against green golf courses. What we now see is a direct result of climate change and colonialism. All these issues are symptoms of harmful systems designed to extract and pollute, legally protected, and centered around profit.

I’ve found that “the system” is designed to preserve itself. It doesn’t want to be changed, it is designed to correct and defend itself, by any means necessary — and it doesn’t mind getting personal.

As the founder of Slow Factory, I have spent over a decade working in the fashion industry, harnessing technology and innovation to transform environmentally destructive and socially oppressive systems. I have spent a decade researching EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility), for example, the fact that the apparel and accessories industry, in 2021, spent 656 million U.S. dollars on advertising when it would have been better invested in impact and pollution reduction, which is something Slow Factory has been advocating for, for over a decade. These types of changes are part of systemic solutions at scale. I’ve found that “the system” is designed to preserve itself. It doesn’t want to be changed, it is designed to correct and defend itself, by any means necessary — and it doesn’t mind getting personal.

Initially, the Industry, including companies, brands, and associations, may disregard your efforts. But, they will notice you. They will follow you and engage with you to some extent, particularly if it serves their interests. However, they might also attempt to deflect or co-opt your efforts. From the period of 2016 to 2019, Slow Factory has held a central role in convening, educating, and providing a blueprint for sustainability conferences to be more inclusive and intersectional, not only through racial issues but through accessibility, human rights, and environmental justice, yet traditional institutions would come to our events but not return the invitation back. We would be looked down upon until our model was adopted and our speakers were invited to speak at their events — still without an invitation extended to anyone from our teams directly. In opening doors to a new sector altogether: sustainability, we were categorized as “troublemakers” or myself: “she’s hard to work with” because I had a hard time nodding to nonsense and promoting superficial discourse when we are in a state of emergency. I’m all for incremental changes, but after a certain threshold, there is no time left for decorum.

Second-hand clothing at Kantamanto textile market in Accra, Ghana.

Even if their marketing department has you on their mood board, their operational and executive leadership may still choose to ignore you until they can no longer afford to. It is only after demonstrating your influence, authority, and the respect you command that they begin to take notice. Only then they will speak with you to see how they can do better. That’s when you get to work deeper upstream in the systems that are causing the most harm. Don’t give up. Rest often and immerse yourself in the community in order to regain focus. Stand firm and remain vigilant in avoiding greenwashing tactics. You can develop strong relations with companies where you may find internal champions, who share your vision and recognize the need for systemic change. Although they may not have the power to directly implement such changes, they will advocate for the transformation we know needs to happen. Support each other, and learn to work from within and outside the system.

Institutions come in many shapes and sizes: educational, political, and philanthropic. And they’ll partner with you if it puts them in a good position. Don’t get discouraged by the many gatekeepers who are leveraging “sustainability” to advance their own interests while preserving the status quo. Speaking from experience, it is when major global political institutions face genuine criticism that censorship tends to arise. Nevertheless, there are still so many incredible people working within various institutions who genuinely want to inspire profound cultural shifts.

Your peers may be reluctant to support your mission. Not everyone will immediately embrace the cause. The trauma resulting from oppressive systems we strive to change often leads to individuals directing their anger toward those advocating for systemic change. Remember that these seemingly personal attacks are also reflective of the structural elements at play. This is the System defending itself by turning people against each other, creating a win-win situation for the status quo.

Transforming the system is undoubtedly satisfying and extremely rewarding. Witnessing the shifts we bring about and learning of the impact we have on people’s lives makes our efforts worthwhile. Which in turn, becomes the fuel that propels us forward and enables lasting change.