The oily rag trade

Nearly 70 per cent of all textiles are made from oil and gas. Yet high-street fashion brands continue to mislead consumers with suspect sustainability claims. 

Fossil Fashion, directed by Dog Eat Dog’s Irene Baqué, uses familiar fashion film tropes before revealing the dark and dirty secret interwoven within the colourful threads. Synthetic fabrics support the fossil fuel industry, which is continuing to wreck the natural world. 

The production of polyester alone creates the equivalent emissions of 180 coal fired power plants, and plastic microfibres shed from synthetic clothes, are damaging both human and environmental health.

Changing Markets Foundation, which was formed to accelerate sustainability solutions by leveraging the power of markets, surveyed 46 high street brands, including H&M, ASOS and M&S, and found that 59 per cent of them issued green claims that were unsubstantiated or misleading to consumers. 

Baqué comments: “It's been amazing to have the creative freedom to visualise what The Changing Markets has been researching. The aim was to show the impact fast fashion has on the environment. It was important for us to start with something visually appealing and familiar – so I went for something colourful, with soft, dreamy, light. The use of 16mm film was key to get that look. The styling was also very purposeful; using polyester textiles with an overall colour palette that felt consistent and relevant to this year's trends.”