Climate and Culture

Ethical Fashion

Ethical Fashion

Ethical Fashion

Can seams of excess and exclusivity really be rewoven into ones of regeneration and recovery, or is fashion’s recent obsession with sustainability only skin-deep?

Fabricating Change

Atmos presents a series of stories that examine the opportunities and challenges facing an industry in urgent need of reducing its textile waste.

Algae spread out like a fan

A spool of wool that could be used as a biomaterial.

Close-up of enoki mushroom

A group of sheep walk along a grass field.

Three beige string biomaterials hang next to each other.

An oil spill caused by fossil fuels floods the ocean.

The Messy Truth: Where Your Clothes Go To ‘Die’

The Messy Truth: Where Your Clothes Go To ‘Die’

The Messy Truth: Where Your Clothes Go To ‘Die’ The Global North’s relationship with textile waste is marked by sensationalism, fetishization, and denial—anything but responsibility.

Ethical Fashion Changemakers

When Did Throw-Away Culture Become Big Business?

When Did Throw-Away Culture Become Big Business?

When Did Throw-Away Culture Become Big Business? Discard culture is instrumental to how the system works, from beginning to end of a garment’s lifecycle.

Ethical Fashion Climate Solutions

Abandoned shopping trolley next to a cardboard box.

Abandoned shopping trolley next to a cardboard box.

Buying Less to Honor the Past—and Future Atmos columnist Ruth H. Burns urges a shift toward mindful buying, inspired by the Indigenous value of respecting the planet.

Indigeneity Ethical Fashion

Remember That One Halloween Costume? It’s Still Haunting the Planet

Remember That One Halloween Costume? It’s Still Haunting the Planet

Remember That One Halloween Costume? It’s Still Haunting the Planet The scariest part of Halloween isn't the ghosts and ghouls—rather, it’s the inordinate overconsumption and waste that the holiday generates.

Anthropocene Ethical Fashion

Can Trashie Solve Fashion’s Waste Problem?

Can Trashie Solve Fashion’s Waste Problem?

Can Trashie Solve Fashion’s Waste Problem? A new U.S. startup wants to stop clothes from going in the trash, but it may not be the silver bullet it appears to be.

Ethical Fashion

Transforming Flora Into High Fashion

Transforming Flora Into High Fashion

Transforming Flora Into High Fashion Artists Eric Tobua and Fee-Gloria Grönemeyer join forces, using only plants and compostable materials to create high fashion looks.

Photography Ethical Fashion

My Week With The Clothing Waste Zombie

My Week With The Clothing Waste Zombie

My Week With The Clothing Waste Zombie Fair fashion campaigner Venetia La Manna followed a nine-foot “waste zombie” made from discarded garments across New York.

Ethical Fashion Points of View

Indigo Was Once Reserved for Royalty. Today It’s a Dying Art.

Indigo Was Once Reserved for Royalty. Today It’s a Dying Art.

Indigo Was Once Reserved for Royalty. Today It’s a Dying Art. Indigo production in Mexico once dotted the country’s southernmost regions; now its preservation has been left to a handful of producers.

Identity & Community Ethical Fashion

101: A Guide to Sustainable Fashion

101: A Guide to Sustainable Fashion

101: A Guide to Sustainable Fashion Learn how to navigate the sustainable fashion space in a way that minimizes harm to people and the planet.

101 Ethical Fashion

Biophilia: Emulating Nature’s Artistry Through Fashion

Biophilia: Emulating Nature’s Artistry Through Fashion

Biophilia: Emulating Nature’s Artistry Through Fashion Our ability to shapeshift is one we share with many of our nonhuman kin.

Ethical Fashion Science & Nature

Stella McCartney on Pioneering Sustainability in Fashion

Stella McCartney on Pioneering Sustainability in Fashion

Stella McCartney on Pioneering Sustainability in Fashion Fashion designer Stella McCartney talks to Atmos about sustainability, family, and the responsibility she feels for the future.

Ethical Fashion Changemakers

A plastic bag filled with clothing waste hangs from a small metal pole.

A plastic bag filled with clothing waste hangs from a small metal pole.

Will Europe Take Responsibility For Its Waste? A swing to the right in the European Parliament raises concerns about the future of green policies and regulating fashion waste.

Ethical Fashion Movement Building

The Uncertain Future of Japan’s Slow Fashion Makers

The Uncertain Future of Japan’s Slow Fashion Makers

The Uncertain Future of Japan’s Slow Fashion Makers Japanese artisans embrace slow fashion. But digitization, fast fashion, and an aging population is putting their work at risk of extinction.

Ethical Fashion Identity & Community

The Paradox of TikTok Sponsoring This Year’s Met Gala

The Paradox of TikTok Sponsoring This Year’s Met Gala

The Paradox of TikTok Sponsoring This Year’s Met Gala The theme for this year's Met Gala is supposed to celebrate circular fashion. But TikTok’s sponsorship of the event sent mixed messages.

Art & Culture Ethical Fashion

An illustration of a person covered in patterned clothing using a sewing machine.

An illustration of a person covered in patterned clothing using a sewing machine.

In New York and Beyond, Why the Fashion Act Matters The New York Fashion Act is a groundbreaking bill taking aim at the environmental and labor rights violations in fashion’s supply chains.

Ethical Fashion Movement Building

The translucent shadow of a hand hovers above the checkered pattern of a keffiyeh.

The translucent shadow of a hand hovers above the checkered pattern of a keffiyeh.

Inside Palestine’s Last Keffiyeh Factory Amid tightening restrictions imposed by the Israeli government on the West Bank, the Hirbawi keffiyeh factory is a symbol of resilience.

Identity & Community Ethical Fashion

Zaya Guarani: The Fast-Rising Model Born and Raised in the Amazon

Zaya Guarani: The Fast-Rising Model Born and Raised in the Amazon

Zaya Guarani: The Fast-Rising Model Born and Raised in the Amazon Guarani is using her platform to advocate for Indigenous rights, environmental stewardship, and collective action.

Ethical Fashion Indigeneity

How Fast Fashion Is Driving Land Grabs and Violence in Brazil

How Fast Fashion Is Driving Land Grabs and Violence in Brazil

How Fast Fashion Is Driving Land Grabs and Violence in Brazil H&M and Zara’s overreliance on certification schemes allows illegalities to thrive in their supply chains, a new report finds.

Ethical Fashion Identity & Community

In Ghana, Training Local Upcyclers at Kantamanto Market

In Ghana, Training Local Upcyclers at Kantamanto Market

In Ghana, Training Local Upcyclers at Kantamanto Market Determined to challenge the systems that perpetuate waste colonialism in Ghana, a new generation of designers are turning waste to wealth.

Ethical Fashion Environmental Justice

Collage of catwalk images from Copenhagen Fashion Week

Collage of catwalk images from Copenhagen Fashion Week

At Copenhagen Fashion Week, Building Accountability Are efforts to make the week-long event more sustainable paying off?

Ethical Fashion

Why Some of Our Clothes Are Over 200 Million Years Old

Why Some of Our Clothes Are Over 200 Million Years Old

Why Some of Our Clothes Are Over 200 Million Years Old Mother of Pearl’s Amy Powney unpacks the urgent need to reframe the origin stories of our clothes, some of which were created pre-dinosaur.

Art & Culture Ethical Fashion