Shifting Solutions: Material Science, Social Justice, & Fashion’s Green Revolution.

One fundamental truth that I use for perspective is the relationship between structure and behavior. A structure, or a predefined strategy, is an arrangement of elements that provides rules to guide the flow of information, decision-making, and behavior patterns. Behaviors are tangible and observable results in response to a design, and simultaneously, it provides a basis for structural adjustment. These ideals can be applied anywhere—in science and engineering, the environmental movement, and the battle for social justice.

Today, the greatest problems that plague our world—racial and cultural injustice, environmental/species degradation, economic instability, war, poverty, hunger, and food insecurity—have risen from reductionistic structures that appeared strategic and logical to their designers at first glance only to yield arduous, complex, and dichotic issues. Reinventing and redefining our present systems is paramount. While identifying and understanding the source of humanity's problems is half the battle in solving these issues, there will also be obstacles to any solution. So, what are our opponents? They are capitalism coupled with structural and environmental racism in a colonialist heteropatriarchy. And how exactly do we dismantle these interrelated systems society has built for centuries? We do so one nail bite at a time, and in my case, one T-shirt at a time.

The apparel industry is where exponential greenhouse gas emissions, the use of harmful chemicals and materials, disregard for occupational hazards, and human rights collide. The depth of these issues spans numerous disciplines and can be seen across the supply chain, most heavily in material procurement, as well as waste and resource management. These problems are exacerbated by a lack of regulatory policies and enforcement, ultimately creating foundational inequalities that harm the most vulnerable. Clearly, our current strategy is not delivering our earth's desired behaviors. Tackling the twin crises of inequality and climate change in the textile industry requires more than a knee-jerk reaction to market trends. It demands a multifaceted lens to afford the design of resilient structures, space for continuous assessment, and subsequent improvement to implement positively yielding social sustainability initiatives.

My current activism path has manifested through my matriculation as a doctoral student at the Yale Center of Green Chemistry & Green Engineering. Here, I aim to reduce the negative impacts of the apparel industry by promoting waste prevention instead of remediation through material science. Specifically, I will accomplish this by developing green materials and recycling methods for a circular economy and designing assessment tools to know what is truly sustainable and what is not. There is tremendous value in holistic engineering, a methodology that sees design as an interconnected whole. However, comprehensive engineering is not the holistic approach. It is only part of it.

Right now, the focus is on higher STEM education, communication, and science-based policy, all of which I believe are essential in cultivating a more sustainable world. However, the green revolution needs more: adequate emphasis on social justice being the primary concern. This includes but is not limited to investments in community development, educational programs for local youth, and collaboration on public health and safety. Following these fundamental methods underscores to the next generation that making "trendy and cheap" clothing is impossible without sacrificing life and our planet. The ethical costs of fast fashion have caught up to us. Our solutions necessitate a societal shift, both culturally and within the industry, to ensure that the theoretical circular economy can sustainably and practically go from page to application.

There's no more room to absolve ourselves of our personal responsibility and power as consumers, scientists, engineers, environmentalists, and social advocates. We are the driving force behind unbridled capitalism. Let's use our power to enact positive and lasting systematic change in fashion and create the intended source of creativity, self-expression, restoration, and joy.