Where did your Pride merch come from?
The Green Fix on why sustainability is an LGBTQ+ issue too.
Who wants to help run the Green Fix with me?
I love running the Green Fix. I also love having time to keep this newsletter going. That’s why I’m putting a general call for a volunteer out there to help me out. If you have the remotest interest in sustainability and some spare time on your hands, drop me an email casshebron@gmail.com. Any/all help appreciated.
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OK, cry for help over. Let’s talk about being gay.
Being a rich white cisgender man is not the norm. They are, however, the least likely to face institutionalised barriers or prejudice in their lives.
Political and economic systems designed for profit, by rich white men in the past, largely benefit…. rich white men of the present day. Shocker.
Meanwhile, marginalised groups like the LGBTQ+ community, black communities, low-income households, and disabled people suffer the consequences of living in a world that doesn’t accommodate diversity.
To build sustainable societies, we need inclusive societies. Groups like the LGBTQ+ community that have had to fight for their rights have a hell of a lot to teach the climate movement about resilience and overcoming systemic barriers.
We also develop more creative solutions to the climate crisis when we have the voices of everyone, particularly those most affected by the impacts of the climate crisis.
The current system developed by conservative white men has created devastating problems for society and the planet. Solutions will not come from the same source. Solutions will come from - yes, some white men - but those who stand side-by-side and listen to women, and LGBTQ+ people, and black women, and disabled people, and indigenous people, and-
You get the picture. So now I’ll pass the mic.
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What’s Going On?
UN says the world must restore a natural area the size of China to protect nature and launches #GenerationRestoration campaign.
Useful: What can I do to help restore nature?Study find human-induced global heating has caused over a third of heat deaths.
Related: What can I do to raise awareness and help reduce the risk of heat illness?Italian climate activists sue government over inaction.
Related: 5 legal tactics activists are using to fight climate change.The G7 support move to make banks disclose their exposure to climate-related risks.
Useful: What is the G7?Fossil fuel company Chevron celebrates Pride month while funding anti-LGBT+ US politicians.
Useful: The HEATED newsletter on the track record of oil and gas companies exploiting Pride.We must stop the nature and climate crises together or not at all, say 50 scientists.
Useful: What is the link between the climate and biodiversity?
Focus On… the LGBTQ+ Movement and Sustainability
Izzy McLeod talks about why the climate crisis and the LGBTQ+ movement are connected.
I’m Izzy, I’m someone who talks a lot about sustainability and ethical fashion, mainly online but also in work I do “IRL” too. I’m studying for my Masters of Science in Renewable Energy, and I’m also founder of the Who Made My Pride Merch campaign.
What does the fight for LGBT+ rights have to do with the climate crisis?
The systems that caused the climate crisis are also systems built on the oppression of LGBTQ+ people, among many other oppressed groups. So the fight for climate justice also includes the fight for queer liberation.
LGBTQ+ people worldwide are at increased risk of homelessness, are less likely to have strong family support networks, and find it harder to find steady work. This insecurity puts many LGBTQ+ people at increased risk of the effects of the climate crisis, which affects the poorest and marginalised groups the worst.
Therefore addressing issues such as homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth, workplace discrimination, and more general homophobia and transphobia help build community resilience in the face of the climate crisis.
How does your identity as part of the queer community affect your work on sustainability?
It allows me to think differently about the world. As someone non-binary, I have been questioning the systems we have around gender since I was tiny. It’s always confused me and pissed me off. I think that has allowed me to think about how we could work towards a more equitable world, for everyone.
This is key to climate justice. You can’t work to create a better world without being able to imagine it first, and without questioning the systems that are already in place.
Useful: What do we mean by ‘system change’?
Being queer has made it easier for me to apply an intersectional, climate justice lens to sustainability. I know from first-hand experience that the system doesn't serve me and also doesn’t serve so many other people - whether that’s due to systemic racism, ableism, sexism, class issues etc etc.
I still have work to do to confront my biases and be an active ally to other marginalised communities, but I think there’s a history of solidarity with other communities in many parts of the queer community.
How well are LGBT+ voices represented in the environmental movement? How can we make it more inclusive?
Often when I see lists of queer environmentalists it’s the same faces over and over, and I know those aren't the only people here! Making sure the mic is being passed to other members of the community, and sharing opportunities is important.
I’ve just had the busiest month ever with people asking me to do work for them because it’s Pride month, and I’m queer. Though I do appreciate it and am happy to do it, I wish that support for queer people in these spaces would continue beyond Pride month.
Many organisations need to do more to make spaces safe for queer people and have policies in place for what happens if there are issues around homophobia and transphobia, rather than it being put on LGBTQ+ people to fix all these issues themselves.
It’s hard to just do sustainability work when you’re also trying to fight fires of discrimination, harassment, and microaggressions.
The environmental movement as a whole must be actively anti-racist and more accessible, because the movement will never be inclusive for LGBTQ+ people until it’s inclusive for everyone.
What made you start the ‘Who Made My Pride Merch’ campaign?
A few years ago there was noise in the news about brands making pride collections in countries with anti-LGBTQ+ laws, and little transparency in supply chains, and I thought it was good that people were talking about this. But the next year at Pride there was silence on the issue.
‘Pinkwashing’ has a few meanings but the one most relevant to this campaign, also known as ‘rainbow washing’, is when brands, organisations, or even entire countries capitalise on LGBTQ+ issues for their own benefit rather than to support the LGBTQ+ community, or while continuing to exploit the community in other ways.
For example, brands bringing out a rainbow collection for Pride month, and maybe donating some of the profits to an LGBTQ+ charity, whilst also using exploitative labour in countries with terrible records for LGBTQ+ rights to make that clothing.
I thought that the conversation around Corporate Pride, ethical fashion, and pinkwashing needed to be continued, so that’s why Who Made My Pride Merch started.
You can learn more about the campaign and support it here and on Instagram.
So Now What Do I Do?
LEARN MORE
Also by Izzy: How to have a waste-free Pride.
Listen to this TEDx talk: Nothing is more queer than nature.
Read: What the LGBTQ+ community bring to the climate justice fight.
TRY SOMETHING NEW
Follow LGBTQ+ organisations working for sustainability like Out4Sustainability and Queers X Climate.
24 ways you can actually support the LGBTQ+ community in everyday life.
Plastic Free July is coming up! Make a pledge on their website.
CHANGE THE SYSTEM
Support the garment workers making Pride merch by signing the petition to get big brands to #PayUp.
Tell the UN what you think we should be doing about climate change! Applications for the UN’s Youth Advisory Board end 20th June.
Learn how to make your sustainability efforts more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.
By the way…
I’ll be speaking with Creative Mornings Ghent this Friday @ 9am CEST about what our heritage can teach us about sustainability. Grab a free ticket, a cup of coffee and come say hi!
Stay in the loop
You can connect with me on Instagram @coffee_and_casstaways and on Twitter. It’s mainly pictures of my reusable cup with a side of climate action rants.
Know someone interested in environmental issues? Forward this email to them - we want to reach people who care about doing more for the planet, with your help!