Stella McCartney Introduces #StellaTalks In Time For Earth Day

Today's date, 22 April, is a momentous day for the future of our planet. Consider it the Earth's birthday if you will, a day in which we come together to celebrate planet Earth by treating it with kindness. Although fashion has begun to wake up to the destruction that our industry has caused over the years, actions are still met with nothing but critique from the press, referring to sustainability as a buzzword that's in this season, but will be predictably out the next. One designer that's campaigned for sustainable fashion since her brand's inception 20 years ago is Stella McCartney. Each month, the fashion press is greeted with the latest capsule collection or campaign thought up by McCartney to challenge people's preconceived notions about how 'fashion can't be sustainable', which is, as we all hopefully know by now, not true.

And so, another month means another move from McCartney and her team to plunge the industry into a more sustainable way of being. This time, instead of creating a vegan leather collection or debuting her A-Z manifesto, McCartney's words speak louder than ever before as her wisdom continues to touch more people day by day. As we embrace Earth Day, McCartney has made sure we celebrate one of the most important dates in the calendar with style. So, in true sustainable fashion (the type McCartney does best), fashion's green child has announced a new #StellaTalks series, highlighting her unwavering commitment to protecting the planet and its wildlife.

Launching on Earth Day and fittingly celebrating the brand's 20th anniversary and Greenpeace's 50th anniversary, #StellaTalks will see a new in-store speaker series featuring leaders from a global community. The first of the series will be held at the brand's newly opened flagship store on 23 Old Bond Street with environmental filmmaker and McCartney collaborator Alice Aedy who shot the brand's 2020 Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. Aedy is also the co-founder of Earthrise Studio. The first talk, #StellaTalks x Earthrise: Defending the Amazon, will see Aedy discuss the alarming rate of deforestation and what we can do to help.

In support of Greenpeace, McCartney has also introduced a small capsule collection of t-shirts inspired by the designs of vintage activist t-shirts. The capsule collection has been designed to not only raise awareness but also to direct the McCartney consumer to read more about the campaign and sign the Greenpeace petition, which you can find here.

McCartney shared her thoughts on what we as individuals can do to help the climate in an exclusive statement. 'Precious forests, like the Amazon, should not be destroyed to produce industrial meat sold around the world. Simply reducing meat in your diet can help protect the Amazon from deforestation and safeguard this vital ecosystem and our climate for future generations. Stella McCartney has been a vegetarian brand since day one, and I could not be prouder to support an incredible organisation like Greenpeace to celebrate our respective 20ths and 50th anniversaries and support their campaign to end Amazon deforestation. I want to take this opportunity to raise as much awareness as possible and I encourage anyone reading this to sign Greenpeace's petition, Act for the Amazon, and share with your friends.'

The climate crisis is worse than you can imagine and it's scary if you try, which is why Earth Day can be a daunting day for some. It's a day where instead of pushing the worrying problem of climate change to the backs of our minds, we have to tackle the subject head-on. Wondering about the future of the planet; pondering questions like 'How long do we have left?' can be overwhelming when faced with the bigger picture, but when broken into small individual actions like cutting down your meat consumption or choosing to walk instead of taking a car, we can have an enormous impact, bigger than you can imagine. The past year has made it all the more easier for us to make these changes as fewer journeys have been made by all and airports continue to be at a standstill. Despite the UK Government's plans to 'get back to normal as soon as possible', McCartney disagrees. 'While I am optimistic looking forward, I hope things do not return to normal in 2021 – rather, I hope we come back more mindful, particularly when it comes to our decisions.'

In the West, there are two central figures in global warming that have graced our television screens year in year out, from a small 18-year-old girl known as Greta Thunberg to a much older 94-year-old man called David Attenborough, we've come to realise the damage the human race has contributed to over the years. What's worse is that the fashion industry is considered one of the leading contributors to climate destruction, with a staggering 92 million tonnes produced a year due to fast fashion alone. Something must change, and we know we must do something about it, but how can we go about change? How long have we got left? And who will stand with us campaigning for said change? Despite all these uncertainties and a long sluggish path ahead, McCartney is here to hold fashion's hand along the way, guiding us with her wisdom on sustainability, one step at a time.