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Back in 2018, I gave a TED Talk at TEDx in Exeter. It was called ‘Why We Should All Feel Uncomfortable In Our Clothes’. It was a reflection on our relationship with clothing, fashion, quality, and work, and how this has changed as the world economy has evolved. I discussed the ideas behind Community Clothing, which at the time was just a couple of years old, and suggested that a return to quality and local manufacture would be good for our society, our economy, and the planet. In 2021, an editor at Harper Collins saw my TED Talk and thought the ideas in it might be worth sharing more broadly.
In the years that have passed since I gave that talk, I have met and talked with thousands of people connected to the world of fashion, textiles, manufacturing, and politics, and my conviction that we need to rethink our consumption and rethink the role work plays in our society has only increased.
Within my lifetime, we have gone from being a society that buys small quantities of mostly high-quality things made locally to one that buys huge volumes of very low-quality things made thousands of miles away.
In the process, the skilled work that supported thousands of communities and millions of people right across the country has been lost.
And what have we gained? Are we wealthier? Healthier? Happier? For most of us, sadly, the answer is no. We need to think again about how our economy and society work and for whose benefit.
I believe that living with fewer but better things, and making those things locally, would actually improve our lives, creating a healthier, happier, and more equal society. This is what my book LESS is about. For those of you who have supported Community Clothing for a while, you’ll be familiar with some of the ideas in the book; they’re the ideas that underpin the things we do every day.
But LESS is also a personal reflection on the stuff that makes me happy; a few good clothes, a cup of tea in a well-made mug, a sandwich up a hill on a sunny day (whenever that might be).
LESS is out today and is available from lots of great bookshops across the UK and available to buy as an audiobook on Audible.
5pm on 11th May
8pm on 14th May
6.30pm on 15th May
7pm on 23rd May
1pm on 2nd June
7.30pm on 4th June
Scarborough Books by the Beach
7.30pm on 9th June
7.15pm on 13th June
7pm on 26th June
6pm on 20th September
Budleigh Salterton Literature Festival
10am on 21st September
12pm on 9th November
7.30pm on 10th November
Back in 2018, I gave a TED Talk at TEDx in Exeter. It was called ‘Why We Should All Feel Uncomfortable In Our Clothes’. It was a reflection on our relationship with clothing, fashion, quality, and work, and how this has changed as the world economy has evolved. I discussed the ideas behind Community Clothing, which at the time was just a couple of years old, and suggested that a return to quality and local manufacture would be good for our society, our economy, and the planet. In 2021, an editor at Harper Collins saw my TED Talk and thought the ideas in it might be worth sharing more broadly.
In the years that have passed since I gave that talk, I have met and talked with thousands of people connected to the world of fashion, textiles, manufacturing, and politics, and my conviction that we need to rethink our consumption and rethink the role work plays in our society has only increased.
Within my lifetime, we have gone from being a society that buys small quantities of mostly high-quality things made locally to one that buys huge volumes of very low-quality things made thousands of miles away.
In the process, the skilled work that supported thousands of communities and millions of people right across the country has been lost.
And what have we gained? Are we wealthier? Healthier? Happier? For most of us, sadly, the answer is no. We need to think again about how our economy and society work and for whose benefit.
I believe that living with fewer but better things, and making those things locally, would actually improve our lives, creating a healthier, happier, and more equal society. This is what my book LESS is about. For those of you who have supported Community Clothing for a while, you’ll be familiar with some of the ideas in the book; they’re the ideas that underpin the things we do every day.
But LESS is also a personal reflection on the stuff that makes me happy; a few good clothes, a cup of tea in a well-made mug, a sandwich up a hill on a sunny day (whenever that might be).
LESS is out today and is available from lots of great bookshops across the UK and available to buy as an audiobook on Audible.
5pm on 11th May
8pm on 14th May
6.30pm on 15th May
7pm on 23rd May
1pm on 2nd June
7.30pm on 4th June
Scarborough Books by the Beach
7.30pm on 9th June
7.15pm on 13th June
7pm on 26th June
6pm on 20th September
Budleigh Salterton Literature Festival
10am on 21st September
12pm on 9th November
7.30pm on 10th November
