We all need a little help navigating the climate conversation [1]. While the solutions seem crystal clear — embracing a sustainable lifestyle, trying to make or mend our belongings [2] instead of buying something new — becoming an ally for the environment is not just about where we put our money, it's about a change in mindset. Intersectionality is a defining feature of environmentalism, and it means that climate justice can be synonymous with justice for all marginalised peoples. To simplify the climate conversation, we recommend following the work of a few inspiring organisations and activists in the UK that will keep you up to date with environmentalism.
When we're talking about climate awareness, it's crucial that we invite as many different people from diverse backgrounds as possible, so that conversations about the environment are considerate of those who are most greatly affected. Countries like the UK, the US, and China are the biggest perpetrators of climate injustice, whether by mass manufacturing, outsourcing, shipping large mounds of trash elsewhere, or normalising systems of exploitation for profit. To get started on your climate-awareness journey, UK-based organisations like Fashion Revolution [3], Re-education [4], Pass the Mic [5], Climate in Colour [6], Climate Census UK [7], and Slow Factory [8] (US-based) are great resources to add to your social media timelines. These accounts will give you the necessary information to understand what is happening outside of your social bubble and how to engage with affected people of the global south for climate justice. And if you're looking for relatable women who can break down the jargon even further, then we advise reading ahead and following eight of our favourite environmentalists and fair-fashion campaigners who are doing incredible work from the UK.
Joycelyn Longdon
Joycelyn Longdon is the founder of online community and education platform Climate in Colour [9]. While completing a Master of Research and a PhD for the study of environmental risks at the University of Cambridge, Longdon uses Climate in Colour to explain how racial injustice has shaped the climate crisis, and what it means to decolonise the climate movement.
Maria Maleh
Maria Maleh works at Fashion Revolution and its showcasing initiative Fashion Open Studio, where she helps to organise educational and interactive events about upcycling, sustainable dyeing techniques, and the history of eco-conscious fabrics like hemp. When she's not working, catch her on Instagram cosying up with her pet cat or making clothes, food, and cosmetics by hand.
Tori Tsui
Tori Tsui examines how environmental health affects mental health, and the people of the global south. A member of Bad Activist Collective [10], United for Climate Change [11], and Pass the Mic [12], Tsui is an environmental and antiracist activist who shares their platform with those most affected by the climate crisis.
Venetia La Manna
Venetia La Manna is the host of podcast All the Small Things [13] and a fair-fashion campaigner. She uses her social media platform to raise awareness about greenwashing and the major retailers that are not protecting their garment workers. La Manna frequently shares sustainable fashion finds, and her journey to pouring the perfect caffè latte.
Dominique Palmer
Dominique Palmer is a climate justice activist and campaign organiser for Fridays For Future International who is taking a bachelor's in political science and international relations at the University of Birmingham. She uses her platform to share information about the intersections of gender and race with the climate crisis. "How do we make our climate spaces more inclusive for BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of colour)?", Palmer asks [14] in one post. "Why is climate justice a feminist issue?" she asks in another.
Danielle Sams
Danielle Sams is a neuroscientist and intersectional climate justice activist. Based between London and Magdeburg, Germany, she frequently joins panels for Re-education and Pass the Mic to share insights into how Black, female, and LGBTQ+ identities are uniquely impacted by the climate crisis.
Maja Darlington
A self-described "radical angry lefty", Maja Darlington is an advocate for climate-conscious policy changes and writer for Greenpeace and Green New Deal UK. Darlington's work centres around unpacking the government policies in the UK and US that are threatening the areas and peoples most affected by climate change.
Aja Barber
Aja Barber once worked in fast fashion until she realised how the industry affects the environment. Her activism centres on decolonising fast fashion by explaining how the factory system exploits the most vulnerable areas and peoples. Much of Barber's research is outlined in her upcoming book, Consumed: On Colonialism, Climate Change, Consumerism & the Need For Collective Change [15], coming in September 2021.