Barcelona has officially been in a state of drought for 40+ months. In february the situation became graver still, as water reserves in the Catalonia region were reported lower than 16%. As a sustainable brand dedicated to ocean protection and the conservation of water, it feels strange on World Water Day 2024 to find ourselves at the epicentre of the climate crisis, but at the same time, perhaps it’s exactly where we need to be.
With drought periods and heat waves only set to intensify in the Mediterranean, everyone on the TWOTHIRDS crew is asking themselves: What can we do as individuals and as a community to protect this precious substance, one that facilitates all life on earth?
Making It Rain Clothes Won’t Make It Rain
It was in 2015 that TWOTHIRDS founder Lutz Schwenke launched PRE-ORDER, a system that ran counter to the burgeoning fast fashion business models of the time. PRE-ORDER promoted a groundbreaking slow fashion model – one that encouraged conscious consumerism and compelled people to think long and hard before buying the clothing they needed; not what they’re instructed to desire.
Fast forward to 2024 and PRE-ORDER is still going strong, but its essence is also under threat. Environmental destruction caused by ultra fast fashion has only accelerated, dragging the industry as a whole into a desperate race to the bottom. The consequences for the ocean and for water conservation are stark.
It is for this reason that TWOTHIRDS has partnered with the Or Foundation’s #SpeakVolumes campaign, to shine a light on waste colonialism, and the damage to rivers and oceans it causes in Ghana and beyond. Only by putting a lid on rampant overproduction and hyper consumerism can we begin to better protect and conserve water.
By disclosing our annual production volumes, we advocate for other brands to do the same, to be held accountable for the impact we all have on the environment. As you will see above, TWOTHIRDS’ production volumes are small compared to many comparable brands. Our eco-conscious customers use the PRE-ORDER system as intended, buying high-quality clothing only when they need it and caring for it so it lasts a lifetime.
Taking Individual Responsibility for Every Drop
While TWOTHIRDS is doing everything it can to save water, what about our crew members? We’ve always been a group of likeminded, eco-conscious individuals, drawn to TWOTHIRDS’ founding values. For this reason our crew members have been ahead of the curve when it comes to water conservation at home:
Moving into 2024, we will be looking to share more of these personal tips, ideas and experiences, so that our entire community can share knowledge on how to conserve water.
Everyone for Themselves: Recipe for Disaster
While personal responsibility is key to any positive action, it should also never be expected to be the primary driver of change. Businesses and governments are masters at blaming consumers for their own shortcomings. You can castigate an individual for consuming too much water all you want, but give that person no viable alternatives and you cannot expect miracles.
When it comes to water, we are in this together – business, government, and society. This is evident both locally in Barcelona and in the wider fashion industry. While sustainable B Corp Certified brands like TWOTHIRDS do everything possible to curtail our water consumption, fast fashion brands often do the exact opposite and are encouraged to do so by investment-hungry governments. While concerned citizens in Barcelona reduce their water use to a minimum, the local administration and big business are trying to build a water-intensive super casino and expand the airport into precious marshland.
Water Works Best When It’s Set Free
For the longest time, many in the west assumed that water was a boundless resource, one that could literally be bottled, sold, polluted and manipulated in every possible way. There is now evidence staring us in the face that such an approach is driving water scarcity, toxicity and many other negative impacts besides.
Setting water free is about not caging it in single-use plastic bottles. It is about not damming up its rivers. It is about not poisoning it with synthetic dyes. It is about not viewing it as a resource at all, but instead as blood that pulses through our planet’s veins, keeping her replenished with the nutrients she then yields to us in return. Happy Water Day 2024! Now, let’s get to work.