“Waste and greed are two sides of the same destructive path” asserts Liz Ricketts in her article titled “This Is Not Your Goldmine. This Is Our Mess” published for online publication, Atmos. Here, the author addresses the topic of post-consumer clothing waste and its detrimental impact on Ghana’s culture, community, ecosystem, and economy. The ‘open letter to the fashion industry’ is available online through Atmos.earth, which does not require a subscription to access. Atmos is an online magazine that describes itself as an “exploration of climate and culture…curated by a global ecosystem of artists, activists, and writers devoted to ecological and social justice, creative storytelling, and re-enchantment with the natural world” (Atmos.earth). This article can also be found via the Instagram account of its author (@lraericketts) and of Atmos (@atmos). A citation and link to this article are available in the resources at the bottom of this blog.
The intended audience is a climate-conscious, progressive, educated reader with a keen interest in social justice. They may fall within a large age range but based upon aesthetics and the fact that the publication is primarily available online, the magazine is likely marketed towards Generation Z and Millennials. Ricketts’ article is targeted directly to this intended audience, with an assumption that the reader already has a somewhat strong grasp on the faults of the fashion industry at large and a basic understanding of the circular economy model. The author does not spend time explaining to her reader why the post-consumer waste industry exists, rather, she uses storytelling combined with stunning visual aids to highlight how the fashion and post-consumer waste industry is harming the country and its people, and what can be done to remediate the issue.
Techniques:
Connecting with your Audience: Research shows that skepticism is more likely to align with personal values than with education or even demographics (Hodson, 2019). Of course, relaying scientific knowledge and statistics is extremely important, however, the use of personal narrative and storytelling has proven time and again to be more effective than heavy use of jargon or concepts which the reader may not understand (Hodson, 2019). The use of appropriate language is also important, as is ‘layering’ the message: starting simply and leading the reader to more complex levels of information and analysis as they move through the piece (Dupar et al, 2019). This allows the reader to choose the degree of information they receive while still communicating the same message.
Talk about the real world, not abstract ideas: In “Principles for effective communication and public engagement on climate change”, Corner et al suggest starting climate communication on common ground, using clear language and examples your audience is likely to be familiar with. This is similar to Stephen Schneider’s advice: “Know thy audience! Know thyself! Know thy stuff!” as quoted by Bayer and Hettinger in their article “Storytelling: A Natural Tool to Weave the Threads of Science and Community Together”. Bayer and Hettinger argue that knowing the specific values, perspectives, needs, and goals of your audience is key to effective climate communication, as is understanding your own reason for communicating this information. Of course, having a deep knowledge of the information you are communicating is paramount, though, as Bayer and Hettinger point out, attempting to share too much information can leave the audience feeling confused and even lead to information fatigue. Sharing a limited number of concepts will allow for more effective communication and ensure your audience stays engaged with the topic (Bayer & Hettinger, 2019).
Communication Aids: The use of communication aids such as images, video, or other creative graphics can greatly improve the effectiveness of communication, especially within the climate realm, and change the way people interact with the topic of communication (Hodsen, 2019). Corner et al argue that a very narrow visual representation frames the climate emergency currently, existing primarily of “polar bears, melting ice-caps, smokestacks and potentially polarising images of environmental protesters”. Just as strong imagery can greatly uplift communications, this type of representation is detrimental as it leads to information fatigue, fails to engage audiences, and can undermine the effectiveness of the valuable work being done in the fight against the climate emergency (Corner et al, 2018).
Amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups: Dupar et al posit that intentionally amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups provide an opportunity to evaluate and increase their access to climate action (Dupar et al, 2019). Partnering with communities directly affected by the changing climate not only helps to put a human face on the climate crisis for readers in the Global North who may not yet be experiencing such dramatic changes to their livelihoods, making the crisis less abstract, but also provides a platform for underrepresented voices to “articulate and share their experiences of climate risk and contribute meaningfully to possible policy solutions” (Dupar et al, 2019).
Storytelling: Bayer and Hettinger argue that “storytelling can serve as an effective tool for community engagement, particularly with regard to environmental issues.” Place-based stories, especially, can help connect us to and empathize with the land and people more effectively than scientific facts. Storytelling allows us to share deeply held knowledge about the value of our environments and our own perspectives on how changes, by excessive waste, in the case of this article, or by climate change, might be affecting the environment and the people that live and rely on that land.
Analysis:
Liz Ricketts is a passionate and effective storyteller, blending facts about the fashion industry with personal experiences to transport the reader to the depths of the Kantamanto market in Accra, one of the largest resale markets in the world (Ricketts, 2021). Ricketts uses a number of different communication techniques which make her impassioned plea for a less wasteful world seem less desperate and more tangible than so many of the articles which address the circular economy or the sustainable fashion industry.
Ricketts uses storytelling to transport the reader directly to the burn piles and garbage dumps alongside the Waste Pickers. But her use of emotional narrative does more than just make the reader feel guilty, it makes the reader feel responsible. It is a take on a topic that most readers of this journal will be familiar with, but maybe, as of yet, many have not felt directly connected to. In this way, Ricketts connects directly with her audience – she does not pander to the reader’s guilt, rather, she issues her readers a challenge, arguing that the time has come to prioritize a circular economy over a linear economy (Ricketts, 2021). Ricketts understands that her audience is already well aware of the issues linking colonialism with overconsumption, that they have moved past the shock and grief and are now looking for action items, ways to actively create changes in their own communities and abroad. By placing the responsibility directly on the reader’s shoulders and offering a solution to the issue of waste (no matter that the issue is of course much bigger than any one reader) she is making the issue less abstract and therefore providing value to her readers.
Ricketts also uses non-traditional communication aids in this piece, including portrait photography and embedded videos to draw the reader in and keep them engaged in the story. As Atmos is a highly aesthetic magazine that combines thought-provoking articles with often stark or jarring images, the author shows a deep understanding and identification with her audience by using these particular communication aids. Notably, the author commissioned a local Ghanian photographer, Sackitey Tesa, to create a stunning visual journey for the reader which includes portraits of men in outfits created from post-consumer waste. I believe the author has intentionally chosen to feature pieces of art, a photography collaboration created for this piece titled “Heavy are the Clothes on your Back”, rather than the usual images that might accompany an article such as this: piles of waste and sad looking women and children picking through it. As discussed above, images such as these have become ineffective and even detrimental in climate communication, a fact which Ricketts acknowledges in her decision to portray the Ghanian people as innovative and resourceful – a community working hard to solve, rather than at the mercy of, a problem we in Global North have quite literally dumped on their doorstep.
In this way, the author also amplifies the voices of the Ghanian people, an often overlooked and underrepresented, though extremely important, demographic within the sustainable fashion narrative. Ricketts recognizes that “those who live in proximity to the problem are also closest to the solutions” and discusses the level of risk that the market workers take on just to address our waste problem. She writes that the work these men, women, and oftentimes children do is extremely difficult: that it “should be applauded, but it should not be romanticized”. Ricketts highlights the violence, soil and water degradation, and damage to the local economy which is a byproduct of the post-consumer garment industry in Ghana. However, she does not allow her reader space to “pity” these workers, she presents them as efficient, strong, capable, and innovative, which is in itself a refreshing narrative within sustainability communication. Rather, she gives a voice to the thousands of people working in this industry, and her carefully chosen visual aids provide a face her readers can connect to; real people experiencing the real consequences of our poor habits.
The author relies heavily on storytelling and emotional information in this article to humanize a profession that many readers might not have even known existed. Bayer & Hettinger posit that “stories help us build relationships with one another through exchanging perspectives between teller and listener” (Bayer & Hettinger, 2019). Ricketts uses the story of “Baby O” who was tragically killed in an accident while his mother was carrying a bale of clothing. The way Ricketts tells the story, it is impossible not to connect that bale of clothing with all of the unworn clothing in our own closets. We imagine our own discarded goods in those bales, and for a moment we feel responsible for Baby O’s death too.
Hodson argues that a change in behavior is necessary for people to adopt daily habits and practices that will help engage them in adaptation-related actions, including battling our society’s habits of overconsumption (Hodsen, 2019). Changing behavior, however, is difficult and time-consuming. By using effective, emotional storytelling, stunning visual aids, and by providing a strong voice for the Ghanian people whose lives are directly affected by our consumer habits, Ricketts successfully engages her audience, forcing not only a stark acknowledgment of the issue at hand, but also a simple and direct call to action: “make less stuff, move money, and decentralize power”.
References:
Bayer, S., & Hettinger, A. (2019). Storytelling: A natural tool to weave the threads of science and community together. Bulletin of the ecological society of America, 100(2), 1-6. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bes2.1542
Corner, A., Shaw, C., & Clarke, J. (2018). Principles for effective communication and public engagement on climate change: A Handbook for IPCC authors. Climate Outreach: Oxford, UK. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2017/08/Climate-Outreach-IPCC-communications-handbook.pdf
Dupar, M., with McNamara, L. & Pacha, M. (2019). Communicating climate change: A practitioner’s guide. Cape Town: Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Communicating%20climate%20change_Insights%20from%20CDKNs%20experience.pdf
Hodson, J. (2019). An ecological model of climate marketing: A conceptual framework for understanding climate science-related attitude and behavior change. Cogent Social Sciences 5(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2019.1625101
Ricketts, L. (2021, January 30). This is Not Your Goldmine. This is Our Mess. Atmos. https://atmos.earth/fashion-clothing-waste-letter-ghana/
Tesa, S. (2021). Heavy are the Clothes on your Back. Commission for the OR Foundation. [photography] https://www.sackiteytesa.com/portfolio.html