2021 / 1 week / sustainability, critical thinking / individual concept project


When fashion and sustainability have been on your mind for a while...

What if something like a price tag on a t-shirt also included the cost on the environment? Let's say, for every 10g of emissions/chemicals, 1p is added to a base price - like coupons, but in reverse...

A product with less impact on the environment would result in a lower add on cost, which could encourage consumers to buy better. Maybe the consumer then won't need to know what an acceptable amount is - just the lower, the better.

This mock-up includes a lot of assumptions, e.g.
- the base price is fair on those involved in making it
- the base price is fair even when the add on costs are at the lowest amount possible
- we're all on the same page on what 'fair' actually is

For now, I haven't included cost to manufacture, as this highly variable, and the amount of water (2,700L just for one cotton t-shirt) to make the units in this example simpler.

Ideally we'd only be buying good things, but there's still progress to be made, and this could be one way to teach consumers. Think nutritional labels and appliance energy ratings.

Sources: World Resources Institute, Around