July 29, 2019 is Earth Overshoot Day which marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources in any given year exceeds what our planet can regenerate.

It sounds complicated, but it’s the planetary version of your budget. Spend too much on things you don’t really need and eat baked beans on toast until your next paycheck, right?

For a week it’s doable. But imagine being that skint for 5 entire months in a row?!? What’s even more scary is that Earth Overshoot Day has been getting earlier and earlier every year. Before 1970 we were living within our ecological means, then overconsumption took off in the 80’s and it hasn’t stopped since. 

Today we’re using the equivalent of 1.75x Earths worth of resources every year.

Basically we’re stealing from the next generation in the pursuit of short term profit and putting the survival of our entire species at risk. Which sounds like a terrible gamble when Elon hasn't solved interplanetary colonisation yet.

 

 

From lucky country to stupid country.

Even more scary are the Aussie stats. As you can see, if everyone on Earth consumed natural resources like we do Down Under we’d exhaust the annual budget in only 91 days on March 31!

 

 

Overshoot is possible because we’re depleting our ‘natural capital’, aka our future security. The costs of this global ecological overspending are becoming increasingly evident in the form of deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss and the buildup of carbon dioxide which leads to climate change and more frequent extreme weather events. 

Moving the date of Earth Overshoot Day back 5 days each year would allow humanity to reach one-planet compatibility before 2050.

The most effective change would be to cut CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning by 50%, which alone would move the date back by a full 93 days!

 

So what can you do?

An easy place to start is with your wardrobe. According to Forbes, clothing makes up 10% of global carbon emissions and uses 1/4 of all chemicals produced on Earth.

So being more intentional about the clothes we buy goes a long way.

Be especially mindful of fibre content when shopping, as anything made with polyester (and most fast fashion is always blended with poly to keep the price down) is 4x times more destructive than natural fibres.

Fast fashion garments are worn on average less than 5 times and kept for only 35 days, producing over 400% more carbon emissions per item per year than garments worn 50 times and kept for a full year.

So take a look at your wardrobe. Can you streamline down to a capsule collection of only those pieces that you absolutely love?

  

Citizen Wolf is part of the solution.

Not only do we make the best fitting Tees on the planet, but we also make the most planet-friendly clothes in the universe. So Citizen Wolf Tees are a great place to start your journey towards a more intentional wardrobe...