Mikael La Ferla

Food (provocative facts): 

• 80% of products sold in convenience stores/supermarkets in the U.S. have added sugar
• According to the CDC, chronic diseases take an economic toll, as it costs our healthcare system $214 billion annually and $138 billion in lost productivity on the job
• Chronic diseases affect around 157 million Americans (47.5% of the U.S. population) 
• Some of these diseases that are strongly correlated to eating fast-food include heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, tooth decay, and even Alzheimer’s
• 13.7 million households (10.5%) were food insecure at some time in 2019. (This number will be much higher when it is reported in the upcoming months)
• 5.3 million children lived in food-insecure households in 2019
• States with the highest rates of food insecurity came in southern states
• Due to many American adults facing time constraints from work, errands, raising children, and more, they are very likely to save time by buying convenience foods.
  • By grabbing fast-food meals and ready-to-eat food from grocery stores, these Americans are prone to health complications, ultimately leading to lower life expectancies.
• Food production is responsible for 20% to 30% of total garbage greenhouse gas emissions
• If citizens in the 28 highest-income nations followed the dietary recommendations of their respective governments:
• Greenhouse gases related to the food they eat would fall by 13% to 25%
• The amount of land it takes to produce that food will drop as much as 17%
• A study from the University of Minnesota and Oxford University concluded that there is significant causation between the production of junk food and the overall health of the environment 
• The foods with the largest increases in disease are associated with the largest negative environmental impacts
• Similarly, healthy foods (whole grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc.) have the lowest environmental impacts
• Transitioning diets toward greater consumption of healthy foods would be strongly correlated in improving the environment as well
• The food retail industry in the U.S. comprises foods sold at grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores, mass merchandisers, and foodservice facilities (these numbers were reported on Nov. 5, 2020)
  • Total Retail and Food Services Sales in the U.S.: $6.22 trillion
  • Grocery sales in the U.S.: $682.86 billion
• Average annual household food expenditure in the United States has increased around $400 billion on average since 2000
• The leading supermarkets in the U.S. are Kroger Co. ($122.28 billion), Albertsons Companies ($62.41 billion), and ALDI ($31.12 billion)

The players involved in the negative implications of farming and growing food are bodies of water, native species and habitats, forests, and humans. The poorly regulated farming industry has contributed to water and atmosphere pollution, chronic diseases, and deforestation, to reiterate the previous page’s bullet-point list. For these reasons, we must launch a campaign that addresses the health and environmental issues from unsustainable food production while also providing realistic solutions. An example of this is Desert Bloom, an organization that invests in and assists companies interested in reforming our food environment to satisfy consumer demands and support people and the ecosystem’s health. Desert Bloom’s mission statement is “to make food that is healthy and environmentally regenerative ubiquitously available and accessible to everyone.” The meaning behind the campaign’s name is that most food environments are “nutrition” deserts with little access to healthy, fresh foods and strives to satisfy the strong demand for local, indigenous blooms. Desert Bloom distinguishes itself from other organizations with similar objectives because it aims to establish a culture of compassion, collaboration, and relentlessness in improving the status quo of farming and food production. Desert Bloom also relies on its extensive company research in creating viable alternatives to traditional food brands. Its focus is primarily on fast food, soda, candy, and industrial agriculture, all of the most significant food disruption opportunities. 

A handful of brands are centered around making food more affordable, accessible, and nutritional. Desert Bloom’s plans to work with are Gotham Greens, Beyond Good, Everytable, Clover, and Hungry Harvest. In addition to these names, Desert Bloom plans to add 1-2 businesses per year to attract more investors and increase engagement in this field. Desert Bloom has a $30 million fund and plans to use its money by increasing stakes in existing companies in future rounds, leading or co-lead rounds in another 3 to 5 companies, and strategically finding ways for a disruptive food company to adapt to Desert Bloom’s standards of food production. The organization leaders are Hans Taparia and Sohel Shikari. Their professional exposure in networking technology and passion for food reform sets up Desert Bloom with much-needed experience and guidance. 

To make this campaign known to the public, a creative idea that would bring a lot of positive attention to Desert Bloom is getting celebrities that are genuinely concerned about the negative effects of food while also relating to younger audiences. Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan Downey, run “Footprint Coalition,” a nonprofit designed to help use technology to address environmental issues prevalent in society. Susan and Robert have used their organization’s capital in gathering thinkers, investors, companies, and entrepreneurs to discover new ways to restore the environment. They also invest in early and late-stage companies that have similar goals in tackling these issues. Their research is backed by scientists, engineers, technologists, and nonprofit leaders who are also educated and passionate in this field. By collaborating with Footprint Coalition, Desert Bloom would receive the necessary public recognition while assisting Downey’s nonprofit with research and development.

The main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) associated with the campaign would be Zero Hunger (2), Good Health and Well-being (3), Clean Water and Sanitation (6), and Sustainable Cities and Communities (11). These goals complement each other as we strive to discover effective solutions to food insecurity and production inefficiencies. 

To summarize the stakeholder analysis from Desert Bloom, the four required actions are to keep stakeholders satisfied, manage them closely, keep them informed, and monitor them. First, our main stakeholders would consist of scientists, investors, food companies, and private citizens. It is paramount that people interested in food/farming reform are aware of our organizations’ goals and operations. Once we attract enough people, we turn to financial and factual support from scientists and investors to achieve our objectives. Keeping these stakeholders satisfied and informed with our progress would allow Desert Bloom to raise more capital and awareness, ultimately being reinvested back into finding alternatives for sustainable food production. Monitoring and managing our stakeholders closely will also strengthen our engagement with them. 

Works Cited

CDC.gov. “Health and Economic Costs of Chronic Diseases.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 Nov. 2020, www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/costs/index.htm.

Coppola, Daniela. “U.S.: Largest Grocery and Supermarket Chains 2017.” Statista, 30 Nov. 2020, http://www.statista.com/statistics/197899/2010-sales-of-supermarket-chains-in-the-us/. 

Footprint Coalition. “ABOUT.” Footprint Coalition, 2019, http://www.footprintcoalition.com/. 

Mind Tools Content Team. “Stakeholder Analysis: Winning Support for Your Projects.” Project Management Skills From MindTools.com, 2018, http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm. 

National Health Council. “About Chronic Diseases.” Putting Patients First, 2019, nationalhealthcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AboutChronicDisease.pdf.

Sheehan, Kim. “Fast Company Festival of Innovation: Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey.” Advertising and Brand Responsibility, 15 Oct. 2020, blogs.uoregon.edu/mabr/2020/10/05/fast-company-festival-of-innovation-robert-downey-jr-and-susan-downey/. 

University of Minnesota. “Nutritious foods have lower environmental impact than unhealthy foods.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 October 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191028164358.htm>.

USDA. “Key Statistics & Graphics.” USDA ERS – Key Statistics & Graphics, 2019, http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx.

Fashion (provocative facts): 

• Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined
• More than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilization and the lack of recycling 
• 1/3 young women, the biggest segment of consumers, consider garments worn once or twice to be old
• The fashion industry is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions
• The average American throws away around 81 pounds of clothing yearly
• 68% of fast fashion brands don’t maintain gender equality at production facilities 
• 60% of fast fashion items end up in a landfill
• Nearly 70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make the world’s polyester fiber, which is now the most commonly used fiber in our clothing. But it takes more than 200 years to decompose
• A cotton shirt requires at least 2,700 liters of water to produce
  • That’s the equivalent of drinking water for 2.5 years!
• Microfibers from synthetic clothing contribute to 85% of the oceans’ plastic pollution
• Over 70 million trees are logged every year year to make biodegradable fabrics like rayon, viscose, and lyocell
• Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing
• Around 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used in the fashion industry
• Fast fashion is on track to grow to a $1.65 trillion industry by next year
• Paying living wages to garment workers would add just one percent on average to the retail price of a piece of clothing
• Only 10% of the clothes people donate to thrift stores or charities get sold, the rest goes to landfill
• The average woman has $550 of unworn clothing in her closet having never worn at least 20% of the items in their wardrobes
• Fast fashion garments, which we wear less than 5 times and keep for 35 days, produce over 400% more carbon per item per year than garments worn 50 times and kept for a full year
• The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second
• Overall, microplastics are estimated to compose up to 31% of plastic pollution in the ocean 
• The fashion industry’s total carbon emissions is more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined
• Textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water
  • The dyeing process uses enough water to fill 2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools each year

The players involved in fast fashion’s negative implications are bodies of water, native species and habitats, and humans. The poorly regulated fashion industry has contributed to water and atmosphere pollution, gender inequality, and health complications among people in developing countries, to reiterate the previous page’s bullet-point list. For these reasons, we must launch a campaign that addresses the health and environmental issues from unsustainable fashion production while also providing realistic solutions. An example is the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). This organization is focused on making all apparel, footwear, and textiles environmentally-friendly and positively impacting the people and communities associated with its activities. SAC represents over 250 member organizations, $750 billion in annual revenue, and is operating in 35 countries worldwide. It is headquartered in Oakland, California. SAC’s mission statement is “driving collaboration, innovation, and action on sustainability in the footwear, apparel, and home textiles supply chain.” SAC distinguishes itself from other organizations with similar objectives because it creates The Higg Index, which provides SAC a variation of tools used to paint a realistic picture of the direction it is heading in. The suite of tools enables brands, retailers, and facilities of all sizes to accurately measure and score a company or product’s sustainability performance at every stage in their sustainability journey. Higg product tools, Higg facility tools, and Higg brand & retail tools are all a part of the Higg Index mix. 

Higg product tools help brands, retailers, manufacturers, and academics understand the environmental impacts of apparel, footwear, and textiles. There are two product tools: the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI) and the Higg Product Module (Higg PM).

Higg facility tools measure environmental and social sustainability impacts in manufacturing facilities around the world. There are two Higg Facility Tools: Higg Facility Environment Module (Higg FEM) and Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (Higg FSLM).

Global brands and retailers use higg brand & retail tools to assess the sustainability of product life cycles, their operations’ environmental performance, and the social impacts across the value chain.

SAC’s first partnerships with Walmart and Patagonia have now grown to work with over 220 institutions across the fashion industry, including retailers, suppliers, trade associations, nonprofits, and brands. SAC plans to address sustainability issues in all of its operating countries with The Higg Index’s research. The organization leader is Amina Razvi (Executive Director), as she is committed to scaling the Higg Index globally to drive the social and environmental improvements the industry needs to become sustainable. To make this campaign more known to the public, a creative idea that would bring a lot of positive attention to SAC is getting celebrities genuinely concerned about the harmful effects of fast fashion while also relating to younger audiences. I believe a prominent figure in the environmental activism and film industry is Leonardo DiCaprio. Winning numerous awards for his roles in “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Revenant” is not the only thing that solidifies him as a human being but also his foundation, which supports organizations and initiatives designed to solve issues that plague the environment. He serves on boards such as the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and Global Green USA, targeting conserving nature and reducing pressing threats to wildlife and climate. Therefore, many people who love watching DiCaprio’s films would be eager to listen to him deliver our mission of addressing fast fashion’s consequences.

The main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) associated with the campaign would be Good Health and Well-being (3), Clean Water and Sanitation (6), and Sustainable Cities and Communities (11). These goals complement each other as we strive to discover effective solutions to unsustainable fashion and production inefficiencies.

To summarize the stakeholder analysis from SAC, the four required actions are to keep stakeholders satisfied, manage them closely, keep them informed, and monitor them. First, our main stakeholders would consist of scientists, mathematicians, investors, governments, and private citizens. It is paramount that people interested in fashion reform are aware of our organizations’ goals and operations. Once we attract enough people, we turn to financial and factual support from scientists and investors to achieve our objectives. Keeping these stakeholders satisfied and informed with our progress would allow SAC to raise more capital and awareness, ultimately reinvesting back into finding alternatives for sustainable clothing production. Monitoring and managing our stakeholders closely will also strengthen our engagement with them. 

Works Cited

Ashley Pek. “9 Scary Facts About Fast Fashion.” Infinite Blog by Style Theory, 30 Oct. 2019, infinite.styletheory.co/9-scary-facts-about-fast-fashion/.

Darmo, Jennifer. “20 Hard Facts and Statistics About Fast Fashion.” Good On You, 27 July 2020, goodonyou.eco/fast-fashion-facts/. 

McCourt, Katie. “Ten Facts About Fast Fashion.” Medium, Medium, 29 Jan. 2020, medium.com/@katieannabel/ten-facts-about-fast-fashion-4dec25a34fb.

https://thegreenhubonline.com/2018/01/16/20-facts-about-the-fast-fashion-industry-that-will-shock-you/

McFall-Johnsen, Morgan. “The Fashion Industry Emits More Carbon than International Flights and Maritime Shipping Combined. Here Are the Biggest Ways It Impacts the Planet.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 Oct. 2019, http://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10.&nbsp;

Sustainable Apparel Coalition Team. “Collaboration & Impact.” Sustainable Apparel Coalition, 2020, apparelcoalition.org/collaboration-impact/. 

Sustainable Apparel Coalition Team. “The Higg Index.” Sustainable Apparel Coalition, 2020, apparelcoalition.org/the-higg-index/. 

Sustainable Apparel Coalition Team. “Transforming the Apparel, Footwear, and Textile Industry.” Sustainable Apparel Coalition, 2020, apparelcoalition.org/. 

Written by Mikael La Ferla