Coronavirus & the Environmental Conversation

The outbreak of this pandemic has sparked many conversations on multiple fronts: ranging from the economy, to politics, to healthcare, and everything in between. One of those conversations that we're going to talk about today is the environment. With everything being on lockdown, people at home, businesses closed, the environment has reignited swiftly. Because of this, and the speed at which it occurred, the climate conversation has come to the forefront. Quarantine has made this topic so blatant that it cannot be ignored. 

For Processes

With businesses now knowing just how fast the planet can recover from pollution, talks of clean energy are predicted to be robust and realistic post-Coronavirus. Companies have already shown interest in converting to cleaner energy and more efficient processes. And, there are parts of business that are now realized to be unnecessary entirely. For example, with people learning how to efficiently, healthily, and comfortably work from home, the staying power of working from home could be strong. This means less commutes, less cars on the road, less pollution. While this is just a start, it is a significant change and would prove very positive on our overall air quality. 

Another type of business also had significant findings: national parks. National parks are designed to protect and preserve the natural wildlife and habitat of the area. And because of this, they are popular tourist locations to 'get away from the city' and 'reconnect with nature'. While those are valid reasons and humans benefit greatly from being out in nature, this still has an effect on the animals that live there. With national parks closed throughout the world, animals that live in the parks are now venturing in places they would avoid due to human activity. What this shows is: Our actions still affect them. What national parks are hoping for is that when they do open and people return for visiting, they are more mindful and respectful of the wildlife.

For Fashion

Some say that the pandemic has had a damning effect on the fashion industry as well, calling for a sustainable fashion awakening. Bandana Tewari put it simply, "Sustainability is not just about wearing an organic t-shirt. It has to be a way of life." With being confined to our homes, with our most basic needs in mind, and plenty of time to ponder, the excessive purchasing of 'fast fashion' quickly becomes unnecessary. And, considering the disposal of that fast fashion makes it even worse. It's about the fabrics used, but also the life of those fabrics after you are done with them. From the consumer side, this time has been quite enlightening.

A very uplifting aspect of the fashion industry that has come out of all of this, is how the industry banded together to provide. CEO's forwent salaries, millions of dollars were donated, and hundreds of factories were converted into mask and gown manufacturers for our healthcare professionals on the front lines. What this does show is that the fashion industry is capable of halting all their existing operations to help out for the greater good. It is predicted that this will result in the overall fashion industry making more conscious decisions moving forward after resuming normal operations.

What we all can do is hope, and make sure to do our part in coming out of this experience more aware of the world around us.

Until then, here are some graphs to put into perspective how drastically the environment has reacted.