In a recent interview, with the UP FRONT series of Miss Universe 2021, the delegates talked about pressing issues such as combating fast fashion in today’s environment, cyber bullying, entrepreneurship and women representation, among various others on the organization’s official YouTube channel. In October 2021, reigning queen Andrea Meza and Tanya Selvaratnam, an expert on domestic violence and the author of Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence, a book based on her personal experiences, discussed gender-based violence at length. All of which goes on to prove that pageantry is so much more than what we get to see on stage.
Fast fashion has been under debate in the media, both at local and international level lately and for right reasons. From celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, Kristen bell to Shailene Woodley and Winona Rider, all have been making sustainable fashion choices and setting example on how to fulfil our responsibility towards the planet as a citizen on earth.
It’s not just to chime in with the trends and stay relevant, it is so much more than that. It is to make sure that the future generation has enough resources to thrive on. Remodeling clothes, upcycling them, picking clothes from thrift stores is not just environment friendly but is also easy on the pocket. All the more reasons to switch to sustainable fashion.
Promoting the same, some of our queens took us through their closet and showcased their rich wardrobe.” Fast fashion is essentially a business model that mass produces and sells high fashion at an extremely low cost,” said Juri Watanabe of Japan. “Fast fashion is responsible for carbon emissions and it uses labour working in an unsafe environment,” divulged Poland’s Agata Wdowiak.
Ghana’s Silvia Naa Morkor Commodore shared an interesting and shocking fact that 700 gallons of water is needed to produce enough cotton to make one t-shirt. Following her family’s legacy, Puerto Rico’s Michelle Marie Colon shared, “Sustainable fashion is a family initiative that has been taken a part of our family for many years and I want to highlight my mom’s story. She was a beauty queen from the 80s, specifically Miss Tourism Dominican Republic 1987. This dress was made to her by an old friend, she wore it with confidence on that stage that I want to follow in that legacy of environmental impact.”