Take on decolonial perspectives in fashion

and learn from Cinthya Sopaheluwakan from The Big Picture

Welcome to another issue of The Crisps – your newsletter on anti-greenwashing and honest fashion communication. You can support us by subscribing to a free or pro subscription, liking, sharing, or commenting on our posts.

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Some topics don’t get enough attention in the discourse of sustainability in fashion. Colonial legacies and decolonial narratives are some of those. While this topic might seem “progressive” to some, we believe speaking about it, raising awareness and being critical about ourselves and the systems we live in is important.

So in this issue, we dive into key aspects of colonial narratives and how they shape the fashion industry until today. Plus, we look at the intersection of greenwashing and (de)colonial narratives and welcome a special guest!

What to expect in today’s pro section:

We spoke to Cinthya Sopaheluwakan from The Big Picture. Cinthya specializes in combining systems, strategy and storytelling to help bold, forward-thinking organizations create meaningful and lasting impact and craft decolonial narratives. And she hosts events such as “The Pluriversal Playhouse” (grab your free ticket below!). We talked to her about:

• how storytelling perpetuates colonial narratives and what impact this has on marginalized communities

• how storytelling can be used as a tool for promoting inclusivity and authentic communication

• what pluriversal knowledge is and how it helps to create decolonial narratives

All the best,

Tanita & Lavinia

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Whether you’re new to the topic or quite familiar with it already, don’t miss your chance to join “The Pluriversal Playhouse” for free and imagine a multitude of futures.

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Key aspects of colonial narratives

Colonial legacies are visible in every level of fashion production and consumption and shape the industry until today. Here’s how:

1. Cultural appropriation: Fashion has a long history of appropriating indigenous designs, motifs, and traditional garments from colonized regions, often without proper acknowledgment or compensation. This practice reinforces Western hegemony and perpetuates stereotypes about non-Western cultures.

2. Global supply chains: The colonial legacy continues to influence global fashion supply chains, where labor exploitation, unequal trade relationships, and environmental degradation disproportionately affect countries in the Global South. Colonial narratives shape unequal power dynamics between fashion brands based in the Global North and suppliers in the Global South.

3. Eurocentric beauty standards: Colonial narratives have historically promoted Eurocentric beauty standards within the fashion industry, marginalizing diverse cultural expressions and reinforcing Western ideals of fashion and aesthetics.

4. Material extraction and environmental impact: Colonial legacies contribute to the exploitation of natural resources in former colonies for fashion production. This leads to displacement of communities, environmental degradation and ecological imbalance in these regions.

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1. Surface-level sustainability: Some fashion brands engage in greenwashing by focusing on superficial sustainability initiatives, such as using “preferred” materials or promoting limited "fair" collections, while ignoring deeper issues related to colonial exploitation and cultural appropriation.

2. Ethical blind spots: Greenwashing often overlooks the ethical implications of colonial legacies within fashion supply chains, including labor exploitation, land rights violations, and cultural misappropriation.

3. Tokenistic representation: Brands may tokenize indigenous or marginalized communities in their marketing strategies to appear inclusive or socially and ecologically responsible, while failing to address systemic inequalities and colonial injustices embedded in their operations.

4. Lack of accountability: Fashion brands use greenwashing to avoid accountability for their role in maintaining colonial narratives and reinforcing power imbalances within the industry. This practice undermines authentic efforts toward decolonization and the promotion of equitable fashion practices.

To address the intersection of colonial narratives and greenwashing in fashion, it is essential to prioritize transparency, accountability, and decolonial approaches that challenge exploitative practices and promote cultural respect, equitable partnerships, and environmental justice across the fashion value chain. Consumers, activists, and industry stakeholders play a crucial role in demanding justice and supporting initiatives that prioritize authentic sustainability and social responsibility in fashion.

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In our next issue

There’s rarely a material so many questionable myths circulate around than leather (okay besides cotton). For our upcoming issue, we fact-check common myths and give you credible sources to debunk them or back them up.

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Decolonial Narratives in Fashion

Now that we covered the basics of colonial narratives and the intersection of greenwashing and colonial narratives, let’s dive into decolonial narratives in fashion. What do we mean with decolonial narratives?¹

Decolonial narratives refer to efforts aimed at challenging and dismantling colonial legacies and power structures² . This approach recognizes historical and ongoing exploitation, cultural appropriation, and inequality perpetuated by Western-centric fashion systems.

It includes highlighting when indigenous designs, motifs, and practices are appropriated by mainstream fashion brands without proper acknowledgment or respect for the originating communities. This discourse emphasizes the importance of collaboration, consent, and fair compensation in cross-cultural fashion exchanges.

It also includes advocating for diverse and inclusive representation, challenging Eurocentric beauty standards and promoting the visibility of indigenous, Black, and other marginalized voices in fashion campaigns, runways, and design processes.

It includes promoting traditional and indigenous practices³ that prioritize environmental stewardship and community well-being and put farmers and traditional craft(wo)manships autonomy and sovereignty at the center.

It includes ensuring fashion initiatives empower marginalized communities by creating opportunities for economic independence, skills development, and entrepreneurship within the fashion value chain. And it focuses on the autonomy and sovereignty of communities.

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Welcome to our pro section!

In this issue’s pro section, we talk to Cinthya Sopaheluwakan from The Big Picture. She specializes in combining systems, strategy and storytelling to help bold, forward-thinking organizations create meaningful and lasting impact and has a strong focus on crafting decolonial narratives. We talked to her about the following topics:

• How storytelling perpetuates colonial narratives and what impact this has on marginalized communities

• How storytelling can be used as a tool for promoting inclusivity and authentic communication

• What pluriversal knowledge is and how it helps to create decolonial narratives

Which role does storytelling play in spreading colonial narratives?

Storytelling has historically been employed as a tool for colonial power by shaping narratives to justify and sustain colonial domination. Colonial powers crafted and propagated stories that did, and still do not, fit in their narrative as primitive, inferior, or in need of civilising, thereby legitimising their exploitation and control. These narratives were embedded in literature, education, and media, effectively marginalising, erasing and making diverse stories invisible that have always existed. By controlling the dominant stories, colonisers maintained their authority, suppressed resistance, and imposed their cultural values, ensuring the continuation of their power and the erasure of stories, knowledge, identities and histories.

Storytelling can also be a powerful tool for decolonising narratives.

Exactly, storytelling is inherently decolonial. Our narratives hold immense power in relating to and becoming part of the world. It is a process that involves reimagining, remembering, and reconstructing narratives that do not serve the typical colonial narrative. 

How do you use storytelling at your agency The Big Picture?