A call to action for consumers everywhere, Consumed asks us to look at how and why we buy what we buy, how it's created, who it benefits, and how we can solve the problems created by a wasteful system. A hugely compelling exploration of a culture of exploitation and how, together, we can end it.’ – Gina Martin Barber's isn't just a voice we should listen to - it is a voice we MUST listen to.' - Clementine Ford Stop buying so much. That is the one thing that we can do to disrupt the system, because as long as we say, “There’s nothing I could do about it, might as well go and buy 20 new dresses,” nothing’s going to change. So even if you take it all in and you find it very overwhelming, decreasing your consumption is a very conscious decision you can make in a system that feels like it has run amok.

The thing is, I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life. Because if I’m still doing this, it means that we haven’t fixed the problem. I want to inspire people to collectively fix the problems facing the fashion industry; I want to get money into the hands of people who deserve it—namely, garment workers—and then I want to dip out and write fiction books. I love what I do, but I don’t want to be the warning bell to people for the rest of my life.

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Overall, this is essential reading for those looking to learn a little bit more about such important issues as colonialism, climate change and consumerism. We are all part of this system, and we can all play a part in changing it. So read this book, feel your anger, direct it to those with power, and get inspired to make an impact. As Barber says: “You are so powerful. Every decision you make on this planet has an effect.” Essentially these big companies want to come to Kantamanto, take the waste which is polluting neighbourhoods for next to nothing, put it into a blender to melt the materials down into new materials (this is a very simplified definition....no one @ me.)”

In July 2022 Barber was named a Contributing Editor to Elle (magazine) UK following the appointment of Kenya Hunt as Editor-In-Chief. [17] Townsend, Solitaire (16 November 2020). "100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women)". Forbes. After dismantling the corrupt, destructive system that the fashion industry perpetuates, Barber empowers the reader through practical, accessible advice on how we as consumers can make a real difference. She targets the systems and shows that this problem is fundamentally caused by fast-fashion brands, not individuals. But that doesn’t mean that individuals can’t help to solve the problem. From templates for writing to CEOs and politicians, to tips on how to break consumerist habits, Barber compassionately helps us to confront our own consumerism, empowering us to break the supply chain and use our voice for change. This was my favourite part of the book, particularly the final chapter titled “I believe In You”- rather than despairing about the state of the world, I left this book with a real sense of hope and purpose.

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And when it comes to people who have spent years over-shopping, how does our thinking need to change?

Firstly, not a single source throughout the whole book? The only time a source is referenced, it’s jus the occasional in line citation to a recent internet article. It’s a pretty poor effort and I have no idea how this got published WITHOUT A SINGLE REFERENCE? We need to stop thinking that new clothing is needed to have a better life. There are countless examples in the cult-classic films that we love— Clueless, Pretty Woman, The Devil Wears Prada, Funny Face—they all have a makeover scene where suddenly the person who is not accepted and not cool enough does a bunch of shopping, and now everybody’s looking at them differently and treating them differently. But in real life that’s not how it works. Moreover the “need” to get a new outfit for every single occasion, something that is very normalized in our society, is only adding to the problems of fast fashion.The book, in my opinion, gets much better towards the end of this chapter and then into the following ones - however I still have one remaining critique, and that is simply that the book is really repetitive in this part. I think an editor could have chopped this remaining section down a tonne simply by removing expressions or paragraphs which had already been said in a slightly different way earlier on. It still would have been as impactful and thought-provoking for the reader. On the other hand, for those with the financial means to over-consume clothing, how do we begin to undo that impulse to shop? That dopamine hit, that craving to feel better by owning something new? Zhou, Maggie (21 September 2021). "Colonialism & Fast Fashion Are Inextricably Linked — Aja Barber Explains How". Refinery 29. A critique on what we buy, how it’s made and the systems behind it that make an unfair and broken cycle’– New York Times

She has written articles for The Guardian, [11] CNN, [3] and Selfridges [12] and featured in interviews conducted by The New York Times, [13] Refinery 29 [14] and BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour. [15] She also appeared in Al Jazeera’s TV show Studio B: Unscripted alongside Asad Rehman, Executive Director of The War on Want, where they discussed the fashion industry, green washing and colonialism. [16] Consumed takes us through the hideously complex topic of fashion and sustainability, from its knotty colonial roots to what everyday people can do to uproot those systems, today.’ – Yassmin Abdel-Magied I really appreciated the candid nature of the book and how often you share your own failings and flawed shopping habits. You hold yourself accountable, and it adds a beautiful humility to the book. Aja Barber always wanted to be two things: a published author and a ballerina. She’s still working on the latter, but the sustainable fashion writer will have accomplished the first by Sept. 23 when Consumed , her very first book, publishes in the U.K. It’s available in the U.S. Oct. 5.

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In an interview for Vogue about Consumed, Barber expressed interest in writing fiction in the future, "I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life, because if I’m still doing this, it means that we haven’t fixed the problem. I want to inspire people to collectively fix the problems facing the fashion industry; I want to get money into the hands of people who deserve it — namely garment workers — and then I want to dip out and write fiction books." [5] See also [ edit ] But as Aja shares in this book, the consumption of clothing has created other problems. From microplastics to underpaid garment workers to millions of "donated" clothes fillings dumps in Ghana, we have created a systemic problem. Maybe this isn't news to everyone, but I definitely didn't know the scale of the problem until now. It's too easy to dismiss this problem when we really do need a call to action to help be more sustainable. Investigating “what happens to our unwanted clothes, and especially Kantamanto,” Barber found that “our waste is getting dumped in the global south like Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda,” and concludes that “the system really craps on non-white people at the beginning and end of the process,” crediting the organisation Slow Factory for its work educating on this topic. I read this as part of a book club discussion about the horrible sprawling impacts the fast fashion industry has had on the world, and because I was really interested in Aja Barber's work and perspectives. Maybe it was just me already being familiar with many of the topics discussed and how they relate to one another (as a lefty environmental studies grad student), but I felt like I didn't learn much from this book. It was very surface-level, repetitive, and scattered, which made it extremely difficult to actually process the information. Maybe it's a reflection of how much target audiences' attention spans have disintegrated over the past decade. Or maybe whoever was assigned to edit this "book" (extended rant) didn't actually do their job.