More than a fashion designer extraordinaire, Vivienne Westwood is an eco pioneer on a mission to save the world

buy less & choose well

ueen of punk, creator of some of the worlds most beautiful couture, grande dame of British eccentricity and, now, an eco-pioneer. Dame Vivienne Westwood is a lady of serious convictions, using her profile and her brand as a platform to spark debate over the issues she cares about. Here, she tells Marie Claire why climate change matters, what it means to live a greener life, and how we can all make that happen.

What first made you aware of climate change? For many years, Ive been upset about the fact that logging companies have been chopping down the Brazilian jungle and the rainforests of the world. Then, about four years ago, I read an interview with the British scientist, environmentalist and futurologist James Lovelock, whose Gaia theory is, in my opinion, as important as that of Darwins. James chose the name so that we would think of the earth as a person: Gaia, the earth mother. According to him, its going to get so hot within one or two generations that nearly all the earth will be uninhabitable for human beings. Consider a simple fact: I am a tree, and what do I give out? I give out oxygen, which humans need to breathe. And what do I feed on? I feed on CO2 (carbon dioxide). And through light, I make something solid carbohydrates, which humans live on. So why are we, humans, so intent on destroying the thing that gives us life?

As a fashion designer, what changes would you make in your business? The first thing Ive been doing is promoting the idea of do it yourself. Make your own T-shirt by putting a picture in a plastic sleeve and pinning it on. Whatever! What youre saying is in conflict with the whole of the fashion industry, which exists to make us consume more and more. What Im really saying is, buy less and choose well. I would like quality rather than quantity. I dont believe growth is OK if it means one mans advantage is another mans disadvantage. I try to concentrate on quality clothing and accessories that are worth having, and to get my people to take less trips by air and stay longer each time they travel. Its more human, especially if they take time to visit an art gallery while there. For every design I do, my people work to develop it for other lines. Although I hate all that stuff, to stay healthy, all companies must expand. Nearly everyone in fashion is on a train, producing too much stuff, but thats the way business works. But you are a part of that fashion train. Dont you have the power to stop it? The only thing I have the power to do is to close my business down, but Ive never seriously considered it. If people bought fewer clothes and made better choices, they would start to understand value for money. Im lucky to be able to borrow lots of clothes from my own {continued}

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collections, but I still wear clothes from ten years ago. When I find something I adore, I wear it over and over again. So, to fight global warming, your advice is to consume differently? Yes. We could fly less, use less petrol. Apparently one of the most efficient ways [to save energy] would be to change our diet. Paul McCartney has started a Meat Free Monday campaign and this could make an amazing difference. If James Lovelock was in the room with us now, what do you think hed say? Lovelock hoped humans would evolve into something more wonderful. The history of the human race is punctuated by our cleverness: we create one invention after the other. There was a fantastic programme with the British Museum on BBC Radio 4 recently called A History of the World in 100 Objects. One of the first programmes in the series was about the stone hand axe, which people used for cutting meat, chopping wood, digging or defending themselves against animals. Those axes are 2 million years old. So there were people like us 2 million years ago. The human species is not just a little blip in the history of evolution. So, seriously, what can we do? Id like to do a TV series called Get a Life! Firstly, it would be about making sure we have a world thats habitable for future generations. Secondly, Id ask: How do we make the most of our lives right now? To get a life, people should go to galleries, listen to music, go to the theatre Every time you read a book, you do something that develops your world view. Culture gives you this incredible anchor to life as well as pleasure. Every time I look up a word in the dictionary, I get a real sense of satisfaction at learning something. Lets leave on an up note: individuals can make a difference. So, one last word from you Your time is precious, so dont just sit around and suck things up. Invest in things, fight for something. My motto is, You get out what you put in. s Visit activeresistance.co.uk/getalife to read blogs, keep up to date with Viviennes latest news and watch videos produced to inspire young people to invest in culture.

Forests Save Lives

Rainforests play a major role in absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2). Our planets vegetation absorbs 123 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year, according to a ten-year study by the Max Planck Institute, Germany.

Why preserving rainforests is essential

One quarter of all Western medicines contain ingredients derived from rainforests. According to the US National Cancer Institute, the worlds forests are home to about 2,000 plant species used in anti-cancer medication.
More than 300 million people live in forest areas. Campaigns by Greenpeace and Cool Earth have helped tribes like the Deni Indians secure their territory 3.5 million hectares in the Brazilian Amazon.
Compiled by Katie Breen. Photograph by Getty Images/National Geographic

Do hamburgers destroy trees? Global population has tripled in the past 60 years, while meat consumption has increased five-fold. This means an area of forest the size of three football pitches is destroyed every minute to raise cattle and grow their feed. Download Of Forests and Men, a beautiful free short film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (goodplanet.org) with the Yves Rocher Foundation. It was screened at the UN Headquarters in New York to launch the International Year of Forests, last February.

Corporate giants including Unilever, McDonalds and Nestl have all cancelled contracts with rainforestdestroying suppliers as a result of pressure from Greenpeace campaigns.

For more icons of style, see marieclaire.co.uk/fashion