Wake up, sheeple! NYT opinion piece explains that if you wear clothes, 'you're part of the problem' of climate change

We’re always being told that there’s so much more we can be doing to fight climate change. Well, here’s something else to add to your list: lose the clothes.

Why people who care about climate change should also care about clothes https://t.co/pgpHjnKMRN

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) November 4, 2019

Oh.

Did Harvey Weinstein write this? pic.twitter.com/y4YAmreFGK

— Nicholas Clairmont (@NickClairmont1) November 4, 2019

"Hey, baby, you wanna save the environment?"https://t.co/Y3YkN9SzTi

— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) November 4, 2019

Fighting climate change and the patriarchy all at once!

In her New York Times opinion piece, “The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good” author Elizabeth Cline writes:

The clothing and footwear industry is responsible for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, nearly the same as the entire European Union, according to a study by the environmental services group Quantis. Without abrupt intervention, the industry’s impact on the climate is on track to increase by almost half by 2030.

But clothing does not appear to be mentioned in the Democratic candidates’ climate plans, nor in the Green New Deal proposed by House Democrats. And while it’s coming up more in coverage about low-emissions lifestyle changes, it’s still viewed as a problem mostly for fashionistas.

Indeed, caring about clothes is often considered frivolous, at odds with concern about the fate of the planet. The actor and environmentalist Woody Harrelson expressed this view when he hosted “Saturday Night Live” the week after the recent climate marches in New York. “I was always anti-fashion,” he said, “because it always seemed to me there were more important things to care about” — like melting ice caps, the Amazon burning, and the pollution of our water, air and food. Many people fail to see how the $2.5 trillion apparel industry is connected to our environment, which means we persistently pay no attention to how it might help us solve our climate crisis.

Beyond parody:

"We need all people who care about climate change to understand that they’re part of the problem just by wearing clothes."

Making people feel guilty for wearing clothes is… not how to build a broad coalition to fight climate change.https://t.co/z51loJubRC pic.twitter.com/x73CYyUkFA

— Yascha Mounk (@Yascha_Mounk) November 4, 2019

I honestly don't understand why the NYT elevates this stuff.

— David French (@DavidAFrench) November 4, 2019

This.

There's a lot of passionate environmentalists doing serious work on how to deal with this urgent challenge.

Why give space to clickbait that makes climate change look like a loony cause instead?

— Yascha Mounk (@Yascha_Mounk) November 4, 2019

Because the New York Times is not a serious news organization.

I guess I’m extra horrible since I’ve been known to put sweaters on baby goats in addition to having a habit of wearing clothes myself. pic.twitter.com/z2yaTdhLv7

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) November 4, 2019

So we should burn more fossil fuels to survive winter? Is that their plan? https://t.co/ryPAKpwviL

— Heather (@dswhisperer) November 4, 2019

Eat bugs, don't take asthma medication, don't wear clothes. Anything else? https://t.co/qDqQkpVw5q

— neontaster (@neontaster) November 4, 2019

Oh, that’s right. How could we have forgotten that asthmatics who want to be able to breathe are bad for the environment?

*progression of climate change delusion*

"Hey, if you could just stop driving cars for the environment, that would be grrrrreaaaat."

"Oooh, actually, I'm also gonna need that burger too. Sorry about that."

"So if you could just stop wearing clothes…" pic.twitter.com/04Ht36SVGR

— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) November 4, 2019