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Good Morning. I had no idea what fast fashion was until I heard Justin’s interview on Thursday with Livia Firth, Creative Director of Eco Age. Apparently, on average, clothes stay in a woman’s wardrobe for just 5 weeks before being thrown away?! Livia was being interviewed because the Commons Environmental Audit Committee wrote to big retailers last year asking them to look into who was making their clothes, and in what conditions. The answers to those questions have not pleased MPs and Livia Firth said something that I just can’t forget…. that in wearing what you wear you are “wearing the story of the person who sewed it for you”. Telling such stories and calling to mind those working in appalling conditions, and for very little, is obviously a good starting point. That might then lead on, particularly with millennials in mind, to different choices actually been made. We have seen this already following the story of how marine life has been poisoned by discarded plastic. I’m thinking about the relatively sudden use of reusable water bottles by many people today. The theme of a throwaway society is once which Pope Francis has frequently returned to suggesting that we should “pay attention to every person, to combat the culture of waste and of throwing out, so as to foster a culture of solidarity and encounter”. Right across both the old and new Testaments there is a surprisingly huge amount written about making the right choices both in what and what not to wear as well as how we treat others. Sartorial advice is given directly by Jesus who tells us not to worry about what we wear but his focus in much of his teaching is principally concerned with what the Kingdom of God means: his concern is for the poor, those out of sight, and those who are ignored and have been put aside. Also adopting a clothing metaphor, the Apostle Paul urges the first Christians to be different and to stand out from the injustices of Roman society. Take off your old self, those things which hold you back, he writes, and put on [as if a garment] your new self: make the right choices and do not take advantage of others. Fast fashion companies, we were told earlier this week, will have to change their core business model in order to effect real change in the lives of those making their clothes. But we can do our bit too. As in many other and increasing instances, we are free to make decisions which can bring about change: about what we buy, how it’s packed and what we really need. But most of all, I hope we will call to mind again and again the stories of those people’s lives affected by our choices - and respond appropriately to them.