Developing connections and interdependence is key to creating a better economic system in the business world. 

However, people do not have fully transparent views when purchasing anything about the ecosystem of how a product made it to the store shelves. They mostly don’t know how things have been created nor who created them. 

Only a few at the top get the recognition from the efforts of many hardworking and creative people. 

Is it time to decentralize the system and acknowledge the people involved for their contribution and worth?

This is the topic of a recent Society 2045 interview. Society 2045 has an ongoing series of interviews with change-makers seeking to improve the way society works.

Society 2045 is a community of people from around the world seeking to co-discover a vision for the year 2045. The goal is to connect with leaders of emerging communities and movements across society and come together to co-create a better future.

We had an interview with Rachel Sheila Kan about the future of the fashion industry. Rachel Sheila Kan has been a designer and design manager in the fashion business for 23 years, promoting sustainability for the past five years.

Change of Perspective

When there is interaction, there will be interconnectedness. Today, more people want to have a transparent view of how the things they purchase come to be. Over time, people grow an attachment with the things they are buying, and in many cases to brands.

“Interconnectedness occurs only when we understand how things are made, who made them, and where all the components come from.”

Rachel gave the example of how earlier, people thought that products in the fashion industry were made by machine and robots and not by people. However, we have read of many cases where the fashion industry has been accused of child labor and sweatshop business practices.

Having transparency of the products we purchase gives us the people in-depth knowledge about where everything is from and how they are made, ultimately creating a connection based on aligned personal values.

Utilization

The food and fashion industry seem to cause most of today’s waste. However, keeping the state of the planet in mind, if we work towards utilizing the waste taken from one system to another, it will bring about a profound change. 

For example, fashion industrial waste can be used in making seat belts, bags, and other products for everyday use.

There are two stages of utilizing waste. The first step is to give it a new life, and the next is to find a regenerative way of doing it with the most longevity.

This is where the idea of collaboration comes in. The importance of collaborative action among disparate systems can contribute to a better society.

“Through collaboration, we can share ideas with people and work on bettering the future by improving systems that impact the economy.”

Vision for 2045

Rachel Sheila Kan envisions that the industrial system of the future will be just and fair. People will create an ecosystem based on fairness focused on maintaining circular sustainability.

Everybody will get equal attention and acknowledgement. Local creativity will be given more priority. 

The people with innate potential and skills in the locality, rather than looking to the farthest of places, will be given a chance to thrive. The focus will be on the interaction and interconnectivity of everyone about everything.

Decentralization of the Fashion Industry

People will feel free to go to the nearest designers, pattern makers or machinists in their local area rather than faraway places. The interdependence and connectedness will evolve because different systems are interconnected in smaller locations. Therefore, it will make for a better-connected community as well.

The Problem

Today, the system performs mechanically where only one or very few get a seat at the table and are known for their worth and contribution. The problem is that too many people are stuck in that system. 

People are not decentralizing the system, not acknowledging the locality, mostly because we are obsessed with GDP growth rather than “how everyone feels or how the ecological ceiling goes”.

“Obsessive focus on GDP growth in the economic system is holding people back from interconnected progress.”

The Solution

According to Rachel, the interconnection process can transform the fashion industry and society.

“Interconnection and interdependence can be a human-centric approach to a better society.”

People are working on different aspects of society, ultimately influencing society, and helping to change how communities work. Interconnecting different systems can build an environment space to utilize waste. 

For example, we can use other systems’ waste, and they can use ours in what they are doing, thereby leading to interconnectedness. It can also create a form of regenerative leadership like a glue bringing systems together.

Grounding oneself into nature will also give new insights into bringing the living systems into healing. Connecting every system to nature is crucial to start a healing process. 

In addition, by creating a decentralized society, people will feel acknowledged. They will feel heard and seen for their contribution and worth.

“It is important to have economic fluidity for the way we create things and how we build structures within those creations.”

Rachel’s vision for a decentralized society in 2045 is ground-breaking. It will be amazing if we are able to achieve her vision in the coming years. Check out the interview here: