Honoring a Climate Justice Trailblazer: Meet Aditi Mayer

In a world where our Instagram feeds are flooded with fast fashion and endless scrolling, Aditi Mayer is a total game changer. Imagine blending environmental activism with dope sustainable fashion—yeah, that's Aditi's vibe. As a DoSomething member, she started her activism journey in 2010 and has gone on to become a prominent climate activist. Aditi has now been featured in Vogue, Elle, and WWD as a fashion industry changemaker - and was named a National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow in 2020 for documenting stories of social and environmental justice in India's fashions system.

Ahead of this momentous occasion and with Fashion Week and Climate Week converging in New York City this month, we sat down with her to dive into all the real stuff: her activism journey, holding brands accountable, and how you can stunt in sustainable fashion.

Trust us, you won't want to miss what she has to say, especially if you're all about making your mark and hustling for a greener, fairer world.

DoSomething: What initially lit your civic spark as a young activist?

Aditi: What initially lit my civic spark as a young activist was learning about the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which happened in 2013. I saw the ways that people on the internet and offline were organizing to understand why the fashion industry had normalized violence as part of business as usual.

So I think my civic spark was lit with the understanding that there is a beautiful intersection between individuals pushing for systemic change but also understanding the shifts they can make in their everyday lives. And I realized there was great beauty in connecting that fight for reimagination with a medium or industry that brings you joy. For me, that was fashion.

DoSomething: The Futures Ball will be a momentous night of honoring and celebrating the impact young people have made over the past 30 years and beyond. Growing up, was there a young person who inspired you to find your voice and advocate for issues you were most passionate about?

Aditi: I would say as a child of the internet, I grew up in a time where I was very much inspired by the ways that young people around the world were using creative expression and the democratized medium of the internet to share about their passions and their identities.

I wouldn't say it's any one specific young person but an entire generation that has really changed the paradigm of how we create and share content and has found communities in that process. I think it's really beautiful to see how we could connect this process of sharing online and community building online with one of the most important fights of our time, which is climate action.

DoSomething: As you head into Climate Week and emerge from NYC Fashion Week, where are you seeing brands leading on their climate commitments, and where do you believe there is still more to do?

Aditi: Having been on the ground for NYC Fashion Week and looking ahead to Climate Week, we are hearing a great deal of buzz around sustainability, but there is a lot more that brands can and should be doing. For starters, I have seen a lot of growth in the way brands are approaching material innovations in a way that has sustainability in mind.

So, championing natural fabrics that have a more considered environmental focus. I've seen a lot of growth and brands championing repair and take-back programs. So this idea of focusing on longevity rather than disposability and repairing rather than buying new is great. I think there needs to be a greater focus on human rights.Labor justice within fashion is a critical part of the sustainability conversation and a focus on consuming and producing less in the first place.

DoSomething: How can young people incorporate sustainability into their fashion choices and make their voices heard on climate action?

Aditi: For young people who want to incorporate sustainability into their fashion choices and make their voices heard on climate action, I would say there are a myriad of places that you can start. You can look at fashion through the lens of human rights and labor justice and support garment worker communities around the world.

You can understand the environmental impact of fashion, whether that's from the raw material level, to the way that fashion is disposed of in a way that is disproportionately affecting countries in the Global South. When it comes to your everyday actions, I would say some basic things that we can do is kind of reorient our relationship with consumption.

We should question how much we need in the first place, seeing if there are ways to acquire those said goods secondhand. We can also engage in a culture of repairing, mending, and swapping. All of these things are really important in changing the culture around mindless consumption that we have in fashion today.

DoSomething: Our Generation Future Award finalists that we'll be celebrating at The Futures Ball have been sharing their vision for a more just, equitable world (and how they're making it a reality). How would you describe your vision for the future?

Aditi: I often say that understanding the interconnected nature of oppression will help us understand the interconnected nature of liberation.

When I'm asked to describe my vision for the future, it's one that understands that the systems that we are in at this present moment in time have largely normalized the oppression of both people and the planet.

We are in dire need of reimagination and reimagination doesn't mean reinventing the wheel. I think there is a myriad of cultures and worldviews that have championed an understanding of the world that focuses not only on justice but the shared liberation that we all have. I would say the ideal future for me is one that focuses on those solutions.

DoSomething: What advice do you have for our Generation Future finalists and other emerging activists?

Aditi: My advice for Generation Future finalists and other emerging activists would be that you don't have to go one mile wide, but rather, there is great value in going one mile deep. Find the specific lane, medium, or industry that you're passionate about and do the work to really understand the history of that industry, the issues plaguing that industry, and what solutions can look like.

I think this disciplined focus will allow you to understand the interconnected nature of oppression, but also really fixate on what solutions can look like in the context of a specific community. I think that's incredibly important. When we lend ourselves to really focusing on specific issues or specific communities, our attention and focus become about relationship building in that process, which I think is step one in any sort of solution building as well.

DoSomething: What's next for Aditi Mayer? What are you working on that gives you hope and is keeping your civic spark alive?

Aditi: Continuing to collect stories of resistance and reimagination as it relates to the fashion industry and how that fight is inherently connected to the fight for climate action. I have the great pleasure of being able to work alongside farmers, artisans, and garment workers who have been in this fight. I'm really honored to be in a position as a storyteller and creator who can inspire what an alternative world can look like.

Now that’s a trailblazer - Aditi Mayer, one of the realest voices in sustainable fashion and environmental activism! From how she got started to the future she envisions, Aditi serves major inspiration for all of us wanting to make an impact.

Get your ticket or join on as a sponsor to help us honor Aditi at The Futures Ball on November 16, 2023 in New York City.

Ready to jump into action and be part of the change? We have the perfect place for you to start.