Towering warning of fashion's excesses ahead

Roughly 100 billion garments are produced each year. 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. The statistics are not new. To put it in perspective, as you're reading this review, somewhere in the world, a truckload of clothes is getting dumped in landfills every second. Every second.

Clothing waste is an outrageous man-made crisis.

A thought-provoking, fur-raising campaign by Wildlings Creative in Australia captures the enormity of fashion’s waste problem and makes for an ingenious reminder of that horrifying reality.

With a sense of urgency that grips the conscience, the campaign reveals that Australia's tallest mountain is no longer Mount Kosciusko, it's the shame known as Mount Garment. An ominous symbol of textile waste, devoid of natural wonder, standing mighty at 2,460m above sea level, a testament to humans’ love affair with all things fast, fleeting and transient.

Though the campaign is based in Australia, fossil fashion, as it's called, isn’t an Aussie issue—it’s a worldwide catastrophe that’s turning the planet into a hot mess for every living critter. From cuddly koalas to mighty lions, or for yours truly, mankind's collective fashion follies are threatening the survival of all.

Whilst Ad Nut resists the temptation to go nuts with hyperbole here, the facts are as grim as Ad Nut losing its stash of acorns in an avalanche of unwanted garments. Australians, bless their stylish souls, consume a jaw-dropping 800,000 tonnes of clothing waste each year. At current rates, this mountain will grow by 14 meters every week.

The concept is impactful, visually arresting too but Ad Nut cannot say the same for the authenticity in execution. It bears a striking resemblance to a 2019 sustainability work crafted by TBWA Sydney for the premium home linen brand Sheridan. Now 'Make Tomorrow Beautiful' also created artistic linen imagery to evoke a profound message.

Sheridan Australia's 2019 sustainability campaign
 

'Mount Garment' OOH in Australia

Whilst both campaigns lean into compelling visual storytelling to highlight a gnawing threat, Ad Nut does not pick a bone with the lack of uniqueness in Wildings' effort. In the realm of advertising, drawing creative inspiration from one another is entirely possible, the key lies in using that inspiration to push boundaries and provoke meaningful conversations. And that Mount Garmet and Sheridan succeed at.

Wildings also highlights the efforts of the for-profit, green recycling platform Clothing Please which stresses the importance of recovery, reuse and recycling.

Says Mark Keay, CEO of Clothing Please “On average, Australians buy 15kg of clothing, or 56 new items, every year, making Australia one of the highest consumers of textiles per capita in the world. 90% of that clothing ends up contributing to Mount Garment.”

Matt Wilson, Wildlings creative partner said of the campaign: “Despite its size, Mount Garment is a new low point in consumer fashion. Physically manifesting this problem normally hidden in warehouses and buried in landfill is designed to make the issue harder for manufacturers and consumers to ignore.”

The campaign runs in TVC and OOH in Australia.

As a jungle-loving creature, Ad Nut’s furry naked self does not need the latest TikTok clothing trends to look stylish, yet it cannot escape the stark impact of this film. It’s a powerful reminder that we are all connected, and that the actions humans take, or lack thereof, shape the world for all its inhabitants.

Inspired to make a change? Visit MountGarment.com or ClothingPlease.com.au.

CREDITS
Wildlings Creative Partners: Matt Wilson, Pat Lennox, Ben Green
Head of Art: Neil Martin
3D Design: Nicols Gaviria
Fonts and Graphic Design: Garreth Bennett
Group Account Strategist: Nicole Lennox Gray
Group Account Director: Cait Totten
Account Manager: Jen Wong
Soundbyte
Voice Over and Sound Design:
Lachlan Cooper and Brad Habib
Clothing Please & World of ECO
CEO: Mark Keay

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