Lucy Siegle, Costing the Earth’s engaging presenter, began her report on the “Fast Fashion Slow Down” (26 March) at London Fashion Week.

Costing the Earth
BBC Radio 4

Lucy Siegle, Costing the Earth’s engaging presenter, began her report on the “Fast Fashion Slow Down” (26 March) at London Fashion Week. Here, beneath the gaze of a vigilant authority (“They’ve got two riot vans out there if it all kicks off,” someone helpfully explained), she could be found cross-questioning members of the environmental ginger group, Extinction Rebellion, and assembling what turned out to be a considerable charge sheet.

Over the next half-hour, incriminating statistics piled up like tea towels at a church jumble sale. The fashion industry, you will be horrified to learn, currently creates a carbon footprint equal to the combined emissions of the aviation and maritime industries. By 2050 it will probably be responsible for a quarter of all CO2. Boohoo, 2018’s most successful fashion player, makes its money out of selling dresses that can sometimes cost less than their postage.

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