Angelica Bidlack

IRK: Please share a few lines about what you do and any/all organizations you are championing or a part of.

Angelica: As a high school student, I seek to encourage and engage fellow youths. To speak up about their insights, concerns, ideas, and opinions. I spread the message that no one needs to delay speaking up about something. Meaning that anyone can become active and take action for topics that affect youths. Action doesn’t start after an earned degree or professional job, but can start at any age, regardless of your background. And so, I challenge the notion of “youth roles” and “adult roles.” I strive to create spaces where young people can comfortably express themselves and make meaningful impact.

Themis Magazine is a vibrant online publication tailored by and for the youth. That provides a respectful forum for the exchange of ideas. The Global Fashion Exchange Youth Program is a groundbreaking platform that facilitates collaborative efforts among young individuals. Instigating transformative shifts within the fashion industry.

IRK: This can be what inspired you to get started, why you keep going and the spirit that drives you.

Angelica: My action roots back to a Capstone Project at my school. Where I researched and presented on the topic of fast fashion to parents, fellow students, and teachers. in 2020. Back then, the topic was not as well known as it is now. So I began spreading awareness about fast fashion in my school community. Four years later, I continue spreading awareness about the social and environmental injustices within the fashion industry. For the past two years I have been working with people of all ages to fabricate solutions.

​For the foreseeable future, my fuel is that the choice of clothes people wear is a choice to respect or to violate basic human values. That the choice of fast fashion undermines nearly every Sustainable Development Goal. People either simply don’t know, or the fact has not sunk in yet. That the cost of their shopping choices is the livelihoods of millions of families and children. I’m confident that the majority of people who wear fast fashion clothes do intend to have a negative impact. That’s why it is my mission to engage people to raise awareness about the consequences of buying into fast fashion.

Therefore, my mission is to positively change the fashion industry to align with today’s social values. For example, that all children deserve proper education or that workers deserve fair pay and a healthy workspace.

IRK: What are you most passionate about with respect to taking care of people and the planet?

Angelica: Most of my work revolves around finding solutions for social and environmental justice within the fashion industry. Namely, by minimizing fast fashion. Considering the many million people working in unsafe working conditions, facing poverty. Risking their health and future. Plus the multitude of environmental crises, such as fashion waste, microplastics, and chemical pollution. I stand firm in my resolve to ensure that purchasing clothing doesn’t come at the cost of harming people or the planet.

Although I highly value both social and environmental issues, I focus specifically on the social aspect of fast fashion. As I see it, the environmental impacts can negatively affect communities, e.g. by polluting people’s water source. So focusing on social rights is my form of considering both the social and environmental aspects.

IRK: What are some conscious actions you implement in your daily life?

Angelica: I generally have been raised in an environmentally conscious household. For example, my family and I are conscious of our waste management. Specifically, by avoiding or reusing plastic if possible (e.g. containers and utensils received in take out for future picnics). Rarely to never using unnecessary wrapping such as plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Always bring our own utensils and containers for lunch, and always bringing reusable bags. We also buy organic food, if possible. Regarding clothing, my family and I also very rarely use a dryer and dry clothes on a drying rack. Another plus for the planet from my habits would be that. As a protest against fast fashion consumption, the vast majority of my clothes are hand-me-downs from family members or purchased secondhand.

IRK: What’s your hope for the future of the planet?

Angelica: I hope people come to find a balance between what they need to buy. And what they can prevent from purchasing for the sake of protecting our planet. In the big picture, I hope that ecosystems and species that are endangered will not go extinct. Because one of the most frightening parts of the environmental and climate crisis is losing a part of life and natural beauty on Earth. Knowing that there is a high risk of losing a marvelous creature or even a whole environment due to a certain group of people manipulating the economy is truly devastating. However, seeing people’s motivation and societies (slow, but nevertheless) improvement to help our planet is a facet of hope that our planet can be in good hands in the future.

IRK: What Sustainable Development Goal do you align with the most?

Angelica: This is a very tricky question, because I believe that so many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intertwined with each other and co-align with many of the global issues we face. However, if I would have to choose just one SDG, I would align my work and goals with SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities. A lot of issues from other SDGs such as lack of equal rights or access to education (SDG 4) or inequalities faced through the consequences of climate change (SDG 13) fall into the category of SDG 10. With social hierarchies or systematic privileges and discriminations, society faces a multitude of problems, which will be diminished with reduced inequalities. Another example is the unequal access to education or access to workspaces, resulting in narrowed and limited perspectives and potential available. This results in biased ideas and solutions, which ultimately contribute to future problems.

Therefore, I feel that through SDG 10 many local or global issues can be addressed. My hope is very simple although today it looks a lot more complicated; I want peace on this healthy and healing plant earth and enjoy and cherish all of the gift that our majestic earth has giving us.

What Sustainable Development Goal do you align with the most? (https://sdgs.un.org/goals)

Angelica: Creating sustainable jobs for underserved and less privileged women.