14 DAY TRIAL // This past Saturday, a group of activists working with Greenpeace took to covering Maurizio Catellan's “The Finger” with a giant green glove. For those unaware, this sculpture shows a hand lacking all but one of its fingers: the middle one.
As Greenpeace explains, their putting a green glove on this sculpture was meant to compel fashion brands make better decision when it came to sprucing up their ecological footprint.
More precisely, Greenpeace claims that, thanks to their glove, Maurizio Catellan's sculpture was made to point fashion brands in the right direction as far as environmental protection is concerned.
As explained on the official website for Greenpeace, “We chose Cattelan's sculpture because the erected finger indicates only one way to go: towards a cleaner future free of hazardous chemicals and deforestation.”
What Greenpeace wants first and foremost is to convince the fashion brands now unveiling their latest collections at Milan Fashion Week that their clearing their supply chains of any links to deforestation and discharge of hazardous chemical is mandatory.
“Top fashion Italian brands such as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Trussardi and Roberto Cavalli have unveiled next season’s hottest trends at Milan Fashion Week. Shiny colors, fancy accessories, and elegant prints will soon set the trend,” the organization writes.
However, “Behind every piece of clothing is a story taking place that they are not willing to share with their customers: a dirty supply chain tainted with deforestation and hazardous chemicals. They are showing no willingness to make a commitment to clean up their supply chain.”
This was not Greenpeace's first attempt to convince the fashion designers and brands present at this year's Milan Fashion Week to start paying closer attention to how their working agenda impacted on the environment.
Thus, it was not very long ago when the organization also rolled out a vertical catwalk, and made a model walk up and down it.