BPM spotlights clothing-climate nexus during NY Fashion Week

Black Public Media (BPM), the Harlem-based national media arts nonprofit, is spotlighting the environmental crisis in the third iteration of its award-winning series and social media campaign BE HEARD.
BPM said on Wednesday that it had commissioned Big Couch Entertainment for BE HEARD: #ShopLikeNana to alert the public of the environmental crises caused by fast fashion and to promote the advantages of up-styling used and vintage clothing.
Premiering on Monday, Sept. 9, during New York Fashion Week and presented by BPM in partnership with Paramount+, BE HEARD: #ShopLikeNana will be available to view on blackpublicmedia.org, BPM’s TikTok, and other social media platforms.
BPM said BE HEARD is a two-time Anthem Award-winning social media campaign designed to raise awareness of important issues facing Black communities.
BPM said it identifies a theme and then commissions a filmmaker to create content addressing it. This year’s campaign aims to amplify Black voices in the global conversation on climate.
“BE HEARD: #ShopLikeNana encourages consumers to rediscover style and reduce fast fashion by shopping in their grandmother’s closet, their wardrobe, or local thrift stores,” BPM said. “The goal is to encourage people to think about the value of their clothing beyond the purchase price and celebrate time-honored culturally resonated sustainability practices.
“The issue is timely: The fashion industry, the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply, is already producing 10 percent of global carbon emissions and polluting our oceans with microplastics,” it added.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, if left unchecked, the explosion of clothing production could see the fashion industry accounting for 26 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The foundation said fast fashion has created a textile waste crisis, causing devastating impacts on people of color around the world.
BPM said BE HEARD: #ShopLikeNana is designed to activate Millennial and Gen Z shoppers, who are more engaged than older generations in addressing climate change.
Big Couch Entertainment’s Sophia Clark, a New York Emmy-nominated content creator who directed the last iteration of BE HEARD, will direct the #ShopLikeNana campaign. Inuka Bacote-Capiga will produce original content featuring comedian Katrina Davis (Comedy Central, America’s Got Talent) as a satirical late-night show host covering a segment on fast fashion’s role in climate change.
“We are excited to partner with Paramount+ to sound the alarm on the growing environmental crisis that fast fashion presents,” said Denise A. Greene, BPM director of programs. “We look forward to working with Big Couch Entertainment to elevate the voices of those working to combat climate change through creative and sustainable fashion choices.”
In addition to the original programming, BPM will invite influencers to contribute content to the trend #ShopLikeNana on their channels to amplify the message and sustainability practice. Sean A. Watkins(@seanawatkins), owner of the consulting and cultural media firm Agency of Joy, will serve as the public face of the BE HEARD: #ShopLikeNana campaign.
BPM said it will launch a web page offering sustainable fashion resources as part of the campaign.
#ShopLikeNana joins previous incarnations of BE HEARD, the first of which premiered in 2020, focusing on voting ahead of the presidential election. In 2022, BE HEARD: I Am Who I Say I Am, addressed gender diversity and affirmation.
BE HEARD: #ShopLikeNana will be available on Black Public Media’s TikTok account (@BlackPublicMedia), Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook platforms, and on www.blackpublicmedia.org/watch/beheard-shoplikenana.