Plastic consumption has become a global issue causing excessive pollution. Despite its cost effective, durable and versatile uses for just about anything, plastic is not a biodegradable material. Your daily single-use plastic bags from groceries stores take about 10-20 years just to decompose! Whereas plastic straws will take around 200 years. Other forms of plastic may even take up to 500 years! Now isn’t that a long time?

However, it would be impossible to cut off plastic use and consumption in our lives. Plastic is a very affordable material which is why it is so widely used. Plus, it’s done wonders for our society. From infant car seats to medical devices, its contribution to the world has kept innumerable people safe and healthy. From toothbrushes to ready-packed food, you name it – we grab them off the shelves at our convenience, making our lives less difficult to go on and about.

Nonetheless, plastic pollution is a global issue that should not be taken lightly. It is filling up our oceans and is one of the main reasons why millions of marine life die each year.

In conjunction with Global Plastic Free July, we want to empower society to reduce single-use plastic in hopes of helping to reduce plastic consumption as a whole. Change needs to happen, but change should also start from within in order to mitigate this global issue that we are facing.

In light of this, here are some tips on how you can reduce single-use plastic:

1. Bring your own container and cutlery sets when taking-away food.
2. Swap plastic bottle and straws to reusable options.
3. Bring your own bag for groceries and purchases.
4. Bring your own reusable cups for outside drinks.
5. Switch to beeswax wrap instead of plastic wraps.
6. Stop using bottled laundry detergent and switch to Ecoegg Laundry Egg.

Ecoegg provides a solution for those wanting to reduce their single-use plastic consumption. The Ecoegg Laundry Egg is a complete replacement for plastic detergent bottles. This means you can avoid buying around 40 plastic detergent and fabric softener bottles each year as it is refillable with Ecoegg Laundry Egg Refill Pellets!

Be part of the change and help our planet combat plastic pollution today!

For more information, head to  www.ecoeggmy.com  to find out more!

An interview with Redhill Communications 

Towards the end of 2021, Redhill Communications conducted a survey to explore the roles of Southeast Asia’s youths as key drivers of economic, cultural, and socio-political change. They found that although many have been on the fence about how COVID-19 has been managed in the country, most Malaysian youths are still optimistic about the future, appreciating basic state provisions such as healthcare and education.

Now in its third year, Redhill’s ASEAN Youth Survey attempts to take a snapshot view of aspirations and concerns on governance, the economy, education, healthcare, life choices, and online activity – through the eyes of nearly 3,000 people aged 18-35 across seven ASEAN nations. We discussed the report findings with Pranav Rastogi, Managing Director and Imran Arif, Director of Content and Research from Redhill Communications who shared the issues, challenges and hopes of our youths.

Most Malaysian youths had a positive or neutral perception of representation in the country. How does this solidarity create hope for the future? 

This solidarity bodes well as it shows that youths in Malaysia now, more than ever, believe that they can take more active citizenry in the country. This is largely due to the youths today being more politically cognisant than ever before. Although youth in Malaysia have a decades-long history of activism, the rise in social media engagements and online discourses have opened discussions to wider segments of Malaysia’s youth population; including those who discuss politics in more casual terms, not just those who have been inherently more politically active than their peers.

In line with broader demographical changes, certain developments in the political ecosystem are very likely to draw more youth participation. For example, youth-focused and youth-manned political parties such as MUDA may help improve the youths’ relatability to their representatives, more so than with the youth wings of the country’s more established political incumbents. Movements such as Undi18 – which was instrumental in reducing the voting age in general elections from 21 to 18 – showed that youth-led activities can generate significant impact, which will help provide a base for more socio-political actions by youth in the years to come.

Most Malaysian youths remained neutral when asked if it was easy to upskill or gain new skills locally.  How can the youth overcome these barriers to skills development? 

Our observation about the more neutral perceptions is that – due to the youths growing up in a more digital age and hence having more natural digital affinity than previous generations – the need to reskill and/or upskill is not that serious, as compared to their older peers. This is also due to many youths entering the labour market for the first time, or at least are not as far along in their careers than their older counterparts to demand a drastic change in skillsets, especially when programmes for reskilling and upskilling in Malaysia have been largely focused on what is needed for digital economy sectors.

A larger conundrum that we see youths facing is general employability. Having grown up in a digital age, we believe that Malaysian youths would prefer to apply their skills and knowledge to more tertiary, services-oriented aspects of the economy, rather than secondary economy sectors such as manufacturing and construction (which Malaysia has long relied on outside labour forces for, which itself was impacted by pandemic lockdown and tightening of immigration procedures). This is a space we are looking at because, even though there was a general contraction in the services sector, this is being balanced against the rise of the gig economy and the use of digital platform services.

Overall, overcoming barriers to skills development in the new normal is not an onus that should be thrust on the youths themselves. We believe that many have a base of soft skills needed to adapt to a more digitally-focused economy – the greater question is whether there would be enough job opportunities in Malaysia for them to apply such skills to.

Most Malaysian youths were willing to discuss matters pertaining to mental health. Does this create hope for mental health to remain a priority in post-pandemic healthcare?

The pandemic has helped to drive mental health awareness, both globally and in Malaysia. However, while more attention is being given to spotlight the need to help people address mental health issues, it is still uncertain as to whether it will be made a priority, especially when compared to treating more observable physical ailments. We see that this is because – despite how the pandemic has changed how we look at it – talking about mental health remains somewhat of a taboo.

Additionally, healthcare infrastructures did not make mental health treatment a priority before the pandemic, which made it difficult for all segments of the society (particularly those who cannot afford to go the private route) to get the treatment they need. This makes it hard for healthcare systems to mobilise during disruptive crises such as the current pandemic, as they are already being addressed to counter the more immediate threat of the coronavirus.

However, one silver lining is digitalisation; more specifically, how healthcare systems are focusing on improving their telemedicine offerings. While the priority of telemedicine services is now largely on reducing the need for in-hospital care for physical ailments, we believe that the continued growth of such services can, in due time, provide a platform for providers dealing in mental health to reach more people in the country

Most Malaysian youths believe they are still able to handle education-related stress. How can education providers help tackle these issues amid pandemic stress?

One of the biggest trends emerging from the pandemic is e-learning. The positive side to this is that the pandemic has provided a litmus test to education providers to retool educational experiences for students to be more for the inevitable digital age, which would be better for the long-term. The downside to it is that this evolution has been accelerated (rushed, even) due to the pandemic – psychologically, this can impact students who have been forced into remote learning (amid the prevailing health and economic concerns of the pandemic) but are bereft of engaging in extra-curricular activities and socialising with their peers, both of which are important parts to the educational experience apart from just learning their curriculum.

The pandemic will not last forever and there is a light at the end of the recovery tunnel. However, education providers cannot solely look at how things will get better afterwards. The reality is that we are still living in a pandemic which will then move towards an endemic phase where e-learning will still be a part of the reality for many students. As such, more efforts should be placed on the aforementioned aspects of extra-curricular activities and channels for peer socialisation that were upended because of the pandemic.

Additionally, education providers – as well as the wider education landscape in Malaysia – should consider bolstering their offerings for students for this day and age, especially on how students can apply digital skills to the wider world, especially for future employment. This form of digital education has been talked about for years, but perhaps the pandemic will prove to be the catalyst to make it a reality for more students in Malaysia.

Most Malaysian youths agreed that building a family would be financially challenging. Will the pandemic make it harder for them to achieve other long-term financial goals?

At the onset, the pandemic has placed Malaysia in a very difficult economic position which has trickled down to the monetary impediments its people have in building for their futures. However, this is a problem that was exacerbated by the pandemic, not inherently because of it.

For youths to be able to realise their long-term financial goals – whether it is to build a family, purchase property, buy a car, furthering their education, planning for their retirement – more holistic economic fundamentals, such as whether wages are keeping up with rising inflation, are greater determinant as compared to more extraordinary circumstances such as the pandemic.

What the current crisis will eventually highlight is how quickly the nation can rebound from the economic setbacks of the past couple of years, but whether it will help to pave the way forward for a new normal that raises Malaysian consumer purchasing and investment power remains to be seen.

Most Malaysian youths disagreed or remained neutral when asked if domestic internet regulations helped protect against online bullying. Does the pandemic make it more challenging to tackle online bullying?

It is indeed more challenging due to our growing reliance on the internet. The pandemic has helped catalyse more online activity and with it, the inevitable rise of malicious actors operating via digital spaces. Unfortunately, it has become a pertinent issue in the country that must be addressed but we are thankfully seeing a more concerted effort by Malaysia’s government to manage the problem.

The drafting of such laws and their enforcement is just one part of addressing the cyberbullying problem. To combat it more thoroughly, the safe and responsible use of online platforms must be made a priority within the national education system. Beyond that, the onus of delivering such education cannot be left to just the system; it must also begin at home, where parents must also keep a watchful eye on how their children are engaging in digital spaces.

In these digitised times, none of us are strangers to the concept of cyberbullying. But at what scale does online harassment occur, how does it affect the people on the receiving end of it, and what might be possible solutions to the problem?

This was the subject of a recent Clubhouse discussion organised by the Content Forum, titled “Cyberbullying: They Asked For It”. Featuring guests Ain Husniza, Hunny Madu, and Hafiz Hatim, the session was a no-holds-barred conversation about dealing with toxicity online.

Sharing her experience of online gaming communities, student advocate Ain said that children were particularly vulnerable to abuse – from both predatory adults, as well as their own peers.

“Children are innocent; they go online thinking that they just want to make friends but there are people who will take advantage of that. I’ve received unsolicited pictures myself… and I’ve had friends as young as 11 being asked to send their own pictures to people,” she said.

Ain added that what her parents taught her about staying safe online, from a young age, had prepared her and protected her from online harassment to an extent. However, even she was not prepared for the amount of abuse that would be levelled at her when she chose to publicly speak up against a rape joke made by her teacher recently.

“I was shocked because people weren’t just attacking me over the issue itself, but they were making character assassinations – my personality, my body, just attacking me for being myself. There was a Facebook group of more than 100,000 teachers, discussing my case once it went viral – the comments really shocked me. They were body-shaming me, making comments about my body and sexualising me. It really shone a light on how some Malaysians are acting online,” she said.

Meanwhile, celebrity TV host Hunny Madu spoke about the pressure public figures face in trying to maintain a dual identity, expressing that this was especially so for women. While remarking that some celebrities may choose to minimise judgement from the public by holding back their personality on social media, Hunny found it best to be herself.

“I used to do a lot of hosting for TV and I was hosting a serious talk show, so my image was always about respecting the market. But it wasn’t the real me so I felt like I had a curtain over a fragment of my life. When I started working out, I realised I was comfortable with who I am – whatever I showed on Instagram is who you will see in real life. When I grasped that concept, I realised I’ve got nothing to hide. Take me as I am, I don’t want to hide anymore. I believe it’s about owning yourself, finding your power and being comfortable with yourself, if you want to be a public figure” she said.

Speaking from his perspective as a father, radio announcer Hafiz joked that he would never let his daughter have social media if he could but that would not be fair or feasible. “Frankly, the best thing I can do is monitor what she watches, guide and educate her. It boils down to parents sharing with their children about the potential threats that are out there. It’s all about our relationship with our kids and how open we are with them about all this,” he said.

All three guests also shared that the pile-on of hatred and negative comments from hundreds of strangers online can be overwhelming. Commenting on the nature of ‘cancel culture’ for instance, Hafiz said that it was not right for people to gang up on someone for one mistake on social media, going to the extent of demanding that they be fired. “Sometimes people don’t understand the full context of a matter, but they’ll just jump on the bandwagon. And I’m thinking: do we really want someone to get fired because of a TikTok video they made?” he added.

Ultimately, the end goal is to find ways to make online spaces safer and accessible to all. As Ain put it: “Everybody has the right to use the internet and feel safe while using the internet. But I have experienced more abuse online than I have ever done in real life. The internet is becoming more and more integral to our lives and we need a better approach to this problem rather than invalidating victims by telling them to just shut down the computer.”

The discussion is part of an on-going series by the Content Forum, to create awareness over its current public consultation for proposed revisions of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Content Code (Content Code). Drawn up by the Content Forum and introduced in 2004, the Content Code is a set of guidelines which outline best practices and ethical standards for content creation and curation.

“By having these open conversations, we’re hoping to encourage more people to give their feedback, ideas, and opinions about these revisions,” said the Content Forum’s Executive Director Mediha Mahmood. “This discussion for instance, is relevant to our proposals for mitigating online abuse and gender-based violence within online spaces. On our end, we want to gather as much feedback as possible because the more input we get, the more likely the Content Code will reflect the standards of Malaysian society, which is the measurement used for us to determine the best practices in the Code. At the end of the day, this is a joint community effort, and our way of creating safer and inclusive digital spaces.”

Listen to the full session on Clubhouse here.

Women make up 70-80% of all consumer purchases worldwide but continue to be vastly under and misrepresented by the mainstream media industry. Despite being key decision makers, this disparity in representation runs even deeper across different intersectionalities, especially the hijabi community.

In partnership with P&G Rejoice, VIRTUE APAC is looking to tackle this inequality, one emoji at a time. There are more than 3000 emojis in the world, with an estimated 5 billion emojis used every day, yet there is only one hijabi emoji.

The emoji was added in 2017 after a campaign led by Rayouf Alhumedhi, who realised that although there are millions of hijabis, there wasn’t a single emoji to represent them. #SeeBeyondtheHijab continues to fight for inclusivity with a petition for an emoji pack that includes greater range of expressions and personalities for hijabis to express their individuality with confidence.

The campaign is more than a call for inclusive emojis, it represents a greater call to foster tolerance towards the global Muslim community. Through the normalisation, and eventual popularisation, of hijabi representation in mainstream media, we can move beyond stereotypes to see, recognise, and celebrate them for who they are.

We spoke to Dini Lestari, Senior Creative, Virtue APAC, and Sun Park, P&G Director of Communications, Digital Media and E-Commerce, Hair Care APAC, about #SeeBeyondtheHijab.

What was Rejoice’s motivation behind driving greater inclusivity and representation for the hijabi community?

Rejoice has always been a supporter of young women, finding ways and means to help her simplify the small dramas of her life. A bad hair day is one example and helping them navigate this, so they can focus on things that are important, is what Rejoice stands for. We stay true to this value because everyone has their own drama in life!

By engaging with Virtue and together exploring the many ways we can help our consumers, we’ve uncovered this gap. The most common form of communication our consumers use today is in the form of text messages. And the easiest and simplest way to answer someone’s text is with an emoji. It’s a form of expression that lets others know a bit of who they are.

By adding more hijab emojis into the lives of our consumers, we hope that it will help make communicating and expressing a lot easier and more meaningful – which truly is what Rejoice is all about!

What are some insights from your research into hijabi representation which informed the campaign?

What came out of our research and talking to hijabis firsthand was an important yet overlooked cultural tension: once they put on the hijab, they become defined by it. They are seen as just another hijabi and people don’t really bother to understand them on a deeper level.

This can be largely attributed to the reductive and generic narrative of the hijab that is constantly being portrayed in advertising, media and pop culture. As a brand that stands for individual self-expression and being true to oneself, Rejoice set out to change this narrative by amplifying the richness and breadth of individual hijabis to get the world to #SeeBeyondTheHijab.

The creative breakthrough came to us when we studied the native language of Gen Z – emojis. While the world gets to use 3304 emojis to express their different personalities, moods and occasions, the hijabi community only has 1. And that is not enough.

Even cats have 9 emojis to express themselves!

Why did Rejoice and VIRTUE choose emojis as the medium and anchor the petition against World Emoji Day, to connect with Gen Z audiences?

P&G Rejoice and VIRTUE created Rejoice EmojiMe – an emoji pack that effortlessly showcases hijabis’ colourful personalities & emotions so that they can be seen beyond the hijab and recognised as the beautiful unique individuals that they are.

#SeeBeyondtheHijab is a call to transcend the reductive understanding of the community, and to instead recognise the unique individuality of each and every hijabi. We hope that this will be a first step towards more inclusive representation for otherwise under/ mis-represented communities in the media.

Rejoice engages with Gen Z by connecting with what matters most to them in the most authentic way. Emoji is the most popular language globally, especially for Gen Z. By petitioning for a more inclusive hijabi set of emojis on World Emoji Day, we rally the community together and foster authenticity, rather than the top-down approach of typical branded campaigns.

As we’ve seen with Gen Z’s approach to activism, speaking up or educating others about a cause does not have to evoke a ‘doom and gloom’ tonality. The campaign adopts an upbeat, energetic and fun tonality using emojis to promote an important cause, while motivating people to take action.

What can we expect in the next phases of the campaign?

To evoke real change, we have submitted a proposal to the Unicode Consortium to include more hijab emojis on the emoji keyboard. In the meantime, we launched a set of hijab emoji stickers on GIPHY, so our hijabi community can express themselves effortlessly. These stickers can be discovered via Instagram stories or Tik Tok by searching “Rejoice Emojime”.

How can brands creatively and authentically wield data to evoke real change?

Real change happens when brands use data to guide and steer their actions, and use creativity to take a leap to land an innovative way to solve a problem, or gain an alternative perspective at spotting an opportunity.

Data provides an informed and updated view of what’s happening now, to find cultural and audience insights and understand what matters most to our audience. Creativity enables us to look ahead into the future, a leap into the what-ifs. From understanding the data, Creativity turns the insight into tangible and actionable outcomes.

This is how Rejoice and Virtue developed the campaign. From understanding our audience through the lens of culture, we uncovered a real unmet need. The creative idea of Seeing Beyond the Hijab tries to address this need in a tangible way, evoking real change.

In conjunction with World Poverty Day in October, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) of Malaysia is teaming up with Grab Malaysia to raise funds in efforts to purchase a new dialysis machine that will provide NKF’s underprivileged kidney failure patients with a higher quality of life.

From now until 31 December 2021, Grab users in Malaysia can make a difference by visiting the GrabRewards catalogue in their Grab app and converting their points into donations. Every 800 GrabRewards points used will translate to a RM5 donation towards NKF.

Those who are interested in contributing towards the organisation’s efforts for dialysis patients can follow these simple steps:

1. Click on the “Points” function in the Grab app
2. Select “Services”
3. Select “National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia”
4. Click “Redeem”

Malaysia has amongst the highest rates of kidney disease in the world, with over 7000 people diagnosed with kidney failure every year and NKF needs to raise approximately RM25 million each year to subsidise the cost of dialysis treatments for its patients at NKF’s 28 dialysis centres nationwide.

Find out more through NKF’s website or call 03-7954 9048.

In recent times, we have been witnessing an increase in severe weather events such as floods and droughts, wildfires, intense storms, heat waves, and rising sea levels. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, the intensity and frequency of these incidents are about to increase. These severe weather events can have lasting disruptions in the weather patterns, which are causing climate change.

While these events cause an immediate impact on the environment, agriculture, economy and physical health, they can also impact a person’s mental health. This is called climate change anxiety.

A recent landmark survey  found that climate change has caused distress, anger and other negative emotions in children and young people, who felt let down by their government’s inaction towards reducing the impact on the environment.

Weather events such as extreme storms or heat waves can lead to depression, anger, and even violence. The American Public Health Association recorded, 25 to 50 per cent of people exposed to an extreme weather disaster were at risk of an adverse mental health effect, with 54% of adults and 45% of children recorded to have experienced depression after a natural disaster.

Following natural disasters, psychologists have seen a rise in what they call distress reactions, which include things like: insomnia, irritability, increased substance use, and depression. These reactions are supposed to subside gradually, yet it is not always easy for vulnerable groups directly affected by the incident. They may, later on, show signs of PTSD and anxiety disorders.

Rather than feeling anxious about what is taking place around us, we can look at the following methods to cope with climate change anxiety:

• Acceptance – Accept that you do not know what will happen or what the future holds, and that you can only change your actions.
• Get a new view – Rather than focusing on post-apocalyptic scenarios, try to imagine a world running on renewable energy sources, have gardens that produce organic food and a sustainable environment.
• Find a support system – Find an eco-friendly community around you, so you can share your thoughts on how you feel about climate change.
• Get to work – Take control and ownership over your actions by reducing waste, switching to eco-friendly, recyclable and reusable product packaging. Urge policymakers to take action on declaring climate emergencies and work towards establishing carbon-neutral states/cities.
• Focus on the positive news – There are various initiatives that countries are currently taking to combat climate change, such as banning single-use plastic, reforestation initiatives, governments’ setting up carbon-neutral policy goals.

The recent revelation made by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) on the cases of suicides recorded between January to May 2021, which amounted to 468, has turned the spotlight on the rising number of suicides amid the pandemic. In comparison to the annual total of 631 cases in 2020 and 609 cases in 2019, which averaged about two cases per day, this year, the average cases per day have almost doubled.

According to PDRM, the main reasons behind these incidents had been financial difficulties caused by debt, emotional pressure, and troubled family relationships.

The Ministry of Health meanwhile stated that in 2020, a total of 1,080 cases of persons who attempted suicide received treatment at government hospitals.

Director General of Health, Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, issuing a statement noted that the pandemic has severely impacted the mental health of people. He had further noted that certain individuals are more susceptible to mental health problems when they are disconnected from their support networks, such as friends and family, due to the ongoing movement control orders, and would experience episodes of depression that could even lead to suicide.

Suicide Is Criminalised In Malaysia

Malaysia being a country with a Muslim majority considers it a sin to take any life including one’s own. Moreover, as an attempt to deter persons from taking their lives, the government has criminalised suicide under Section 309 of the Penal Code, where anyone who attempts to commit suicide and fails would be imprisoned for a term extending up to a year or imposed a fine or will be subjected to imprisonment and imposed a fine.

The law enacted in 1936 originated from the Indian Penal Code that was based on the British Common Law. While many other countries in the region that adopted the Colonial common law has by now repealed or has modified the section, we have yet to follow suite.

The country’s Psychiatric and Mental Health Services Operational Policy, while recognising suicide attempts as a mental health issue that needs treatment, indicates that when an individual who attempted suicide is referred for medical care, they should be placed under strict supervision until they are considered to be in a stable condition and would not harm themselves.

However, Section 309 does not indicate that the individual should be referred to medical or psychological care after or during sentencing. Which calls for its immediate repeal or appropriate modification by concerned citizens.

Since suicide is criminalised by law, it may also discourage individuals from reaching out to counselling services or suicide prevention helplines, fearing that their situation would be compromised and they would have to face legal action.

Decriminalising Suicide Is Suicide Prevention

For many years, the civil society, mental health specialists and various other non-governmental agencies have been pushing for the decriminalisation of suicide in Malaysia. Highlighting the importance of decriminalising suicide, and the progress that the authorities have made so far towards achieving it, Bar Council Law Reform & Special Areas Committee Co-Chairman and National Coalition of Mental Wellbeing member, Datuk Seri M. Ramachelvam, noted that; “The World Health Organisation has called upon the countries around the world to decriminalise suicide, therefore the moment is now, and we should not delay anymore”.

Adding that, in 2012 the government’s Law Reform Committee conducted a study on reviewing the penal code section 309, and in the same year the then Minister of Health had stated that suicide should be decriminalised.

Ramachelvam also stated that, in 2019, the Minister of Law had said that a bill would be presented in Parliament to repeal Section 309 of the Penal Code, which was supposed to have happened in 2020. While in 2020 the federal government had said that the Attorney General’s chamber was studying various jurisdictions on the issue of decriminalising suicide.

Ramachelvam further noted that; “People who are contemplating suicide or who have attempted suicide never gets reported to relevant mental health authorities through the doctors or family members. Because if the incident gets reported there will be a potential criminal charge over the person who attempted suicide and survived. The stigma caused by the criminalisation of the act itself can deter the individual from seeking and receiving mental health related care, counselling or rehabilitative care”.

According to Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Consultant Psychiatrist at the National University of Malaysia, Dr. Lai Fong Chan, criminalising suicide does not act as a deterrent to prevent somebody from attempting suicide, and can actually have a negative effect, as it marginalises people who are in distress, from accessing help from mental health services.

Adding that; “When someone is in acute suicidal crisis, somebody who is crying out for help in that distress, it’s unthinkable that you would dangle this punishment as a deterrent saying ‘you are going to prison’. Emotional distress is not best dealt with a prison sentence”.

Dr. Chan pointed out that there are already laws in place in the Mental Health Act that if someone is suspected to have mental health issues that puts the individual at risk of their own safety, PDRM and the registered social workers have the mandate to bring such persons to a mental health service provider or to a health service provider for assessment and care.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the Befrienders at 03-76272929.

Sign and share this petition to decriminalise suicide in Malaysia.

Cheap, plentiful, bad for the environment – fast fashion is much like fast food. We crave the convenience that allows us to keep up with the latest trends in the age of social media. There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to a few fast fashion pieces, especially because there aren’t many affordable options available. The problem lies within throwaway culture.

Throwaway culture is the misuse of fast fashion. Only the wealthy used to have wear-it-once wardrobes, but now many are able to afford clothes as single-use purchases. The pressure to look good on social media has people viewing outfits as perishable and disposable. This has caused an estimated 85% of textiles to end up in landfills each year.

What Is Second Hand September

Oxfam, a global movement that’s working towards a world without poverty, sees second hand clothing as a way to protect the planet and help people beat poverty. Their 30-day campaign, Second Hand September, encourages consumers to form more sustainable shopping habits by only buying second hand clothing all month.

How To Get Involved

• Reduce your waste – Only buy what you’ll wear! Even if it’s second hand, ask yourself if you’ll wear it more than once. Be more intentional with your purchases and don’t be tempted by sales. Add it to your Wishlist first and see how you feel about it in a few days.
• Reuse pre-loved items – Shopping second hand is an affordable option that keeps clothes from ending up in landfills. If it’s a local business, you’ll be reducing your carbon footprint and supporting small businesses, too!
• Recycle your unwanted clothes – Declutter your closet and divide your clothes into three categories: donate, sell, recycle. Don’t throw away items that are in poor condition, instead choose to recycle the fabrics.

Where To Buy & Sell

• Pre-loved clothing: Thryffy

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Thryffy (@thryffyofficial)

• Second hand books: Books N Bobs

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Secondhand Books 📚 🇲🇾 (@books_n_bobs)

• Pre-owned electronics, fashion, home & living: Carousell

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Carousell Malaysia 🇲🇾 (@carousell.my)

• Malaysia’s largest online marketplace: Mudah

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mudah.my (@mudahmy)

Where To Donate

• Kloth Cares
• The Salvation Army
• Community Recyle For Charity
• H&M, Uniqlo and Monki stores

When we think of racism, we think of the direct forms of racial discrimination – the intentionally harmful attitudes and actions that are done in public. But racism isn’t always explicit, in fact, covert racism, which is more subtle or even unintentional, is a much larger part of the problem. This requires us to address our own individual actions and internalized racism when working to dismantle systemic racism.

What Is Internalized Racism

Internalized racism is a form of subconscious, or conscious, negative feelings towards one’s own (oppressed) race / ethnicity. From colorism to sexism, these implicit biases are rooted in the negative societal beliefs that are taught to be accepted as a societal norm.

Examples Of Internalized Racism

The acceptance of a racial hierarchy can be seen in:

• Anglicizing your name.
• Deliberately trying to change your accent.
• Withdrawing from speaking your native language in public.
• Feeling ashamed of family members or friends who can’t speak English.
• Wanting Eurocentric features.
• Treating white and fairer people better than those with darker skin.
• Refusing to date or people within the same race.
• Avoiding cultural celebrations.

The Dangers Of Internalized Racism:

The internalized racism you hold within yourself may not be your fault (social structures, colonialism and the media have taught us to accept these ideologies), but it is your responsibility to unlearn them. It won’t be easy and will require humility, but ignoring these social constructs will only maintain racial supremacy – limiting growth and change for racial injustice and equality. These harmful behaviours and biases also support the division within races, as well as amongst other races, and prevents individuals and racial groups from authentically accepting and loving themselves and their culture.

Questions To Ask Yourself

• “Do I believe in the stereotypes about my own race and am trying to prove that I do not fall into the same group?”
• “Have I participated and contributed in racist conversations directed towards my own race?”
• “Do I only find people of other races beautiful / attractive?”
• “Have I tried to change the way I look or talk in order to fit in with another race?”

How To Combat Internalized Racism

The more we let our actions or words slide, the more we accept them. Instead:

• Educate yourself on your culture / ethnicity.
• Practice self-love towards the way you look and sound.
• Show more interest in your culture’s beliefs, practices, foods and celebrations.
• Speak up against racism towards your own race.