Written by Amber Tree.

This is a big question – Can Economic Degrowth lead to a Sustainable Future? and not one that is particularly easy to answer in the face of today’s climate crisis. At the Ethical Consumer Conference 2024, leaders and innovators came together to tackle this pressing topic of degrowth. Spanning industries like fashion, agriculture, and finance, this year’s conference dived into how consumers can navigate the possibilities and implications of a degrowth-centred economy. Click this link here to check out the ethical consumer page and to see why as consumers, we should shop mindfully and ethically.
Hosted at the Rich Mix in Shoreditch, everyone had the opportunity to visit a variety of seminars and panels. This conference provided the opportunity for like-minded people to connect. Attendees had the chance to engage with ethical businesses and campaign groups – sharing ideas of how we can ignite changes in our communities. A special thanks goes to Ali Clifford for inviting me to be involved in such an important conversation.

1. Building Resilient Communities
Ethical Consumer’s Anna Clayton and Francesca De La Torre kicked everything off by discussing how we can build community capacity and resilience during economic transitions.
They painted a rather sobering picture: escalating global conflicts, the immense loss of species, misinformation running rampantly, growing inequalities, the breaching of seven of the nine planetary boundaries. All of this fuelled by the relentless extraction of both natural and social resources under the current capitalist model.
And then, the conversation turned to us – sitting wide-eyed in the audience. How do we establish community resilience? The following conversations ranged from addressing the cost-of-living crisis to discussing the practicalities of degrowth economies. Despite the expansive range of ideas, the focus of the conversation was on the actions that communities can take. Following this, this blog post does not seek to examine the advantages, disadvantages and practicalities of degrowth economies, but simply to shed light on how community action can promote ethical consumerism.
The key theme throughout the conversations was utilising our unique skills, connections, and resources, to support one another in a community space. This approach works not to simply build resilience but to further empower individuals to tackle systematic challenges together.
Meeting the Speakers
Roger Higman: Library of things
Roger Higman, with almost 40 years dedicated to the environmental movement, highlighted the SHARE SHED‘s library of things in Devon a practical step towards reducing overconsumption.
In 2017, Roger, as the director of the Network of Wellbeing, helped set up the Share Shed, essentially a travelling library of things in Devon. Helping people borrow items that they only need and use on occasion, saving them money and reducing waste. The Share Shed is now mobile, running all sorts of events to encourage repairing, upcycyling and sharing. You can find their van, every week, in Ashburton, Dartington, Ivybridge, Totnes, South Brent, Kingsbridge and Buckfastleigh.

In a world where our consumerist culture drives carbon emissions and resource depletion, initiatives like this, which embrace concepts surrounding degrowth, offer a tangible means to live more sustainably.
Similarly here in London we have the Library of Things – This social enterprise is on a mission to share more and buy less. With 19 locations across London, these libraries allow people to borrow rather than buy items that they will not often use, from party supplies or power tools. While this concept is simple, this promotion of sharing resources helps people save money and reduce their consumption – a win for our wallets and for our planet.
Check out this link here to see how Ali’s local Library of Things came to the rescue when her trusty sewing machine stopped working. Thankfully the story has a happy ending – a lovely pair of trousers being made from quilt cover!
James Atherton: Spring Prize
James Atherton, a member of the Lush Spring Prize Coordination team, introduced us all to this interesting initiative. Holding over £200,000+ in available funding, the Spring Prize supports projects that are ultimately working to repair Earth’s damaged systems. Essentially, projects that aim to leave our world lusher than how we found it.
From businesses focussed on regeneration to grassroot communities, this prize empowers organisations to build a future where nature and people can thrive together. This prize is aimed to encourage us as individuals to learn from nature – collaboration, balance, resilience – and apply it further to our communities to increase our community resilience.
In 2018, the Young Project Award was received by AgroEcoPolis, an NGO that focuses on food sovereignty – strengthening small-scale farmers and consumers to bring food production back into the hands of the people and their community. The Lush Spring Prize contributed to bringing AgroEcoPolis into the spotlight internationally. Where now AgroEcoPolis is involved with numerous project proposals with some serious European organisations. Learn more here.
Cath Muller: Radical Routes Network
Cath Muller, with a passion for co-operativism, shared her vision for a large-scale commune in northern England. Taking inspiration from Twin Oaks in Virginia, this community is imagined to house 100-200 people, centred on collective work, shared resources, and mutual aid.
Through the Radical Routes Network, Cath and her team are working to reduce dependencies on exploitative systems by fostering collaboration and gaining collective control over essential areas such as housing, work and education. While these networks focus on driving systematic change, they remain deeply committed to promoting sustainability and inclusivity.
This commune embodies principles held in economic degrowth, promoting self-sufficiency as well as cooperation – a rather inspiring blueprint for future community resilience.
Ali Clifford: Clothing repair and salvaged Looms
Ali Clifford, also known as Incredibusy, brought her expertise in sustainable living to the stage with a fun and practical solution: clothing repair shops. By using the hand-crafted salvaged speed loom made from repurposed bike spokes, Ali teaches us how we can darn and mend to further extend the life of our beloved garments.

This approach not only tackles throw-away culture and overconsumption, but also makes the repair a fun, mindful and enjoyable experience. A small but powerful way to counter the environmental impact of fast fashion. Following concepts surrounding degrowth, clothing repair embraces a slower and more mindful way of living.
From my many experiences at Ali’s workshops, I have learnt a great deal on the importance of repair and my socks (and purse) definitely thank me for it. To see the dates of Ali’s upcoming workshops click here.
2. Challenging the Dominant Narrative

The Second Panel I attended was hosted by Yalda Keshavarzi from Ethical Consumer. Drawing from the thoughtful work of Cath Muller from Radical Routes Network, Guy Ritani and Toad Dell from Permaqueer. Giovanna Speciale from South East London Community Energy (SELCE), Eugene Ewusi-Annan from the Or Foundation, Catherine McAndrew from the Landworkers’ Alliance.
In explaining this panel and its impact, it is important to have a look into what each of these pannellists are working towards. Having already discussed Radical Routes earlier in the blog, the other panellists work is briefly presented below.
PermaQueer is on an important mission to support queer and vulnerable communities through the use of permaculture education, working towards a regenerative future for all. South East London Community Energy is presenting a. clean energy revolution, aiming to power a cleaner and fairer future for South East London. The Landworkers’ Alliance is a Grassroots Union of foresters, farmers and of course, land-based workers. Their vision presents how everybody, regardless of income, background and status has access to healthy and affordable food from producers they can trust.
Lastly, the Or Foundation creatively presents the concept of choice, and how we as consumers can choose to escape the economic system of corporate colonialism – and to change it from within. Aiming to identify alternatives to our current mass production fashion system and to move towards a Justice-Led Circular economy. During the panel, Eugene brought our attention to the Kantamanto market in Ghana, the largest secondhand market in the world. Every week, this market recirculated millions of items from around the world, supporting daily livelihoods and local businesses.
On January 1st, 2025, the beloved Kantamanto market burned down. In response to this devastating news, the Or Foundation has set up a fundraiser for Kantamanto Fire Relief and has committed one million dollars to the emergency relief efforts. To learn more about this and how you can help please click here.
These communities are calling to create cracks in capitalism, holding notions that are rooted in care, justice, reciprocity and of course degrowth. The panel presents an act of resistance to a dominant capitalist system, declaring alternative paths and creating change that starts now.
A Call to Action
The Ethical Consumer Conference 2024 explored real, practical steps towards a sustainable future. From exploring community led initiatives to innovative tools and funding solutions, these strive to show how we all can play a role in driving change.
So, what can you do? Starting small… share resources. Repair instead of replace. Connect with the local community. By working together and building our communities, it enables us to move closer to a world that prioritizes people and the planet over profit.
Want to learn more?
A huge thank you to all the incredible speakers who shared their insights and ideas at the conference. If you’d like to learn more about their work or connect with them, you can find their details below…
Anna Clayton – LinkedIn
Francesca De La Torre – LinkedIn
Roger Higman – LinkedIn
James Atherton – LinkedIn
Cath Muller – Articles by Cath Muller
Ali Clifford – Instagram , Website, LinkedIn
Yalda Keshavarzi – Instagram
Guy Ritani – LinkedIn
Toad Dell – LinkedIn
Giovanna Speciale – LinkedIn
Eugene Ewusi-Annan – LinkedIn
Catherine McAndrew – LinkedIn
Ethical Consumer Magazine: Insightful and MUST READ article #BoycottAmazon
Sign up to Ethical Consumer’s Climate Action Group here: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/climate-gap-report/sign-up
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