We recently wrote about different t-shirt styles and highlighted that one key style pertains to values, which may relate to political, economic, social, or environmental considerations. The last of these has been increasing in importance as the impact of climate change is clearly intolerable for many.
At the same time, many are doubtful about the realities of climate change, dismissing it as a hoax. If people are consumed by regular challenges such as the cost of living crisis, it can be more difficult to attract their attention. Informing and educating people about the issue and rallying them to act is challenging at the best of times but with other factors distracting people, concise and captivating messages are essential.
That is why we wanted to highlight those essential messages that have been captured in the most modern medium of self-expression: the t-shirt. Here are what we think are 5 of the best climate t-shirts. Some of these vary slightly by brand or in the artwork used but the core message is the same.
#ShowYourStripes
The evolution of the climate stripes educational graphic into a design worthy of being utilised outside of academic settings is quite a story. The background to this “warming stripes” graphic is that they are a way of visually showing long-term temperature trends, using data from over a century. Each stripe or bar represents the temperature in that country, averaged over the year. For most countries, the stripes start in the year 1901 and finish in 2023. As you can see, the stripes turn from mainly blue (cooler than average) to mainly red (warmer than average), illustrating the rise in average temperatures over recent years. In short, they are an effective way of communicating climate change.
As Prof Hawkins says in our interview with him, “Visuals are more memorable and engaging than words, so more people are encouraged to take action.”
#NoPlanetB
If you’ve followed the work of the IPCC as well as the annual COP events, you’re probably aware of the urgency of the climate action that is needed. In the 2015 Paris Agreement, world leaders pledged to try and prevent global temperatures rising by more than 1.5C. However, recent data suggests that we are struggling with this target.
Despite the best efforts of people like Elon Musk who wish to terraform other planets such as Mars, there really is no immediate second option for us to decamp to if things here on Earth become unbearable. This means that we have to focus on improving the situation on Earth. That is the underlying sentiment behind the phrase “There is no planet B”.
Planet before profit
When bringing about significant changes in behaviour, you often need to nullify any big obstacles you are likely to face on your path. When it comes to climate change, it doesn’t take long to realise that fossil fuel companies are the principal obstacles. This is partly because these companies have become the cornerstone of many significant economies. The profits these companies enjoy, the employment they provide, the energy provided into people’s homes to keep them warm/cool, and so on means that they are enmeshed in a way that’s difficult to untangle.
What is remarkable is how some of these companies knew about the incoming climate change decades ago yet undertook a lot of effort to deny the science that threatened their core business. Such companies have clearly put profits ahead of the planet. No wonder people feel obliged to advocate for the opposite: planet before profit.
Drop seeds, not bombs
We talked earlier about the urgency that is required to act against climate change. This line of thinking means that we seriously need to reconsider other activities that humans are undertaking. Some of us have the privilege of living in peace most of our lives; others unfortunately know the realities of war and/or live on the precipice of violence. Alongside the tragic loss of human lives, there are indeed environmental impacts of war. The Guardian recently reported that the climate cost of the first two years of Russia’s war on Ukraine was greater than the annual greenhouse gas emissions generated individually by 175 countries, exacerbating the global climate emergency in addition to the mounting death toll and widespread destruction.
If we are to think about climate-positive alternatives to acts of war, engaging in reforestation is surely a highly ranking alternative. Drop seeds, not bombs.
Drunk on petroleum
We’ll be honest. We haven’t actually seen this on a t-shirt but such a pithy quote deserves to be printed as often as possible on a t-shirt! Do you agree?
Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five is an exceptional piece of work and it’s not surprising that the author could deliver such a gem of a quote. After all, fossil fuels are not just about oil, gas, and coal, but many of the downstream industries such as those related to plastics (which come from hydrocarbons derived from fossil fuels).
Let us know in the comments which your favourite is out of these 5 choices of ours.
