RISE & RESIST is out now.
“Press writes from the thick of the action, impassioned yet clear-eyed about what needs to be done and how everyone can play a part.” - The Sydney Morning Herald
The revolution has arrived - get ready.
Rise & Resist takes a wild trip through the new activism sweeping the world. The political march is back in a big way, as communities rally to build movements for environmental and social justice. But today's context calls for increasingly creative strategies to make our voices heard.
Crossing the globe, Clare Press meets passionate change-makers who believe in the power of the positive. From eco warriors and zero wasters to knitting nannas, introvert craftivists to intersectional feminists, they're all up for a revolution of sorts. Are you? Join Press as she tracks the formation of a new counterculture, united by a grand purpose: to rethink how we live today to build a more sustainable tomorrow.
Featuring interviews with inspiring change-makers including: model activist Cameron Russell, 350.org’s May Boeve, Fashion Revolution founders Orsola de Castro and Carry Somers, craftivists Betsy Greer and Sarah Corbett, Australian feminist icon Anne Summers, Pussyhat Project founders Jayna ZWeiman and Krista Suh, zero waste warrior Erin Rhoads, Plastic Free July creator Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and many more.
PRAISE
“A very important book.” TIM FLANNERY, CLIMATE SCIENTIST
“Clare’s inspiring book will awaken the active citizen inside you.” LIVIA FIRTH, ECO-AGE
“Rise & Resist is the ideal handbook for the revolution. Clare Press has produced a thoroughly researched, engaging and exciting book, that will act as a template for the next phase of the current power-shift. ” TRACEY SPICER, AUTHOR
“We are all activists in some way or another, because our actions or inactions help determine our future. Rise & Resist gives you the motivation and tools to change the world, one action at a time. I hope it inspires everyone who reads it to act, because the future is not set and will be shaped by those that take action today.” KELLY O’SHANNASSY, CEO, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION SOCIETY
“For decades, the mainstream environment movement in countries like Australia was overwhelmingly white, middle class and generally dominated by men. Of course women have always been involved in environmental struggle but their presence has often been pushed to the fringes. It was the arrival of powerful new organisations like AYCC, Lock the Gate, the Stop Adani campaign, SEED Indigenous Youth Climate Network and 350.org, led by so many strong women, who finally broke the glass ceiling of the movement. As we join the battle of our lives – the struggle to limit climate change – the movement is more diverse than ever before, from Islanders on the front-lines of climate change to renewable energy workers. The stories in this book, of clothing and agricultural workers, anti gun activists, ocean lovers, artists, thinkers, suffragettes, minimalists and Buddhists, and even celebrities, are woven together into an inspiring narrative that reminds us that the world is, indeed, rising up. And that there is room in the struggle for everyone.” CAM WALKER, NATIONAL LIAISON OFFICER, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AUSTRALIA
These pages offer badassery, wit, courage and humour. A timely reminder to us all that if we don’t like something, it’s up to each of us to get off our arses and do something about it —this is pure inspiration as to what that little ‘something’ might look like for you.” JESS MILLER, CITY OF SYDNEY COUNCILLOR
Climate science can be intimidating but Clare makes it easy to comprehend. Entertaining, educational and absorbing, Rise & Resist is a fantastic read.” LAURA WELLS, MODEL-ACTIVIST-MARINE BIOLOGIST
HAVE YOU READ THE BOOK THAT SPARKED THE PODCAST?
Clare launched Wardrobe Crisis in New York in February 2018 at the Tishman Environment and Design Center, as part of The New School’s week of Disrupting Climate Injustice. ORDER YOUR COPY HERE.
reviewS
Wardrobe Crisis was named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2016 by the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Press's prose is light, upbeat and often funny. Her ideal readers – hopefully the caring consumers of the future, who won't buy a frock without ticks by a trusted auditor checking every step along its supply chain that it did not exploit, pollute, endanger or kill on its way from seed to rack – will warmly relate. Her research is deep and densely detailed ('academic rigour' sprang to mind), but spiked with hundreds of wonderfully off-piste anecdotes, harvested from the annals of fashion and cleverly curated for curiosity and glamour value. A perfect balance of engaging (but true) fluff and formidable fact." - The Age
"A WONDERFULLY ENGAGING READ … FRANKLY, IT’S A BOOK ALL FASHION LOVERS SHOULD ADD TO THEIR BEDSIDE READING LIST." - The Australian
“AN EYE-OPENING LOOK AT THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY…STUDY UP.” - Fashion Journal
Who makes your clothes? This used to be an easy question to answer: it was the seamstress next door, or the tailor on the high street - or you made them yourself. Today we rarely know the origins of the clothes hanging in our closets. The local shoemaker, dressmaker and milliner are long gone, replaced by a globalised fashion industry worth $1.5 trillion a year.
In Wardrobe Crisis, fashion journalist Clare Press explores the history and ethics behind what we wear. Putting her insider status to good use, Press examines the entire fashion ecosystem, from sweatshops to haute couture, unearthing the roots of today’s buy-and-discard culture. She traces the origins of icons like Chanel, Dior and Hermès; charts the rise and fall of the department store; and follows the thread that led us from Marie Antoinette to Carrie Bradshaw.
From a time when Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein were just kids, to the world of the global fashion juggernaut, where Zara’s parent company produces more than 900 million garments annually, Press takes us on an insider’s journey of discovery and revelation. Wardrobe Crisis is a persuasive argument for a fashion revolution that will empower you to feel good about your wardrobe again.
