A great insight into the major issues affecting us right now from climate change to fast fashion and everything in between.

Lily Cole is an influential name for any 80s or 90s baby who grew up with any modicum of interest in the fashion and beauty industries. Here she offers her grown-up take on global consumerism, and the multitudinous complex issues related to it, for those of us who have grown up in parallel to her and her career.

This book is careful, considered and never scared to confront the complicated. Through the lens of her own personal education, Cole offers well-researched and balanced insights into the changes that need to and are happening across the world. This means that Cole avoids a 'holier than thou' tone and instead invites her reader to join her in conversation and reflection. The book does not shy away from scary statistics, but in contrast to other works that propose it is 'all too late' this book motivates its reader by showing how tangible the impact of change can be.

Each chapter is split into small sub-sections with Cole's overarching personal narrative balanced out by more general (but not overused) facts and figures that are interspersed between paragraphs. This means that the text is utterly digestible and in no ways over-facing; perfect to be consumed on the commute or dipped in to during a coffee break.

Everyone needs to read this book! It is an inspirational look at various intersecting issues around the environment from science and technology to feminism to individual responsibility. As Cole says herself “This book seeks to offer more questions than it answers, because – at this critical moment in time – I believe the most important thing for us to do, is to listen to one another.“ And I wholeheartedly agree.

But while it doesn’t necessarily provide the magic answer to the issue of the environment, it provides so many discussion points and all of them are explained in ways which even I (keen to understand more about what I can do to help the planet but not having read enough on the subject) can understand. This is what ultimately makes it such an inspiring read. It has given me plenty of ideas and a better understanding of the issues. I hope that many, many people will read it in the coming years and that Cole may be interested in writing further books as time moves on and things change and develop. I also hope that those in positions of power as well as other groups and individuals find inspiration in this book to try things that may or may not help the planet. One of the quotes that Cole uses states the importance of trying, even if not everything is a success. That’s a mantra for life!

I wish to say a huge thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication and to Cole for what must have been a huge amount of research and effort. The results really are wonderful!

One note for the publishers is that I assume when finished that there will be clearer distinctions between the text, quotes and footnotes etc. There weren’t in the version I read which did make it a bit difficult for the information to flow and for me to read but it was still worth the extra effort!

An optimistic view of how we can change the world around. Lily Cole is a fashion model who has looked into how fashion can be made more sustainable - rather than ending up in landfill within a year of being bought. In fact she looks at all areas of wasted energies by the people of today.

A much deeper book than I first expected. Just shows that you shouldn't assume about people by the stereotype.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

This is a wide-ranging book covering a multitude of ways in which the human race is destroying life on our planet and looking at possible solutions.. There was much that I knew and in the early chapters I wondered how much I would learn, but the further I got into the book the more information I found that is new to me, especially in the section on innovative technology.

I just wish I shared the writer's optimism that our world can become cleaner, fairer and a place fit for future generations to thrive.