Aja Barber: This Generation's Crenshaw

I will admit that I'm a bit late to the Aja Barber train. I first heard of her through the Lucy & Yak controversy—Aja had called L&Y out for their lack of size-inclusive clothing as well as the nebulousness of deeming themselves 'ethical' whilst paying their workers in India a 'living wage'. As I had just made a post about what was the minimum range of sizes a clothing company could include to be 'size inclusive', a friend messaged me asking if I had asked in response to the controversy. I hadn't, but was immediately intrigued.

Not a few weeks later, another friend invited me to a talk she was hosting for Aja. It was easy to say that the talk was one of the more interesting things I had heard, but what struck me most was how Aja seemed to read my mind, answering a lot of questions directly that many other activists I knew seemed to dance around. As a young environmentalist, it's easy to become swayed when older environmentalists who have been in the game for longer tell us to not worry, to focus on this other thing instead. But Aja responds to these questions with understanding and logic.

Aja explains things with nuance—yes, fast fashion is bad, but no, if you're too poor to buy otherwise, it's not your fault. I can't count how many times I've had this exact same conversation with friends, trying to acknowledge the inherent classism often presented in environmentalism, not knowing how to put this statement into coherent words, but as soon as Aja said it, everything made sense.

Along with the nuance she adds to the conversation, her ability to put things into simple words is possibly her greatest asset. In the paths of my OCD mind, my thoughts are squirrelly and obsessive, hardly ever coming out of my mouth in the clean, succinct ways that her words do. Her words and writings have made things so clear.

Another highlight of following Aja is the complete lack of bullshit she has. She straight up tells people that their babies don't actually want Christmas presents, circumnavigating an awkward societal standard that existed for no reason. Truly, why do we give babies presents? She calls out big companies for their unethical practices as well as the individuals who willingly choose to shop there even when they have alternative options. This is a welcome and refreshing change from the Great Debate in environmentalism of whether individual humans are responsible for environmental problems via choices or if firms are responsible.

As mentioned in the first paragraph, Aja is also incredibly size-inclusive. Although I've seen a handful of environmentalists tackle the size problem in ethical and sustainable clothing, very few have actually centred their work around this topic. The only people I follow who frequently talk about this intersection are those who are those who talk about it out of their own experiences. Aja refuses to work with companies who don't comply with her moral standard, a setting which I aspire towards.

And mostly, I admire how Aja doesn't compromise her values for each other. Environmentalists I know will encourage cultural appropriation for the possibility of 'better knowledge sharing' or overlook the racist effects of environmentalism on predominantly Black and Brown bodies by talking of 'compromise' and 'baby steps'. But not Aja.

Aja makes me feel brave. She makes me feel acknowledged, like my eco-anxiety is justified but also solvable. Her lack of compromise, straight forward messaging, and nuance allows her to share messages that can be easily understood by many without simplifying it into a problematic statement. The examples shared in this article are simply the tip of the iceberg. She shares so much information about environmentalism, race, gender, fatphobia, and social injustices, choosing to never accept money from brands that may not align with her vision of a better future. If there is one person I would recommend following and learning from, it's Aja. Without a doubt, Aja is my inspiration for 2021 and I hope that I can be more like her.

Aja Barber is an environmentalist, stylist, and writer. Her book, Consumed: On colonialism, climate change, consumerism & the need for collective change is out on September 16. Don't buy it on Amazon. Follow her on Instagram at @ajabarber and support her on Patreon at AjaBarber.