Winter 2022

32 REAL-LEADERS.COM / WINTER 2022 ETHICAL FASHION "THE UTILITY SCHEME SHOWS THAT IN A TIME OF ACUTE CRISIS, IT IS NECESSARY TO NOT ONLY LOOK AT THE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF SCARCE GOODS BUT ALSO TO RECONSIDER THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS AND CONVENTIONS THAT SURROUND THEM." — MARJANNE VAN HELVERT The British government was able to turn a material crisis into a temporary, rather successful solution. It took control over the total functioning of the commodity network, determining the fate of designers, manufacturers, and retailers alike, some of whom were put out of work or were forced to radically change their practices. Today it is often assumed that the market will take care of solving our problems, whether they are environmental, social, or economic. Yet, so far, the majority of commercial design and technological innovation has not been deployed to target the long-term challenges humanity is facing but is actively engaged in aggravating them. The Utility Scheme shows that in a time of acute crisis, it is necessary to not only look at the design and production of scarce goods but also to reconsider the political, economic, and social systems and conventions that surround them. n Marjanne van Helvert is a designer and theorist based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She is the author of The Responsible Object: A History of Design Ideology for the Future, of which this is an excerpt. Above: In wartime Britain, everyone was urged to become a part of the solution.

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