How do artists use fabric to critique environmental exploitation?

Artists around the world are turning to fabric as a medium to critique environmental exploitation, weaving powerful messages about sustainability, waste, and consumer culture. By repurposing discarded textiles, they highlight the staggering impact of fast fashion and industrial pollution. Installations made from plastic-based fabrics or dyed with toxic chemicals expose the hidden costs of mass production. Others stitch narratives of deforestation or ocean pollution into quilts and tapestries, making abstract crises tactile. Pioneers like El Anatsui transform bottle caps into shimmering metal "fabrics," while activists create protest banners from upcycled materials. These works challenge viewers to confront the lifecycle of materials—from resource extraction to landfill—and imagine regenerative alternatives. Through thread, dye, and texture, fabric artists make the invisible consequences of exploitation undeniably visible.