• last month
She's been featured on runways and magazine covers, but she grew up in the remote Amazon.

Zaya Guarani is using her platform to call for change in the fashion industry, and for Indigenous rights.

With ChangeNow - The largest event for the planet.
Transcript
00:00I think the fashion today is too brutal.
00:03You pay for something that is cheap,
00:05you can just wear for three, four times,
00:07and you're going to throw away.
00:09And we don't have wear on the planet today
00:12through these clothes.
00:14She's a fashion model
00:16who grew up in the remote Amazon.
00:20And now she's calling for change
00:22in the global fashion industry,
00:24which produces 10% of all carbon emissions.
00:28The way that I was raised
00:30was a very humble way.
00:32I did have clothes, I did have money.
00:35You always pass to someone,
00:37and I think people need to start
00:40to think about that.
00:41Fast fashion, not just produce too much,
00:44but waste too much.
00:45The Atacama Desert,
00:47like, with a lot of clothes,
00:49and it's very bad for the environment.
00:52You know, what is the purpose of that?
00:54Today, Zaya Gourani
00:56is one of the few indigenous models in Brazil.
00:59My paintings, for me,
01:01it's part of my body.
01:03The two lines that I do is protection.
01:06I think my culture and my elders
01:08are surround me.
01:10When I don't use my paintings,
01:12actually I feel naked.
01:13I know when I'm going castings,
01:15people, sometimes they don't like that.
01:18But for me, what is most important
01:20is the girls in the community.
01:23They're going to see my face,
01:25and they're going to know
01:26that I'm fighting for them.
01:28I'm fighting for their inclusion.
01:30She uses her platform
01:31to demand protection
01:32for indigenous peoples
01:34who are threatened by land seizures.
01:36This is so serious
01:37because a lot of indigenous cities
01:39get in extinction.
01:41Imagine you waking up
01:43and your house is on fire.
01:45We have this feeling every day.
01:47Give the opportunity
01:48to the indigenous people
01:50to be at the place
01:51of the decision makers,
01:53not just like me in a campaign
01:56or in my face everywhere,
01:58but also inside the system.
02:00Guarani and her mother
02:01fled their homes
02:02near Rondonia, Brazil,
02:04out of fear of violence
02:05from settlers
02:06who illegally clear indigenous land.
02:09To bring visibility
02:10to native voices,
02:11Guarani co-founded a collective
02:13that supports
02:14indigenous-owned clothing brand.
02:16She spoke about indigenous rights
02:17at the Change Now 2023 Summit.
02:20I know that has few brands
02:22already starting
02:23the regenerative side
02:25where we have our clothes
02:26for five years,
02:27we give back to the brand,
02:28and the brand gonna renew
02:30these clothes and resell.
02:33And this is a right
02:34and correct way
02:36to do something
02:38that's not gonna impact
02:39too much in the planet.
02:41We need indigenous land,
02:43indigenous territory,
02:44demarcated.
02:45We need people to fight with us
02:47for that to happen
02:48and not thinking about raising,
02:50growing the economy,
02:52because this is not gonna
02:53take us anywhere.