Here our climate conscious drag queen Barbs gives her top tips for saving the planet!
Being an internationally adored drag queen and eco warrior at the same time can be hard to achieve and also exhausting!
But don’t worry, here are my top 10 tips to help you slay your drag shows without contributing to the slaying of all life on earth.
1. Learn to sew!
Put that PrettyLittleThing neon snakeskin leotard down! The fashion industry is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses and causes huge amount of waste! By learning to sew you can upcycle and bring new life into that charity shop sequin dress. Bonus tip: go into a charity shop the morning after a sale – that’s when you will find all the good stuff.
2. When ordering online, buy in bulk
At the beginning of each month, look at what bits you may need (confetti cannons, lashes, new heels, nails, makeup etc) and order it all at once. Try not to opt for next day delivery. If you are organised and order in bulk in advance you can stop loads of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
3. Don’t have children!
If you want to battle the never-ending loneliness that comes with being a drag queen then don’t have a child, get a dog instead. Children are awful for the environment and it’s selfish to have one and a dog only lasts for an eighth of the life of a child so you can still have a life after having one.
4. Use metal straws
This one is great because you can save the turtles, easily spot who has stolen your drink, and stop the spread of Hepatitis C all in one go!
5. Take packed lunches to gigs
This means you won’t end up in McDonalds at 4am after a gig with enough Big Macs to fill the Amazon rainforest.
6. Buy huge sunglasses
This means you can be incognito on public transport to and from gigs without the fear of being beaten up, and you will save more money than if you got an Uber!
7. Put you music on USB sticks rather the stream
Streaming music today can produce up to double the greenhouse gas emissions than consuming music in the early 2000s did, so put your DJ music and performance tracks on a USB and stop DJing off Spotify. This also means you don’t have to take Britney requests from pilled up twinks.
8. Use Biodegradable Glitter
As fabulous as a glittery seal may be, microplastic don’t belong in our oceans. So next time you go to a festival or Sink The Pink party, have a think before you cake your cheekbones in glitter.
9. Learn to Accessorise
By learning how to accessorise well, you only really need one or two staple pieces that you can switch up into different looks with effective accessorisation. I’ve been wearing the same leotard and PVC skirt since 2016, I just switch it up with a variety of bracelets that I nick from Primark.
10. EAT THE RICH
As amazing and helpful these tips are, the only real effective way to stop the impending doom we all face is to dismantle capitalism and hold the filthy oil billionaires, that got us into this mess in the first place, accountable. There are some fab homemade guillotines for sale on Etsy, all made from resourced wood of course!
Barbs regularly performs at The Glory, The Karaoke Hole, the Finsbury Park duck pond and on the 242 bus. You can follow them on Instagram @barbs.balls.
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