Witchcraft on trial and impacts of Halloween fast fashion

Witchcraft and the law – just in time for Halloween

Canada only finally repealed its law against ‘pretending to practice witchcraft’ in 2018. Since the first anti-witchcraft law in the UK in 1542 there have been thousands of witchcraft cases in both official courts and via mob justice. A new McGill University library exhibit, based on rare material drawn from various McGill libraries and curated by Ana Rogers-Butterworth, a librarian at the Nahum Gelber Law Library, showcases historic ‘witch trials’, as well as philosophical debates on the existence of magical beings and practical instructions for how to perform an exorcism.

Do clothing recycling programs address fast fashion’s environmental impact?

Speed and variety. These are the pillars of the fast fashion model. Retailers like H&M and Zara seek to bring style to the masses by emulating the trends of Paris and Milan, but their model of disposable clothing comes with a high environmental cost. It simply is not possible for these businesses to be sustainable with this business model in place, according to Prof. Javad Nasiry, Director of McGill’s Sustainable Growth Initiative. “This hasn’t stopped these retailers from trying to shift the perception of their environmental impact with clothing recycling programs. But these initiatives are more a matter of greenwashing than a serious attempt to address environmental harm.”