Historian Timothy Snyder tells us to get out in public—to show up, stand together, and reclaim our civic space. He’s right. Authoritarians thrive on isolation and silence; they want us to believe we’re alone, that resistance is futile. Public protest breaks that spell.
But protest shouldn’t end when the march disperses. It can—and must—live on, long after the placards come down. Because change doesn't only happen in the streets; it also happens in quiet conversation.
Philosopher Agnes Callard reminds us, echoing Socrates, that thinking isn’t something that happens in our heads but out loud, in dialogue. What goes on inside our heads is more like rehearsal...a swirl of half-formed thoughts waiting to be tested. Real thinking begins when we speak, when other minds push back and force our ideas to stand on their own. Talking is how we discover what we truly believe, expose contradictions, and refine our understanding together.
Enter Liberation Kilt tartans...
Each of our tartans carries a compelling story that sparks curiosity, and by opening conversation, helps keep that fighting spirit alive.
We saw this at COP26 in Glasgow, where more than a hundred World Wildlife Fund delegates wore our Keeling Climate Change tartan. Named in honour of Dr. Charles David Keeling, the scientist behind the iconic Keeling Curve, the tartan symbolises a wholesale shift in the energy basis of civilisation—from fossil fuels to clean energy.
The effect was immediate and inspiring. In a sea of suits and lanyards, flashes of yellow and green immediately caught the eye. People stopped to ask what it was, and what it meant. Conversations sprang up in hallways, in event spaces, even on the platform at Glasgow Central Station as delegates waited for their trains. What began as a compliment on a scarf often turned into a discussion about the Keeling Curve, carbon budgets, and the power of collective action.
In that sense, the tartan did what protest signs do—only more quietly, more subtly. One decode at a time, it turned curiosity into connection, and connection into the kind of steady, underground work that outlives a single event.
This autumn, for the first time, we’re releasing a limited number of Keeling Tartan scarves to the public—a chance to wear what delegates wore in Glasgow.
Each scarf is handwoven in Scotland from the finest lambswool and carries the story of science, solidarity, and hope.
Stay tuned.
