No new clothes. For an entire year.
Or how I decided 2018 would be the year I am changing my relationship with fashion.
In week #2 of our six week And The Future? sustainability campaign we were talking about sustainable fashion. We did a lot of research on the topic even though we knew it somewhere in the back of our minds that the way we ‘consume’ fashion is extremely toxic for the environment and the people who are producing it. As a matter of fact the so called “fast fashion industry” is actually the second biggest polluter on the planet. And not only that–a garment factory worker makes around £2.50 a day. The same price as a coffee in London (without the soy milk). Knowing this really did make me feel guilty for how careless I have been treating my clothes in the past. I wanted to stop my personal overconsumption habits and participated in the Capsule Wardrobe challenge. I managed to reduce my closet content by at least a third. Yet, I still felt like it was too much stuff and I was just adding to it rather than ever being satisfied with what I had.
After educating myself with the help of Fashion Revolution and watching the movie The True Cost I was horrified enough to decide I’d like to make an even more profound change. I started to research sustainable fashion labels and found a whole lot of new, emerging brands–especially in central and Eastern Europe and very quickly realised that there is actually an enormous, growing market for sustainable fashion. This made me hopeful enough to ditch my previous go to stores which included H&M, Primark, ASOS, you name it and only buy clothing that came from a sustainable and ethical brand like PeopleTree UK, Myrka Studios or the like. This made impulse buying increasingly hard as the majority of high street shops don’t do ethical or sustainable (unless you’d like to count H&M’s *cough* ‘H&M Conscious’ line *cough*). So whenever I thought my minimalist wardrobe needed an upgrade or was missing an integral item I shopped at one of my newly discovered fair and sustainable garment makers.
That’s all nice and good isn’t it? If only it was that easy. I liked the fact that the threads I was wearing on my body hadn’t been soaked in chemicals or have been sewn together by someone in a sweat shop in Bangladesh. Yet, for me, I felt like it wasn’t enough. Conscious or ‘ethical’ consumerism is still consumerism after all. I was still creating demand and I was still eventually adding to the waste stream. I wanted to change my attitude and mindset towards fashion. I decided to challenge myself. Would I be able to not buy any new clothes for an entire year?
In addition to my environmental and ethical concerns I had read an article by Cait Flanders on how she saved 17000 USD buy doing a ‘No shopping year’. And while buying clothing that has been produced ethically and sustainably has slowed down my wardrobe, it certainly hadn’t decreased the amount of money I was spending on it. I would buy less but for significantly more money. I would argue that it was money well spent, but the fact is that sustainably produced fashion is still very far from being affordable for everyone.
Should I start wearing only clothes I found on the street?
I started looking for alternatives. How can I dress fashionably in a sustainable and most of all affordable way? How can I be more organised and minimalistic in the way I dress? Going down a rabbit hole of Google searches I came across an Instagram account with the promising name ‘Found on the Street’ — a project by two young women whose entire wardrobe consists of clothes that they had (you guessed that right) found on the streets. A silver jacket that had been abandoned after a night out in Berlin. A blouse left behind on a park bench in the rain in Budapest. These two women had great style and I was impressed by how resourceful people can be if they really wanted to. I loved the idea but didn’t think I could go quite as far, it would have been quite restrictive to say the least.
Also in Berlin, an innovative company called Kleiderei is changing the way we relate to our clothes by offering a fashion subscription service. Thekla and Pola, the founders, are two ambitious, young women who love fashion but felt like it is unnecessary to buy items that they would lose interest in after a few times of wearing them. So they decided to create a clothes rental service. On their website you can define your style, select from a wide variety of local designers and items and enjoy monthly packages filled with new outfits. Unfortunately this service was currently only available in Berlin.
Renting clothes or wearing only what I found on the street didn’t seem like viable options after all. Eventually I decided to come up with my own set of rules and define my ‘No clothes challenge’ for 2018:
Rules for my “No New Clothes Year”
- No new clothes, accessories or bags for an entire year.
- When in doubt, wait for 30 days and ask yourself why you need it.
If you still want it — see #3. - Vintage and second hand purchases only.
- One in, one out.
- Fix it before replacing it.
- Rent or borrow from friends for one off events or special occasions (weddings!).
- If you receive clothes as a gift — accept them. No need to be rude because of your own personal experiment. (However requesting clothes as a gift is considered cheating!)
- Underwear, socks and tights are the only exception. Buy high quality.
Two months and two blouses later
The first thing I did was declutter my wardrobe. I wanted to get rid of what I was definitely not wearing anymore, repair the things that had been waiting in my closet for ages and take stock of what I had or didn’t have. Afterwards, I felt a lot lighter and most of all grateful for what I had. I made a list of things that I needed (or felt like I needed) and grouped them into essentials and non-essentials. I had thrown out all my socks with holes in them so ended up with only three pairs. They made the top of my ‘essentials’ list.
In January I bought two blouses in a vintage store because I felt like a spring update for my wardrobe after I did the clear out. I also ordered two pairs of good quality tights when I realised mine looked more like Swiss cheese than tights. I unsubscribed from all clothing brand newsletters when I noticed how I was trying to convince myself that it would be okay to get that discounted Fairtrade, sustainable cotton T-shirt. For my birthday I got gifted a pair of Teeki yoga pants from my aunt. I wouldn’t have bought new yoga gear myself but was so grateful to receive those, especially because they come from a brand that creates their products with sustainability in mind.
For all other items on my list I will be using the chart from Cait Flanders book “The year of less” (see image). I ask myself if I really need that item and wait for 30 days. If it can’t be borrowed or rented and I really think it will add value and fulfill a purpose I will consider buying it. And when I do I make sure I buy high quality and from the most sustainable source possible.
In addition to that I am planning to work my way through Fashion Revolutions educational material and participate by doing at least one of their #haulternatives.
Expect me to be back with an update in a couple of months. There will be pictures, tips and tutorials on how to freshen up your wardrobe. And if you decide to join the challenge or do a something similar please feel free to let me know in the comments!
