5 things I learnt while not buying clothes for 10 months
Confessions of an environmental shopaholic
I’m an environmentalist and I love new clothes. This contradiction has been tearing me apart for years. Every time I want a new coat, boots, or a new dress I need to deal with that annoying feeling of guilt, that my enjoyment comes at a cost of unfairly treated workers, environmental pollution, killing of animals and who knows what else. Oh, the excuses I had to get those boots anyway! “I need to cheer myself up”, “I will wear these all the time”, “I deserve this for working so hard”…
But my compromised consciousness kept reminding me of my hypocrisy, and one day I had enough of it. I must be true to my values and principles, and if there’s no easy way to shop for ethical fashion, well hell with it — I shall create one.
I started in January 2015 by making a vow to go for a year without buying new clothes. Oh boy did I regret this! Only a month in I was suffering already from going cold turkey. Every time I passed a shop window was torture. But it did get easier with time, and I learnt quite a few interesting things about myself and what ethical fashion means to me.
- Impulse buys are just that — an impulse. Taking time to evaluate a purchase will save you from spending money on something you don’t need or even have wardrobe space for. We’ve all been there — you‘re skipping along past a shop window and see that perfect dress. It’s pay day so the world is your oyster! Ten minutes later you leave the store with a smile on your face, imagining yourself impressing your friends on the next night out. After that you never wear it again. After all, you already have eight black evening dresses and there just aren’t enough occasions! Only twice in ten months of shopping abstinence did I remember something that I saw weeks ago and still wanted to buy it. And if I let myself do whatever I wanted in the moment I would have bought ten times more.
- Getting bored of old clothes doesn’t mean I need new ones. Of course, during the course of the year I’ve been tempted to get rid of most stuff I owned and renew my wardrobe. Instead I just put those unwanted items away and re-discovered them later. Turns out, that feeling of getting bored of something is proportionate to when was the last time I wore it rather than for how long I had it.
- I really don’t need as much as I think I do. I thought I had a real shortage of summer shoes, and it just so happened that this year I was traveling to warm places where I really could have used several new pairs of sandals. Well, turned out I could get by with what I had without much trouble. Sometimes if you’re honest, those ‘old’ shoes really can last at least another season.
- I love handmade. Ok, admittedly I am not a master of thread and needle but luckily for me — my family are. I had some lovely items made for me by my sister Dora, a fashion designer, and a few beautiful sweaters knitted by my lovely mum. One day I might even make something myself… Maybe.
- Hurrah for pre-loved clothes — they’re so guilt free! I realised that getting second-hand clothes still gives you that thrill of having something new in your wardrobe!
I confess I did slip and got myself a couple of new things this year, but you know what — I’m still really proud of myself for lasting so long and making it work. As the end of 2015 is getting near I’m thinking of new challenges: 2016 will be a year of buying ethically. This will take something — it will take the discipline I got this year, weighing up how much I really need something. It will take defining for myself what ethical, or ethical enough, is, and it will take time to research and search for those items. It will take creativity and perhaps even learning some new skills.
So here the quest for good fashion begins for me with style, soul, story.
I’ve been lucky to meet Katrina Swanston and Leanne Wray who share the same passion for good, beautiful, fair style and the enthusiasm to have it be the norm in society. The fashion industry really doesn’t have to be the way it is now. I could go on and on about the evils of it, but I won’t.
My aim is not to complain or trash the apparel industry, but to tell the story of how the world could be — if we treat each other, ourselves and the environment with respect. A world where our choices don’t deprive communities but enrich them, and where the way we look is not only an expression of our taste but also of our values, what we stand for and who we really are.
This is the start of the journey to that world, and I am incredibly excited to be sharing it with you. Will keep you posted!
