Happy
New Year!!
I
mentioned in my last blog post that I've found the challenge to stop
buying fast fashion much easier than I expected. I thought I'd write
a little more about that and share with you an additional challenge
I've decided to take on...more about that later!
To
recap - I decided last September to stop buying fast fashion for a year and instead only buy second hand or vintage clothes. I had lots
of reasons to ditch fast fashion. If anyone doubted the human cost of
fashion, the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013 was a
horrific reminder. I remember looking at photos of the protests that
followed after the collapse and seeing a picture of women holding
placards that read “No one should die for fashion”.
I
remember just feeling so sad that these women needed to spell that
out. It's shocking to me that we as consumers are willing to support
companies that force people to work in such dangerous conditions.
Maybe giving up fast fashion altogether isn't for everyone, but I
encourage any readers to lobby their favourite brands to do better to
protect their workers. The Clean Clothes Campaign does a lot of great
work in this area. Check them out: http://www.cleanclothes.org/
Another
reason I felt the need to step away from fast fashion was due to the
environmental impact. I think many of us are unaware of how harmful
our passion for fashion is
for the world around
us.
From the highly pollutive process of textile production to the
endless amount of garments filling up our landfills (in
the UK almost 10,000 garments were dumped into landfill every
five minutes) the reality is that fast fashion is not good for our
planet.
With
these issues in mind, I decided it was time for a fast fashion detox.
It wasn't so easy at first; I had concerns that I had bitten off more
than I could chew, but within weeks of taking on this challenge I
realised it wasn't such a big deal after all. Below I've shared some
of my key learnings and tips so far.
Take
stock of what you already own:
Soon
after taking on this challenge I moved in with my boyfriend. There's
nothing like packing up and moving to a new (shared!) space to make
you realise how much you own. I recommend emptying out all your
drawers and wardrobe and sorting through what you have already. As
you re-fill hopefully you'll be pleasantly reminded of some items you
haven't worn for a while. A re-discovery is almost as good as a new
purchase! If you find anything you don't love anymore, I know Oxfam would be glad to have it.
Take
a breaking from watching haul videos:
This
one might not be applicable to all but it worked for me. I love
YouTube. From exercise tips to make up tutorials, it's a great
source of entertainment and information. I'm a big fan of fashion and beauty bloggers. Rather
than relying on traditional advertising, I much prefer hearing what
an actual person thinks of a product before I go out and buy it too.
Of course what I didn't want to admit to myself was that this is
advertising too. Whether a post is sponsored or not, watching someone
share their latest finds from H&M or topshop often encouraged me
to go out and have a look for myself - not any more!
Give
your local charity or vintage shops a chance:
Although
I'd frequented charity and vintage shops before taking on this
challenge, because I wasn’t restricted to them if I didn't find
something I liked I'd often head to the nearest high street shop
instead for a quick fashion fix. I'll admit it; vintage shops aren't
as convenient as regular stores. You don't always see something you
like and even if you do it might not be in your size. But convenience
isn't all it's cracked up to be. How often have you bought something
'just because' and never worn it or forgot you even bought it in the
first place? Vintage shopping requires a little more effort and
patience but when you find something you love it's a real treat.
At the four months marker of this challenge, I'm glad to report that going on a
fast fashion detox is easier than it might seem. So easy in fact that
I've decided to take up an additional challenge - #Veganuary.
Veganuary
aims to reduce the suffering of animals by inspiring and supporting
people across the globe to go vegan for the month of January (www.veganuary.com)
I've
been a vegetarian for the past 10 years but surprisingly find the
idea of going vegan for a full month a little daunting. I'll report
back at the end of the month to let you know how it goes!
Mary xx
