How much stuff does one person actually need? How many pairs of jeans, shirts, shoes, and bags will make us happy? These are the questions I asked myself after cleaning in my closet.
I love clothes and I always get excited about sales, change of seasons, and new trends in fashion. At some point in your life, you just look at the things you bought that you will never use again and ask yourself “What was I thinking?” That being said, I get used to consuming “quantity”: the more the better. I decided to educate myself on this subject, so numerous documentaries, articles, and statistics were learned before I decided to write this post. Here are just some of many facts about fashion I did not know about:
– Fast Fashion Is the Second Dirtiest Industry in the World;
– in the fashion industry, there are 52 micro-seasons per year!!
– Women wear a garment, on average, 7 times before throwing it away.
– Only 10% of the donated clothes get sold, the rest goes to landfill.
I don’t ask you to stop shopping, it’s a part of our life. I changed my attitude towards how much stuff I really need when I saw how much money I wasted by making poor choices. I am working towards personal growth, not the closet growth.
So, I would like to share with you the tips on how to develop healthy habits in the world of fast fashion:
– make smarter choices when you decide to buy something: what is the reason to buy it? Is it necessary?
– invest in quality pieces that would last longer.
– treat clothes like clothes, and focus on treating yourself and people the way they deserve;
– use the money to make memories: spend them on something that won’t end up on the landfill.
– don’t follow trends, be a trend.
Thanks for stopping by,
Gena.
Whenever I go travelling, this is what I wonder about too. I think we can easily live with a lot less clothes. And maybe even be happier, since we’re not wondering what to wear all the time;)
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I stopped buying fast fashion a long time ago. I really prefer to invest in a piece of quality that will last me for years!
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I am so inspired by this! I wish I realized everything you did long time ago, so I would have more quality pieces rather than tons of useless stuff
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You make great points here! I hold onto clothes for an embarrassingly long time haha and when I do get rid of them I always donate.
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That’s a great idea as well! I can’t stand when people just throw the clothes in garbage like there is poverty in the world!
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This is exactly why I think it’s so important to understand where the items that you’re purchasing come from. Thanks for sharing these great tips!
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You speak my languge Whitney! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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I stopped buying fast fashion a long time ago. It’s always so important to understand where the items that you’re purchasing come from. I really prefer to invest in a piece of quality that will last me for years!
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You are way ahead of me! My decision was not that long time ago because of all the research I did, after I discovered the price of labor in other countries, etc.
and all the clothes that turned into waste of money.
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I seldom follow trends. I rather invest in clothes that will never go out of style
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That’s a smart move Karen! Trends like Burberry trench coat, or even anything in animal print is always in style 🙂
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I absolutely hate it when people throw away old clothing. Even stained/old stuff can be recycled and used as household cloths.
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Thank you!!! I am the same way – it just drives me absolutely nuts.
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Admittedly I have a problem with buying clothes. I have clothes that I’ve had since my teens in the 90’s still, so I do hold on to my favorites. But I do have to clean my closet and purge at least once a year. I donate all my used clothes and shoes to a non profit in the city that doesn’t resell the items. Instead they are given to those in need.
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I love how honest and humble you are! One of the reasons I wrote this post is my forever struggle to stop buying clothes (esp on sales). Thank you for making smart choices when it comes to used clothes 🙂
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I never buy clothes at full price, ever. And I’m not into trends. So I take pleasure in collecting clothes that I keep my daughter. Leather jackets, denim, accessories, I absolutely love it.
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That’s such a great strategy!
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I’ve really tried to be more cognizant of my consuming and especially in the world of clothes. I always make sure I donate or sell my old pieces to keep them out of the landfill, but that is a staggering statistic that only 10% actually get sold and the rest go to the landfill! That’s so wild!!! It makes me want to shop second hand more.
xx Victoria
http://www.strungingold.com
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You are speaking my language now girl! It’s shocking how our habits of buying here and there destroy the world without even knowing it!
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I am proud to say that I practice frugality when it comes to fashion items. I only buy clothes that are what I would say, “staple.” Once in a while though, I tend to give in, but they are still timeless items that never go out of style.
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Wow you are such an inpiration Eileen! I am really trying to change the way I think about clothes these days
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Great tips! I have a closet completely full of clothes that I rarely wear. I’m always telling myself to not buy something but then purchase another.
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Thank you Kristina! Well, you are a mom – moms need breaks :))
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Haha. Don’t I know it!
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This would be the best tip ever ., its so true knowing the most important needs and be wise for the price and be practical its better to give and to save for the emergency situation.
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Thank you so much Catherine! I try to make better choices in every aspect of my life, and spread teh word about it, so it may be useful for some people as well!
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I’ve seen so much lately about fast fashion and it does make me feel guilty about the fact that I do buy a lot of clothes. It’s a hard culture to get out of sometimes x
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I agree, it’s hard and challenging. But I believe in you!
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My husband said I have more clothes that anybody she knows. Obviously, he doesn’t see the closets of other women. lol. I promise myself to let go of some and just leave the ones I normally wear.
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hahaha I bet every husband says that
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This is such a nice post and you are really giving some great points with us. But my husband is always thankful that I an the person that I don’t buy things that I don’t need.
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Thanks a lot! That’s so amazing of you 😉
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Absolutely! It’s the same people that tell you about their carbon footprint that are the ones buying new clothes constantly. I have a pair of shoes that are about 15 years old! They are well made and robust. We do a tour of charity shops regularly too – now that’s what I call recycling!
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great advice for keeping the clothes shopping in check… Quality over quantity is always a good rule of thumb ; )
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Thank you Eloise!
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thank you very much for underlining such an issue: I didn’t know about the interesting data you share at the beginning of the post but I’ve always thought that fast – and low low cost – fashion is nothing good for the human rights, environment, market. I generally try to buy stuff thinking about how much and how often I can use it, because I hate having things, even beautiful ones, I won’t be able to use
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I have just recently lost more than 30 pounds. It is hard not to buy new things. 🙂 I am trying to make a lot of my old stuff work still.
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wow you are such a strong woman! Congrats to you on that victory! I think I would break my own rules and treat myself to a couple of new items, you deserved it!
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I’m not big on fashion and we rarely buy clothes. Both my man and I somehow agree on that because he only buys plain white Ts! lol My clothes would be around for 3-4 years before I buy a new one. Some have been around for 10 years and I can still wear them. I have thought about throwing all my old clothes, and buying ones that last longer – probably plain white Ts as well. hahah
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Add: but by “throw away” it always means donating our clothes to the less fortunate.
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You two are a great team! 🙂
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