There is nothing much I like about shopping. In fact, I consider it with dread when I have to do it, particularly when it comes to clothing.
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There are lots of things I dread about the experience including the amount of choice available, finding something that you actually like, thinking about the amount of clothing that ends up in landfill annually and most alarmingly, the exploitation of workers in sweatshops paid a pittance to make clothes each season.
These sweatshops are not exclusive to third world countries either they exist in Australia too.
More recently my list of ‘dread’ has been added to with research revealing that microfibers from our synthetic clothing are ending up in our waterways and oceans through the washing process and causing a great deal of environmental damage. What were we thinking?
Australians are early adopters of new fads and fashion is high on this list.
Each year the new fashion trend emerges and sweatshops pump out cheap synthetic pieces that are shipped to our shops.
We consume the new fashion at an alarming rate, wear it for one season and then the next year begins with its new fashion statement.
This results in 6000kg of fashion waste being generated every 10 minutes in Australia alone. Honestly, if women felt good about themselves, economies would crumble.
I’m certainly not against looking good but I’m a big believer that you can do it simply, with making do with some quality pieces that last for seasons.
Look, I’m definitely not the person you’d come to for fashion advice but I have learned that there are some practices that we can adopt to help reduce our environmental impact and save a few dollars along the way. Sustainable shopping is doable and for lots of wonderful reasons.
You buy quality natural fibres instead of quantity synthetic, you support a business that treats its workers fairly and with dignity, saving money in the process.
Here are some tips:
- Ethical fashion: You have a choice about the type of company you will support with your hard earned dollars and there are sites available to help you understand a company’s environmental and social qualities. Sites include guide.ethical.org.au and theartofsimple.net. Making the choice to support a company that does the right thing by the environment and its workers is a great start.
- Second-hand: Shopping for pre-loved clothing can be extremely rewarding, particularly if you generally pay on average $100 for something new, you can get last season’s items for an average of $5. Even my son has cottoned on (no pun intended) to the idea that op shopping is the way to go because you get a lot of designer t-shirts for $10. Buying second-hand helps but still, only about 15 per cent of donated clothing is purchased so eventually the rest will end up in landfill.
- Make do: I find having a wardrobe full of black clothing really helps me to ‘make do’. You can easily make an outfit look different by accessorising with scarves and costume jewellery.
- Make your own: This is not my thing and I probably won’t ever go down this track but I know plenty of talented folk who do make their own. My grandmother was a great seamstress and just recently I was lamenting with a friend that we are losing the art of sewing. I have lovely memories of my grandmother teaching me to hand sew. To this day I use this ancient art form to take up hems and mend clothing, which is very satisfying.
I know retail therapy is encouraged to the point that we can’t imagine not doing it.
But next time the urge comes on, consider re-thinking your clothes shopping approach and perhaps spend that precious free time feeling satisfied that we are ‘enough’.
Michelle Stephenson is a consultant specialising in sustainability with BE Designs. Visit her blog at www.bedesigns.com.au/blog
