The last time I purchased an item of clothing was on 19 November 2019. And now I’m aiming to not buy any clothing, at all, for a full year. Why? Because I’ve run out of space in my home I could do with saving more money for my future and I feel guilty shopping when … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2020
Only buy what makes your heart sing
Only buy what makes your heart sing. 🎶 I bought this dress, bag, shoes and denim jacket for the same reason: I tried them on / picked the items up and thought “this has got to be mine”. I like to listen to that voice, because those items always become my most worn. When it … Continue reading
The trouble with flying
Did you know? Aviation is one of the fastest-growing polluters and currently accounts for about 2% of global emissions. Taking a long-haul flight generates more carbon emissions than the average person in dozens of countries around the world produces in a whole year. (“How your flight emits as much CO2 as many people do in … Continue reading
What’s the true cost?
What’s the true cost? So often I’ve found myself questioning the price tag on a garment. “Yikes that’s pricey, isn’t it? I can get similar cheaper…” But I didn’t question the cost of the artworks at the Royal Academy Summer Show. In fact, I found myself defending the price because of the quality, the craft, the creativity, … Continue reading
Recycling is not the answer
Recycling is not the answer, and all too often it’s treated that way. In the purest sense, everything is recyclable with the right skills, knowhow, access and infrastructure. But whether or not the recycling happens is a totally different story, depending on so many factors. This has me thinking about every single item I own. Yes … Continue reading
Stopping my cycle of clutter and living more sustainably
Spoiler: this whole outfit is secondhand. Since 2000 we’ve doubled clothing production globally. We don’t have double the people, just double the clothes. And while we’ve done this, we’ve reduced how frequently we wear these garments. This equates to more in the rubbish. (source: The Art of Decluttering podcast S1E130 17 November 2019) I’ve been … Continue reading
Why most garments end their lives in landfill
At the moment, the onus is on us as consumers to manage our textile (clothing, bedding, towels…) waste. There’s no accountability with brands, and unlike plastic, glass, paper, aluminium we don’t have curbside collection – because the infrastructure to manage textile recycling doesn’t exist en masse. This means a lot of our garments ends up … Continue reading