How to Quit Fast Fashion
Let’s face it: Shopping is fun. Shopping makes us feel good.
New clothes can make you feel like a million dollars, even if you only spent a few pennies to transform your wardrobe for the new season.
Unfortunately, while new clothes to wear can make us feel great, what’s less glamorous is the global fashion industry’s impact on the world around us. It’s no secret that the fast fashion industry is changing the planet, and not for the better!
So, if you want to change your habits and quit your addiction to fast fashion once and for all, here’s a handy guide to get you started. It’s time to embrace slow fashion!
What is Fast Fashion?
Fast fashion refers to the current state of the fashion industry as it has evolved over the last two decades – emphasis on cheap, trendy clothes with ever changing styles that puts pressure on consumers to keep buying new.
Gone are the days of shopping once a year, or when we outgrow what we have. Clothing production around the world has doubled in the last fifteen years, but on average people are wearing the clothes they buy less and discarding them much more often.
This kind of shopping has a negative impact on both the individual (by hurting your wallet!) and on humankind as a collective as our environment bears the brunt and suffers the damage.
How to Quit Fast Fashion
Turning the tide on our current approach to fashion will take years of collective change and effort. The damage being done to the environment through harmful manufacturing processes and poor working conditions won’t be solved by one person alone, so what can we do to contribute to the change?
Well, it’s important for each of us to think carefully at how we buy the clothes we wear, how often we wear them, and whether we could change our habits for the better.
Doing simple things like buying recycled handmade products is a solid foundation, but there are lots of other things we can do too.
Learn the Labels
Shopping in a more environmentally friendly way becomes much easier when you can decipher clothing labels.
Look for markers of materials such as organic cotton, linen, and even paper – as these are the most environmentally friendly, sustainable materials currently used in clothing garments.
Organic cotton in particular is an important material to look out for. While words like “sustainable” and environmentally friendly can be thrown around without much meaning behind them, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) was founded to make sure that any claim of ‘organic cotton’ is fully legitimate.
Educating yourself and knowing what to look out for can take time and patience, so don’t be hard on yourself if don’t know everything to begin with. Take the time to learn – as they say, knowledge is power.
Purchase Upcycled Products
Upcycling has been a growing trend for many years now, and it’s the process of taking old, unwanted junk and turning it into something beautiful without the need for new materials that can have a harmful impact on the world around us.
Our collection of handmade jewelry and accessories are all made from paper – whether it’s vintage magazines or the pages of old dictionaries. At Junkohol we’re constantly on the lookout for ‘junk’ to transform. After all, as the saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure!
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Buy Less, Buy Better
When it comes to clothes shopping, a personal goal could be to take a quality over quantity approach. That means investing in a few key pieces that will be staples in your wardrobe, rather than filling your closet with items you might only wear once or twice a year.
The pressure from big fashion brands can be overwhelming when you’re bombarded with the latest deals and hottest trends on the high street. To combat this, we suggest unsubscribing from their mailing lists, and curating your social media feeds so that you follow bloggers and brands that focus on sustainable fashion and recycled products!
Share Clothes with Friends and Family
Do you have a friend who always looks fabulous? A family member whose style you are envious of?
Instead of going out to buy new things to emulate their style, there’s a much easier way you can get your hands on their clothes – swap and share! Consider talking with them and setting up a plan where you can swap and share clothes you no longer like, wear, or feel comfortable in. Not only does this help you to get rid of the clutter in your wardrobe, it also means you’ll get to try out new styles without spending a single dollar.
You could even host your own ‘Clothes Swap Party’ a growing trend where guests bring unwanted clothes, and others can get first pick of the pieces they like – it’s a great way to get new clothes without breaking the bank, and a perfect excuse for a get-together!
Shop for Handmade Gifts and Accessories
Harmful manufacturing techniques is one of the biggest issues when it comes to the fast fashion industry. Whether it’s damaging dyeing practices or large-scale warehouses pumping out fossil fuels, the way clothes are made can be deeply harmful for the environment.
That’s why we believe you should always look for handmade alternatives. Handmade clothes and accessories are far less likely to rely on manufacturing processes that cause harm to the environment through chemicals and pesticides. For example, all of our collection [insert link] are handmade using sustainable practices and processes.
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Not only this, but by buying handmade gifts you’re supporting independent sellers to grow and flourish.
A New Approach to Fashion
Changing your wardrobe can take time, and it starts with changing your mindset which can take even longer! Buying things like handmade recycled gifts and accessories is a great place to start, and by building on that solid foundation you’ll find a whole new approach to shopping for clothes.