Fashion consumption: How I changed my mind

After years of travelling abroad and spending money on fast fashion clothing I started changing my mind and questioned myself of my fashion consumption. It’s not easy to change consumer habits but with the right information and consciousness everything is possible. In this post I’m going to tell you what’s going on in my head and which is my plan to be a more responsible fashion lover.

When I started changing my mind and how?

Everything started last year. The 2020 was a year full of questions for me and I rethought every aspect of my life. One of those things was my fashion consumption and how I wanted to live it. I already knew a bit about these industry’s environmental impacts but actually not at all.

Due to these thoughts last year when I was studying journalism I decided to do a radio show and talk about slow fashion (the rebuke of fast fashion) and different alternatives to mitigate the enviromental impacts. In that moment I noticed that I needed to do something. It was not enough just telling people how damaging the fashion industry is. I actually realized that the way I used to consume clothes was not right.

What you need to know about fast fashion

Fast fashion is the mass-production of cheap and disposable clothing. The garment production uses trends replication and low-quality materials in order to bring affordable and trendy styles to the public. I am going to do different posts and talk in detail about this topic but now I need you to know five things about fast fashion:

1. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world after the oil industry.
2. The equivalent of 1 garbage truck of textiles is wasted every second.
3. The apparel industry emits 10% of the global carbon emissions. That’s more emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined.
4. Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of plastic microfibers into the ocean each year. This is the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.
5. 10,000 litres of water are needed to manufacture a single pair of jeans.

Let me know about your thoughts after reading these points… And believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

My plan to change my fashion consumption

When I decided to start changing my fashion consumption I didn’t know where to start. But after reading information and looking for other alternatives I could see that this is a process. A process which you don’t have to be hard on yourself in order to “only have sustainable garments” or “only shop vintage clothing”. I think that the absolute doesn’t exist and the most important thing is to start doing little changes. So I will share with you my plan to be a more conscious and responsible fashion buyer:

• Invest in timeless clothes.
• Look for quality instead of quantity.
• Buy vintage clothes and sustainable brands (these are the ones that recycle garments, for example, or produce clothes with eco-friendly fibers like the ones made with waste material or low environmental impact, for example).
• Read the labels of the pieces I want to buy (this is very important because you can see the material that the garment was made of).
• Stop buying at Zara (my weakness).
• Sell or donate the garments I don’t use anymore.
• Follow my own style.

Sustainable wardrobe and personal style

If you can start doing these seven points, you will have a sustainable wardrobe. What does it mean? That your clothes will last longer because they have a better quality and they follow your style. This point is very important: find and follow your personal style. At first it might not be easy but let me tell you how I discovered mine: last year I saw the autum/winter season trends and I fell in love with some of them. First, the combination of the pleated pants with blazers in neutral colors and with a minimalist touch. Then the white shirts, blouses and leather boots. Also the mix of neutral colors with brown blew my mind.

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So I encourage you to take a look at the trends, for example, or create a Pinterest board with inspirational looks. I have lot of boards in my Pinterest account full of looks with diferrent style, click here to see. Then try on the things that call your attention: this could be an especific color, a shirt with balloon sleeves, a type of pants that you have never used. And if you like and feel comfortable with what you are wearing… that’s all!

I also started selling the garments I don’t use and the ones that aren’t my style anymore. And let me tell you that it feels pretty good to say goodbye to the clothes that you don’t wear and give them another chance.

Conclusion

This change from fast fashion to slow fashion consumption is a process and it takes time. But the most important thing right now is to start these little changes, never stop looking for new sustainable brands or vintage shops and cleanup our wardrobe so we know what we want to have and what we have to say goodbye.

I hope I could transmit my thoughts with you. Tell me what you think about all this.

We’ll keep speaking about slow fashion, timeless clothes and sustainable wardrobe. We’ll keep speaking about fashion.