7 Tips for Ditching Fast Fashion
So we’re drawing to the close of Second Hand September – the month long challenge where you avoid buying first hand clothing, shoes or accessories – and I’ve loved it! Instead of plunging myself into my overdraft on ASOS, I’ve celebrated the turn from summer to autumn by embracing last years jumpers and treating myself to a few bargains from Depop and eBay!
It’s been challenging at times, but I’m coming through the other end more determined to quit fast fashion. I can’t look at first-hand fashion and not see the exploitation I’d be supporting by buying in.
Here are some tips that have helped me through the month;
1. Unsubscribe from mailing lists
Nothing’s going to test your resolve like an email promoting a 50% off sale. Take some time to go through your inbox and unsubscribe from any mailing lists that tempt you to shop.
2. Remove temptation
If you’re an online shopper like me, you might be best off blocking the sites you tend to shop on. I can spend a lot of time browsing ASOS for fun but end up with a full cart of clothes I don’t need. If instead there’s a shop that you tend to walk past regularly that you just can’t help but pop in, try switching up your route or leaving your card/cash at home.
3. Check out your local charity shops
You never know what cute discoveries are to be uncovered in there! You can find great clothes, accessories and homeware in charity shops. Not only do you get an item with a bit of history, you’re also likely to save yourself a bit of money. All of this whilst supporting a charity and lessening your impact on the planet.
4. Don’t limit your changes to clothes
Be a bit more mindful of other things you purchase. I know that I have more than enough beauty products, so I didn’t buy any more for the whole of September. I’ll also be giving away any barely-used products to family and friends who may enjoy them more. I’ve also taken great care to ensure that I use up the last of every product I have.
5. Get involved with the community
Are you due a clear out? Do you have a lot of items at home that no longer spark joy? Take time this month to put them on Depop, eBay or even sell them at your local car boot whilst the weather’s still nice enough. Keep charity shops as a last resort – any unsold items there can end up in landfill or undermining foreign markets.
Charity shops can’t be the dumping ground for the high street’s dirty little secret – much of what they take back they can’t sell because of the quality and it’s very difficult to recycle the fibres
They are turning it away as they can’t sell it so fabric either goes to Europe or the developing world. It’s disrupting markets in other countries.
Labour MP Mary Creagh, chairwoman of the environmental audit committee via The Telegraph
6. Try Hiring
If you’re invited to an event and want something new but don’t have 10 hours to spend hunting for that perfect charity shop gem, try hiring. Hirestreet offers lets you rent the below £110 dress for just £22! Whilst I love the dress I rented for a fashion event, it didn’t feel quite me. So I’m glad I was able to take a nice photo or two, feel glamorous for a night and then send it back for someone else to enjoy. Much better than letting it sit at the back of my wardrobe!
7. Get passionate
Know what you’re doing this for;
- On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed. 1,138 people died and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history.
- Fast fashion companies design clothes that fall apart quickly. They pursue a strategy called ‘Planned obsolescence’. This means to design garments to become unfashionable, wear out, lose shape or fall to pieces easily to force consumers to keep buying new clothes.
- Approximately 7,000 liters of water are needed to produce one pair of jeans (the amount of water one individual drinks in 5-6 years).
- Designer brands burn unsold clothes to protect their image.
Visit the Green Hub for more harrowing facts on the fashion industry.
Learning all this slowly but surely changed my attitude. Instead of getting a giddy dopamine hit with every purchase, I felt a pang of guilt. Rather than fearing outfit repeating, I now worry about looking like I have too many clothes