Something Has to Change: My Fashion Commitment for 2021
The topic that has occupied the majority of space in my brain in 2020 - other than pandemics and the innumerable things that have sucked about that - were the buzz words “sustainable fashion” along with my own personal impact on the planet. I recently took a quiz on the Thredup website, an affordable second hand resale destination, that calculated my personal carbon impact considering my shopping, disposal, and laundry habits. I couldn’t tell you how they calculate this, but considering the complexity and research done for their 2019 Resale Report (their version of sustainability reporting), I trust their expertise on fashion environmental impacts. You are all obviously itching to know my results. Well, apparently I average the equivalent of 192 Lbs of CO2/year, compared to an upsetting average of 1620 Lbs/year. Did I exaggerate my answers to avoid guilt while taking this test? In all honesty, I overestimated my bad deeds in almost every question so I would be left with further inspiration to make the exact commitment I’m here to tell you about today. As the wonderful Emma Watson once said, “as consumers we have so much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy”. It’s a simple concept that can have exponential positive impact on our planet so long as we as consumers understand our power, and wield it meaningfully.
So here is my news. For the whole of 2021, I pledge to only buy clothing, accessories and shoes second-hand. Thrift stores, resale websites, and my own employer, Most Wanted Resale, will be my shopping destinations for this year. There truly is no better time to commit to ethical shopping practices, especially shopping resale, considering the resale market is currently growing 21 times faster than the retail market, including fast fashion. I purchase a conservative estimate of 40% of my clothes second-hand already, leaving me thinking this year is going to be easier than it may seem. The only items I will allow myself to buy new are socks and underwear, though I do hope to be scoring some vintage lingerie finds over the next 12 months.
I truly believe this commitment, this pact with myself and with you, is a minuscule sacrifice I can make for the good of our planet. However, there are other considerations that are perched at the top of my mind. I have conflicting feelings about supporting brands who employ garment factory workers domestically and abroad, since the payment and treatment of those workers is more often than not, inhumane (for more information check out Remake). If those companies were to fail, those people would lose their jobs, income, and livelihoods. Committing to shopping only second hand isn’t the simplest of ideas when you consider your greater consumption impact. Though I appreciate the fact that Aritzia or Reformation won’t notice a seismic shift in their sales purely from me quitting buying new clothes. But if everyone were to follow suit, and only shop second-hand, the human welfare impacts could be exponential despite the positive environmental arguments. I’m writing all of this now knowing perfectly well that I don’t have the answer or solution to the problem I’m discussing. I suppose the easiest response would be to say that balance is key. People will always want to shop new at least in some capacity. With a strong shift to buying a portion of one’s clothes second-hand, and the other portion coming from brands who produce with a sustainable supply-chain - including ethical treatment of garment factory workers and ingraining recyclability and longevity into their design process - we as consumers could foster real environmental change.
Inspirational speech aside, I’m thoroughly excited to embark on this fashion journey in 2021. Not only does buying second-hand help reduce waste, emissions, and water usage, it also inherently forces you to look at clothes differently, and in my opinion, more creatively. Shopping becomes a mission rather than a past time. The style possibilities are endlessly twisting and turning amongst time periods and trends. Each piece you welcome into your wardrobe has a backstory, whether you’re aware of it or not.
As you can expect, this commitment will spur on content piled on content for me to share with you. Get ready for clothing care advice, the showcasing of new pieces, perhaps attempting to mend clothes lil Marty has chewed holes in, and a slew of other topics all under the umbrella of making our wardrobes friendlier to the planet.
So here’s the thing. I don’t want to do this ALONE. I want YOU to take your own pledge to shop more consciously this year too. Try shopping second hand for a month, buying local once a month, or committing to researching a brand’s impact before you buy. There are endless ways you can make positive change. These are the changes we need to make, and are completely capable of making this year. Share your pledge on Instagram using the hashtag #emeroopledge2021 so we can all follow along and support each-other!
Thanks for reading, and good luck!
Em
