So... This break was much needed and warmly received! As far as keeping my habit goes, I didn't shop retail (for myself at least.), but I did ask everyone that I knew would give me clothes to buy from Los Angeles Apparel. It's a clothing company based in Los Angeles (duh) that I admire because of their transparency with the production of their clothing and reasonable pricing. I got a pair of pants from them (1) and was delighted to see that they were produced using organic dyes, made of cotton, and enzyme washed! All of that basically means it wasn't produced using any synthetics m e a n i n g the only environmental cost was transportation. Whoo! (I guess?)
Keeping up my habit was a walk in the park, mainly because (as I mentioned in the last post) shopping isn't something I'm doing everyday. It's more like a weekend, if I have the time kinda thing. That, and I have wonderful friends who didn't try and tempt me into falling in the ever so entangling web of retail. But then again I don't think anyone actually cares about where I choose to spend my money.... Anyways! The ease I felt in this project was stemmed in a couple of factors Colin Robertson mentions in his article "6 Factors That Influence Our Behavior" Both "Knowledge and Skills" and "Structural Motivation" were important factors that kept me tied down to my commitment. I knew the negative environmental impact fast fashion had so I didn't really care to fuel its fire. I also planned out days specifically to go thrifting and invited friends with me so I didn't feel like I was 1. Isolated and 2. felt like I was walking into spaces that I wasn't welcomed. It may seem like a reach, but I've never felt like a valued customer when I've shopped at places like Nordstrom by myself and didn't want to assign that experience to a local thrift store.
This behavior was an easy one for me to pick up because it wasn't my first experience with thrifting. I'm used to the weird smells, interesting groups of people, and mysterious stains. Sadly some like my good friend Noah aren't so accustomed to these, understandably, off-putting factors and it can scare them away from thrifting! A simple solution I found is also a factor Robertson mentions in his article. It's called "Social Motivation" Basically, by thrifting with people who are experienced you're able to navigate uncomfortable places, comfortably! When I took Noah on my first thrifting journey I even got him to consider picking some things up which is like a super big deal for him.
If I were to market thrifting, try and make it something anyone could see themselves doing, I'd take up the technique of "Simplifying" as mentioned in Christene Arena's "6 Ways To Make Brand Sustainability Resonate With Consumers" I'd make the consequences of fast fashion simple to consumers. "Guaranteed Mass Pollution" Is a pretty clear way to condense all of the downsides to shopping retail. By making the consequences so comprehensible it'd give consumers a direct effect to put to their habits. People don't smoke cigarettes because it's commonly known that they give you lung cancer, so if people know that the fabric used to make their jeans from urban caused billions of plastic beads to pollute our oceans maybe they'd take up a new brand.
I think going full thrift mode for 50 days really allowed me to focus in on my ethics and live a lifestyle that reflects that. Because of this I'm planning on saving up my money so that instead of wasting it on cheaply produced clothing that comes from the hands of an individual getting little to no pay, I'll just spend it on clothing from companies like Los Angelos Apparel. The other part of my shopping will be done at thrift and consignment stores.
References:
1- Relaxed Pant in Mustard ($68). Can be found here!
Keeping up my habit was a walk in the park, mainly because (as I mentioned in the last post) shopping isn't something I'm doing everyday. It's more like a weekend, if I have the time kinda thing. That, and I have wonderful friends who didn't try and tempt me into falling in the ever so entangling web of retail. But then again I don't think anyone actually cares about where I choose to spend my money.... Anyways! The ease I felt in this project was stemmed in a couple of factors Colin Robertson mentions in his article "6 Factors That Influence Our Behavior" Both "Knowledge and Skills" and "Structural Motivation" were important factors that kept me tied down to my commitment. I knew the negative environmental impact fast fashion had so I didn't really care to fuel its fire. I also planned out days specifically to go thrifting and invited friends with me so I didn't feel like I was 1. Isolated and 2. felt like I was walking into spaces that I wasn't welcomed. It may seem like a reach, but I've never felt like a valued customer when I've shopped at places like Nordstrom by myself and didn't want to assign that experience to a local thrift store.
This behavior was an easy one for me to pick up because it wasn't my first experience with thrifting. I'm used to the weird smells, interesting groups of people, and mysterious stains. Sadly some like my good friend Noah aren't so accustomed to these, understandably, off-putting factors and it can scare them away from thrifting! A simple solution I found is also a factor Robertson mentions in his article. It's called "Social Motivation" Basically, by thrifting with people who are experienced you're able to navigate uncomfortable places, comfortably! When I took Noah on my first thrifting journey I even got him to consider picking some things up which is like a super big deal for him.
If I were to market thrifting, try and make it something anyone could see themselves doing, I'd take up the technique of "Simplifying" as mentioned in Christene Arena's "6 Ways To Make Brand Sustainability Resonate With Consumers" I'd make the consequences of fast fashion simple to consumers. "Guaranteed Mass Pollution" Is a pretty clear way to condense all of the downsides to shopping retail. By making the consequences so comprehensible it'd give consumers a direct effect to put to their habits. People don't smoke cigarettes because it's commonly known that they give you lung cancer, so if people know that the fabric used to make their jeans from urban caused billions of plastic beads to pollute our oceans maybe they'd take up a new brand.
I think going full thrift mode for 50 days really allowed me to focus in on my ethics and live a lifestyle that reflects that. Because of this I'm planning on saving up my money so that instead of wasting it on cheaply produced clothing that comes from the hands of an individual getting little to no pay, I'll just spend it on clothing from companies like Los Angelos Apparel. The other part of my shopping will be done at thrift and consignment stores.
References:
1- Relaxed Pant in Mustard ($68). Can be found here!
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| Here are my really cute, hot, and ethically produced ;) pants! |
like how you're extending to others as well to keep up with your habit. do you think you could also turn that into convincing other people to start thrifting their clothes too for the same reasons you do?
ReplyDeleteThere are many sustainable brands, but I find that they tend to be more expensive. Such as Reformation and Redone. Thrifting is an option that I prefer because it is cheaper and sustainable.
ReplyDelete