Today on the blog I’ve got a very exciting guest post by my close friend/bestie, Leah! I met Leah through work and I’m constantly in awe of how smart and forward-thinking she is – she’s all about sustainability, feminism and standing up for yourself. So, of course, it only felt natural to ask her to write a guest post for me whilst I was away, especially given my recent plans to give up fast fashion! Enjoy!
So, my dudes, I think it’s been pretty highly established by the new trend of ‘self-care’ that looking after yourself is important to finding happiness in your everyday life. And I wouldn’t disagree. I’m a massive lover of self-care.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
And I’m not just talking about self-care here, either. I’m talking about all of it. I’m talking about looking after yourself, unlearning and working through any of your trauma, looking after your relationships, looking after your home, looking after the planet, looking after the animals, looking after your health – the list goes on.
It feels like there are endless ways you could be being the best version of yourself, with absolutely no guidelines on how to get there or handle the amount of ‘work’ you feel you need to put in to make that goal attainable.
I guess my point here is, where do we stop? I feel this way sometimes about social justice issues, my veganism, global warming, sustainable clothing – again – the list goes on. It feels like there’s an endless amount of stuff, you have to be better at. When do you reach that aim? When does it feel like it’s finished?
Breathe.
Honestly. Take a breath. Take a few. Or even take fifteen whole minutes of just breathing if you need to. It’s not unusual to feel like there are too many things happening everywhere in every part of your life that you’re not making a substantial effort to effect.
At work, we’re currently researching fast fashion and the negative impact fast fashion has on the environment due to textile waste. A lot of my clothes come from charity shops. A lot of them, but not all of them. Sometimes it’s because I don’t have access to charity shops, sometimes it’s because it’s easier to go to big chains and sometimes it’s because I genuinely don’t remember the sustainability crisis until I’ve bought the product and spent the last two weeks wearing it.
It’s an issue I want to work on. I want to be more careful about my clothing choices and where they come from and the ways my shopping impacts the planet. But I can’t change the past. And I don’t have the time or energy to sit lamenting in my own guilt about the purchases I’ve made previously. I can learn from it, take a breath and do better next time. The evidence currently stands that less than 1% of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing. This means that what isn’t, is left to fill up our landfills and slowly kill our planet. Here’s how you can make a change.
Research Fast Fashion (And Its Effect on Our Planet)
There’s a load of studies out there that damn fast fashion and the impact it has on the planet. Most of them aren’t fun to read. But it is important. It’s vital that we take better care of the planet we live on. Shops like H&M have even started to give you vouchers if you take in old clothes. You can figure out exactly how you want to make your corner of the world a better place and then you can act on it.
Take Small Steps
Don’t expect yourself to know everything about everything when it comes to sustainability and fast fashion. There’s too much, you’re probably too tired and overwhelmed and it’s not going to happen in one day. Instead, maybe take yourself off for a cute day of charity shopping or see if you can teach yourself to sew up that hole in your jeans before you buy a totally new pair. Don’t eat the elephant in one go – one bite at a time.
Forgive Yourself
You’re not the devil for loving that cute dress on ASOS and snapping it up. Nor are you morally obligated to even give a shit about fast fashion and its damage if you don’t want to. But I would implore you to try. You don’t need to feel awful for weeks on end about the amount of clothes you’ve thrown away that have gone straight into the landfill. Just try to make a small difference for next time.
Have Fun With It!
Fashion is fun! It’s all about your expression of your existence and soul. Fashion doesn’t have to give one single shit about the world around it. If you love that faded slightly-too-small jacket you find in an Oxfam shop for £2.50 then buy it! Fast fashion revolves around trends that die out way too quickly for most of us to keep up with. Sustainable fashion is about taking care of the planet and maybe spending a little more time thinking about the clothes you actually like, as opposed to the ones you think you should.
Make sure to check out Leah’s blog here!
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