Consuming more consciously
HOW I UNCOVERED MY IGNORANCE TOWARDS THE FAST FASHION INDUSTRY
My journey to a more conscious and sustainable living started by taking care of my physical health. It was my first step towards observing my overall habits and their impact on my body, as well as the planet. I started to cut down on a lot of foods that I figured were actually not serving me or the environment. And as time passed, I became obsessed with the idea of living a more eco-friendly life. So there I was trying my best to reduce food waste, cutting out plastic, buying food in bulk, taking shorter showers, and so on. But there was one (big) thing I remained completely oblivious to. It was my relentless consumption of fast and overly affordable fashion. I didn’t give much thought to where my clothes came from. All I focused on was for them to be pretty and decently priced. It wasn’t until I began working with artisans that I started to value what goes on top of our bodies. Simultaneously, I opened a zero-waste grocery shop that allowed me to question and investigate the origin of my food. And that led me to do the same when it comes to my clothes.
THE FAST FASHION INDUSTRY IS THE THIRD MOST POLLUTING IN THE WORLD.
The truth, as we know it, was shocking. Workshops all over the world with women and children working inhumane hours, under terribly unsanitary conditions. Miserable wages and of course little to zero respect for the environment. And yes, I was part of this truth. I realised that the supply chain of the fashion industry was broken and those who make our clothes had become faceless, anonymous people. This shameless approach has and is still taking large numbers of lives, and has a devastating effect on the environment. In fact, fast fashion is currently rated as the third most polluting industry in the world. And so I began to reconsider my fashion choices and to actively look for brands that keep away from such ways of working. I found many small, local clothing brands that take care of their entire production chain, while working with very clear ethical principles.
MOST OF US HAVE OPTIONS AND A CHOICE
Are the price tags higher? Yes they are. But not significantly. At least not anymore. And I would rather have fewer items in my wardrobe, if it means living with a cleaner conscience. And today, I can also see that I really don’t need to own the same style of jeans in 3 similar colours. Most of us have options and a choice. And our choices matter. So we cannot keep closing our eyes to issues that we absolutely know are happening. And we cannot keep hiding behind the saying that one person won’t be able to change the unethical activities of a multi-billion, worldwide industry.
There are a lot of inconsistencies when trying to live a more conscious and sustainable life, I get that. We cannot fix it all right away. We aren’t even aware of a lot of things, I guess. But once we hear and understand that something’s not right, we should not shut down and favour convenience and over-consumption.
What are your thoughts?
Do you feel there are areas in your day to day where you could be taking more responsible decisions? And can you think of small, manageable steps to improve that?
