Amid a global sustainability crisis, there is nothing more important than making New Year’s resolutions count whether it be sustainable eating, living or more specifically by resolving our clothing lifestyles. A new year is a transformative period for people to not only reinvent themselves but reinvent their way of living. The phrase ‘new year, new me’ is self-motivational as it feels like a fresh slate to reinvent and improve anything that you haven’t managed to do in the year before. It's the perfect excuse to start afresh. When there is a bettering of the self, there is one for all communities especially in the clothes industry. Fast fashion is a huge carbon emitter estimated to contribute 10 percent of global emissions and around 2.1 billion tonnes each year. Our consumerisation of fashion has led to this huge emission and if we carry on doing so every year the emissions will get larger and more dangerous for climate change. It is obvious we need to change our fashion lifestyle for the better, so I am here to suggest how during 2023 we can push for a reduction in these emissions, even if it just reaches the Edinburgh community - we all know the phrase “every little helps”.
Reworking
Fast fashion is problematic for the obvious reason that people tend to buy it for single use for example an event and then throw it away into clothes bins as it is so affordable. When buying we don’t tend to think about the environmental effects, especially for us students on a budget. Thinking about this, a potential resolution is to strive for ‘slower fashion’ so essentially the opposite. That doesn’t necessarily mean never buying from the more affordable shops as if I were to suggest this it would be hypocritical, but if you do at least reuse and recycle your clothes somehow. If you feel like you cannot wear something again you could add patchwork from it to another clothing piece or totally rework it into something new. Fashion is expressive and I’m sure there are many ways to turn something old into something fresh and new (see photos below for inspo).
In-person shopping
It can sometimes feel like a chore to walk to the shops and buy something specific when it is so readily available today at the click of a button. Even though this temptation is present, by trying to choose the in-person shopping option we can reduce the potential surplus plane journeys and lorry drives through the neighbourhoods to doorsteps. Although technically this does already occur in the first place to ship the clothes around the UK to stores, not buying online reduces any unnecessary extra journeys when the item is likely in your local store. The traffic emissions are fatal to the environment without even thinking about how many more journeys will be made with online returns. If everyone reduced online shopping this new year, even by just a bit, there would be less traffic pollution, reducing a huge contributor to the problem of fast fashion.
Clothes Swaps
This is something I am sure a lot of us students already do as we don’t want to constantly buy new clothes. Swapping clothes that you like from a friend’s wardrobe in return for clothes they like from your wardrobe is a fun and social way of getting more wear out of clothes that you could try this new year. This could become an organised thing with lots of different friends, revamping your wardrobe without spending money or contributing to the fast fashion cycle. Hopefully we can organise a Fashion Soc clothes swap so look out!
Don’t be afraid to store things away
Styles and signature pieces constantly go in and out of trend as society evolves. We have recently seen this with UGG boot. I remember Uggs were trendy when I was about 8 and then we didn’t see them again until now with the mini Uggs. People have been cutting the top off of their old Uggs to make mini Uggs. This is just one example and I’m certain lots of other things we used to wear will most likely come in again soon, so maybe think twice this new year about getting rid of old signature pieces for the sake of your wardrobe versatility and the environment.
Research
Brands are deceiving. Some are very sustainable, but some are the furthest thing from that meaning it is hard to know the truth. So, this new year maybe try and delve a bit deeper into the sustainability of your favourite brands to see if you need to drop them or shop them. For example, I was a big fan of Bershka so I did some research. I didn’t think they were the most sustainable but believed they were one of the better high street brands in terms of their sustainability aims. After some research I found they were employing some eco-friendly materials into their clothes and has set targets to reduce carbon emissions. On the surface this seemed good however when I looked further I found that there is no evidence they are trying to reach these targets and its rating on the site ‘Good On You’ states it is ‘not good enough’. It is good to be aware of what companies are doing so you can judge how much you buy from various stores.
I hope this new year is great for you all and maybe now filled with some fast fashion awareness and some potential new sustainable resolutions. Feel free to DM us some of your resolutions as we would love to know.
Juliet Godley
Love this ! <3