brave

Call me crazy if you want for what I am about to say.  I think it's kind of crazy myself.  Six months ago if you had told me to attempt this, I would've called you crazy.  I would have said "never".  I would have shrieked "that's impossible"....... but I'm going to be brave and step out there and give it a try.  I am going to attempt to buy no new clothing in the year 2013.  I've been hesitant to put this in writing, because it's more REAL then and people know about it and will know if I fail.  If you know me, you know that I like fashion and shopping a little too much, so this really will be a challenge for me.  I feel like it's a challenge worth attempting though.

 

So, here are my guidelines:

no articles of clothing purchased new from a store

accessories (as long at they are fair trade) are still OK for purchase....they kind of have to be since I work with Noonday

clothing from thrift stores is fine

clothing swapped with friends is fine

 

 

Reasons why I think this is a bad idea:

1.I don't even know if I'll last a month---it just seems so difficult, which is probably all the more reason why I should do it.  Shopping and clothing shouldn't hold that high of a position in my heart/life

2. My two favorite pairs of skinny jeans and a pair of pants I wear to work all the time are wearing very thin and on the verge of holes in some places.

3.  There will be some awesome must-have trend this spring that I won't be able to have.

4.  I just recently found out about some really cool fair trade clothing companies, and I've been eyeing a few items on their websites.

 

 

Reasons why I think this is a good idea:

1.  Let's just be real..... we Americans have WAY too many clothes, especially this girl!

2.  I want to change the way I think about shopping, so I think some time away for a while will be healthy.

3.  I'll save money

4.  My creative side will be stretched.  I plan to make more clothes myself and refashion treasures I find at thrift stores.

 

 

So here're a little background on why I'm attempting this.  My view of clothing and the garment industry has changed a whole lot already over the past few months.  I feel like it has brought me to place where I am now ready for this challenge.  When I look into my closet I see way too many articles of clothing.  I used to buy a few articles of clothing a month.  Let's say I buy 4-5 articles of clothing a month.  Over the period of one year, that's 48-60 new articles of clothing.  Really?!  Do I really need 60 new articles of clothing a year?  No wonder my closet is overflowing.  Let's not even go into how much money that is.  Now. Let's talk about the quality of clothing these days.  For most people to buy something these are the two questions they ask themselves:  "Is it cute?" and "Is it cheap/affordable?"  Seriously?  Is that all we care about?  Sadly most times the answer is yes.  Do we ever even look at the quality of the garment?  We don't look at the material.  We don't look at how well it was put together.  We don't care about the seams or the hems.  We don't care where it was made or if the person who made it was paid fairly.  And, while we're on that topic....do we honestly think that when we score a tank top for $5 or that pretty costume jewelry bracelet for $3 that the person who made that was paid fairly?  Think about it.  That just doesn't add up.  Moving on to textile waste.  I get rid of a good amont of clothing each year, and I'm sure most of you do too.  We have to to make more room for the new clothing we're buying this season, right?  Last years tops just aren't in style anymore.  Think about all the people all over the US getting rid of their unwanted clothing.  That's a lot of clothing.  Did you know that textile waste accounts for some of the largest waste yearly in the US?  We have started to treat clothing like it's disposable.  We're not as interested in quality anymore.  We may buy a piece of clothing knowing that we'll wear it a few times this season and then give it away.  The thing is....where is all this unwanted clothing going to go?  While it would be nice to think that some needy person somewhere is going to benefit from my clothing cast-offs, the reality is that there are just too many articles of unwanted clothing.  The majority of clothing items donated to places like the Salvation Army and Goodwill are never purchased by someone and never worn again.  Once they leave these donation sites/thrift stores some textiles can be recycled or repurposed and others are just plain thrown out.  If we keep going at this rate, where are we going to put all this textile waste?

 

 

Lastly, I want to say that I do not post this at all to brag or to say "Look at me.  I'm so great.  I'm not buying any clothes for a year."  That is not at all what this is about.  I post this for two reasons:  accountability and encouragement.  Now that I've put myself out there, I can't go back on my word.  Now that you know, you can hold me accountable.  Make sure I stick to my challenge.  I also hope that some of you might be encouraged to try it yourself.  I write this to hopefully inspire others to change the way they look at shopping.  I never would have thought of doing this myself if Caitlin over at Greater Than Rubies had not shared about her challenge last year and inspired me to give it a try.

 

 

So...here goes.  It may end up a complete failure, but I'm going to be brave and give it a try.