UnConsumerism: Why We’re Joining the Movement
As most of you already know, Kristin and I have made a commitment towards changing our lifestyles. It only seems natural with what we’re trying to do. At first, we thought we might be in this on our own, but now we see there’s a movement occurring. A movement towards minimalism. Towards simplicity. Towards a different kind of creativity.
New voices in the fashion industry are joining us in a call to action — a pursuit to get the everyday consumer thinking responsibly and consciously about how and why you spend your money.
The girls over at the $100 Wardrobe Challenge know exactly what they’re doing. Both contributors, Shanna and Sophia, have pared down their wardrobes to a quarter of the original size and are challenging the rest of us to spend a mere 100 dollars or less on clothing and accessories until the end of 2010 (it started back in the summer).
Here are some of the 13 reasons they give for joining them on their crusade against consumption:
- You’ll save money.
- You’ll experience less pressure to conform.
- You’ll be creating more sustainable, environmentally-friendly habits.
- You’ll discover that being frugal doesn’t mean you have to look cheap.
- You’ll focus on the clothes that work for you and be able to give away the clothes that don’t.
- You’ll realize people don’t really notice, or care, that you wore those pants yesterday.
- You’ll regain precious life energy to use for the things in life that really matter to you.
Another pioneer in fashion minimalism is the blog, Six Items or Less, a global experiment examining the power of what we don’t wear. On June 21, 2010, a group of people across the world decided to join together in their own challenge: each participant could choose six items of clothing and pledge to only wear those six items (with a few exceptions like underwear and work uniforms) of clothing for a month. They blogged about their experiences throughout the duration of the challenge.
Another blog, Zen Habits features Simplicity Day every Wednesday, including articles like Edit Your Life, Part 5: Your Wardrobe. The site, Unconsumption is another good one, focusing not only on fashion, but creativity in recycling even the most mundane objects.
With Christmas less than a week away, we’re reflecting on how different this holiday season has been compared to the last. We’ve done as much as we can to cut the ‘stuff’ out of our lives, but this is definitely one of the hardest times of the year to do that.
The focus of the holiday season has changed — kind of like becoming a vegetarian right before Thanksgiving. But without the distractions of ‘stuff,’ the more important parts of the holiday have become a whole lot clearer. {r}
Photo Credit: www.sixitemsorless.com & www.cleverparents.com
Totally agree. I used to buy so many cheap trendy clothing items from stores like Charlotte Russe and Forever 21. While still being into style and fashion, I shop at consignment shops and estate sales. Keep on keeping on ladies.
The other day a friend on facebook showed a pair of boots and her caption was ‘these boots weren’t made for walking.’ You could see that it was true. Unconsumerism in fashion in my opinion means buying what is not only something that is classy and classic but also has a degree of practicality.
Thanks for the support, ladies! Glad to see there are others out there who share the same sentiment :)
:)
I’m not sure about the $100 pledge for 2011! I have, however, just given away 150 pounds of clothing to Goodwill, the local homeless shelter, and to a consignment shop (I know..but I want to pay debt off to travel the world and HELP CHANGE/SAVE IT)
I even got rid of the “yardstick”..the size 4 little black dress which I’m determined to fit into again. :)
As I posted on Twitter…would it be easier to start with bamboo, given that it doesn’t need pesticides? I’m switching over to that when I downsize myself…it’s lighter, dries faster, and is so soft.
Also–I’m sure Robyn Devine, @minimalistrobyn has some fabulous hookups for clothing manufacturing even if it is on the smaller scale of things. She’s a knitter of gorgeous things.
Hmm…I think that’s all. Gotta go ride my bike now. :) Merry Christmas!!
Jeanie, thanks for all the info! We have been looking at bamboo as an option! Sadly, though, it’s not so easy, because it’s a new(er) industry and fair trade standards are pretty iffy with what we’ve found so far (none is made in the USA). But there may be a solution, we’ll have to continue researching! Thanks for the tip(s)!
Congrats on the “yardstick” and good luck with the consignments! Those can really help a girl out : )
Wow, ladies! Thank you for including our $100 Wardrobe Challenge project in this great article. We are in great company–I am truly honored. The Challenge will start up again in January–and we are going to add a month to the original scheme: Can you spend just $100 from Jan. 1 to the end of April 2011?
The project has been fun and enlightening (yes, bad pun, I know…) Lots of $100 WC’ers have found other ways to clear out the detritus from their lives–not just from their wardrobes.
I’ll keep an eye on your site–good stuff here :)
Yours in Sustainable Style,
Shanna
Much love, Shanna!
Since starting this project, I don’t think either of us have bought anything that wasn’t consignment or thrift store, so I think we would ROCK at the January-April challenge. We’ll be part of Project 333 too, so hopefully there’ll be some photos and posts about both challenges.
Thanks for being such inspiration to us, and for using your influence for true good! It’s great to “meet” people who care about this huge, super-important issue that wasn’t getting much attention until things like WC started up.
We’ll be in touch!
my sister and i are going to try blogging about our new year’s resolution…………….not to buy anything made.in.china. i know it’s already march. we are off to a slow start….. in blogland, not in keeping our resolution.
your site is an inspiration and is challenging me to think of more ways i can consume less. i have also wandered over to the other sites you’ve referenced. thank you!!!
i might start the 33 project………… http://www.theproject333.com…...
happy monday!!!
Coley,
I’m excited for you guys to get going on this! Sounds like a really awesome project. And 333 is great too – I’m finishing my first three months at the end of March. Highly recommended! Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with in blogland : )
love it! i own very few new pieces of clothing- i draw the line at underwear ;) and feel that it’s definitely possible (and the unfortunate by-product of rabid consumerism) to wear very lightly worn clothes that are used. stuff that would have been in stores just a mere few months ago. think it’s fantastic that you’re doing this! i’ll be paring down even further soon to move into a tiny RV. cheers to less being more! :)
Lorna, can’t wait to hear how things develop as you move into that tiny RV : ) And cheers to that!