Making the Internet My Accountability Partner

Featured Photo by Supreme Vintage on Unsplash

I engage with a lot of content online surrounding sustainability, mindful consumerism, and financial mindsets. A couple of weeks ago, a YouTuber named Gittemary Johansen introduced me to the idea of (and issues with) thrift shopping with a fast-fashion mindset. Most of the content I engage with talks about how thrift or secondhand shopping is better for the environment, better for human rights, better for your wallet, etc. But she raised that these statements were only true to a point.

The primary concern regards the way that we treat our role in fashion. For many of us, we have heard that when we shop we vote with our dollars in terms of whether we are supporting a company’s practices. We can feel that by shopping from clothes that already exist we aren’t supporting the production end of the fast fashion equation. However, this step does not actually address the root of the demand for fast fashion.

The backing philosophy of fast fashion views fashion as disposable. This implies not just that we are going to discard the item, but that we are going to do so relatively frequently. This mindset doesn’t automatically disappear from ourselves because we are shopping second hand. I have found myself thinking that it’s ok if a piece of clothing is only in my closet for a few months because I’m going to donate it back and continue the cycle of reuse. However, this constant demand for clothes that are new to me creates a demand for a large quantity of clothes that are created somewhere by someone and prioritizes quantity over quality, because to me it doesn’t matter how the clothes last over time if I only own it temporarily.

By not impacting the actual demand we are significantly minimizing the good effects of shopping at thrift stores. On the financial end, you are spending less money on clothes at a time, but are still dedicating a revolving portion of your money to clothes again and again. We are also contributing socially to the idea that people shouldn’t be reusing items season after season, year after year, and putting subliminal pressure on those around us to constantly reinvent their wardrobe.

No matter how we shop the emphasis should be on using and appreciating what we already have and as needed acquiring pieces that are going to be in our closets for years. This requires a lot of us in terms of our time and skill in repair and maintenance, but more importantly, it requires internal work that allows us to let go of the need to have our clothes look exactly as they do on the model. Our clothes are capable of looking good for years, but they will not look brand new for more than one or two wears. When we can learn to value the change clothes undergo as we use them we can get off the ever-spinning merry-go-round of fashion.