“It’s become more and more of a priority for me to tread as lightly as possible in the world.”
Shalom Harlow
Have you started thinking more about your environmental impact in the last few years? I saw this simple, but chic editorial of Shalom Harlow for US InStyle March 2020 and her quote and started thinking about how my environmental impact has evolved in the last few years.
I certainly used to shop more for myself just a few short years ago. I was a master of stacking discounts at Banana Republic and finding goodies at everywhere from Saks to Ann Taylor. When I opened my closet and bureau, I was happy to peer at my lovely collection, even if I didn’t wear them all. I even remembered hunting down a specific luxury purse for months though I still haven’t worn it to this day. I also have a favorite piece from the Antique Boutique that was faux vintage, but is now actually vintage and I’ve only worn it once.
Things started changing when I moved abroad. Our apartments simply couldn’t fit as much stuff! Our first flat in London was about the size of a bathroom and we laughed thinking that two people were supposed to amicably live there. While we moved to a slightly larger place, we still didn’t really have that much space. So I left a lot of things untouched at my parent’s place in NYC. I bought less because I couldn’t fit at all, but also started paying attention more to cost per wear and durability of pieces. While I didn’t think about sustainability previously, now I surveyed my closet much more critically as I thought about how often I actually wore these pieces. I even worked at a social entrepreneur a few years ago dealing with disaster relief and learned that most donated clothing was simply unsuitable, ill-fitting, or dirty and dumped by relief organizations or its beneficiaries.
Since I’ve started my own family, I have become even more conscious about waste. Luckily, I don’t buy too much and was able to buy or get passed a lot of items. Yet, there was still quite a bit that was left untouched – adorable new onesies and toys that never got the love they deserved. I’ve passed on quite a bit to others and even sold some nicer pieces, but it’s amazing how much stuff one tiny person can generate.
Now I basically shop for my kids twice a year – at Black Friday and June. I’m fortunate that they only have to deal with one season of clothing. But I’m also tapped into this expat network where I’ve been able to obtain a few choice toys and even entire sets of winter sweaters. I’m not jumping at every sale and have unsubscribed from some mailings. I’m also shopping for myself only once or twice a year now. While I still appreciate beautiful styles, I’m willing to pay more to have quality pieces that will last for years. Even though I don’t really shop at fast fashion retailers, I’ve also still kept some pieces from them more than 5 years! I’m also paying attention to those that do produce pieces from sustainable materials. In addition, I’ve been careful about buying and keeping toys for my kids. It’s amazing how they can amuse themselves with the simplest things anyway!
I hope to continue practicing a more environmentally conscious lifestyle and instill that mentality into my kids. I still have to figure out how to travel while minimizing my environmental footprint, but I am looking into more options. In the meantime, we will keep on living and consuming more consciously.
Have a lovely week.
Being environmentally conscious is so important these days and it’s good that you’re passing that along to your kids at a young age. Sometimes having less space can be a blessing in that it encourages us to buy less.
This is such a fun editorial and your post raises a good point too! I think we weren’t too bad with accumulating “stuff” but with kids it’s a whole other level as you get given a lot! We have the first grandkids on both sides of the family so there are a lot of clothes and toys! I’ve definitely slowed my shopping over the years and I’m shopping a lot less.
Hope that you are having a lovely weekend! We are having a quiet one here 🙂
I’ve definitely given myself a good, hard look at my own habits and been trying to change them. I tend to buy a lot of clothing and end of not wearing them. I’ve limited my purchases but still finding I’m not wearing a lot of pieces. I’m also trying to limit my purchase of plastic and straws. This is proving to be difficult but every little bit counts.
Sxx
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