My Year Without New Clothes
Published 31 January 2023
My year without new clothes
By Susie Robertson, Community Manager, Sustainability Trust
My favourite jacket - used constantly
2022 began as years do in the pākeha calendar in January. I learnt two new figures that changed my perspective on clothing.
Those two facts were:
1. As an individual, one of the steps I could take in order to reduce my carbon footprint is limit my purchase of new clothing to 3 per year. Take the Jump
2. The second fact was that there is currently enough manufactured clothing on the planet to clothe the next six generations. Fast Fashion
So I decided not to purchase any new clothing in January, which rolled into February and now here we are in December, and I have still not bought a single item of new clothing.
Was it hard? – I’m just going to say it: “not at all”. Maybe it was easier for me. I was already a big op-shopper and I am definitely not what you would call a fashionista. In fact, one of my teammates recently made reference to the fact that I pretty much wear the same pair of jeans to work every day.
It’s amazing what you’ll find in an op shop!
Why I have so many clothes in my closet is a mystery! One of the first things people ask when I share my story with them, usually with an element of disbelief in their voice, is “not even undies or socks?!”.
I get it, not items you want to buy at an op-shop right?? Wrong – there are often ‘new’ undies, socks and bras with labels still attached in op-shops (however I thought that was cheating), so I didn’t buy any of these items.
I realised that my two top drawers were both full of these items and that I was just rotating my faves, washing them every other day and wearing them again.
So when I wore them out - beyond repair - I just started using one of the other 15 pairs I had and resisted the urge to buy more.
My top tips for not buying new:
Instead of hitting the mall, hit the strips of op-shops. People often said to me, that they couldn’t find what they were looking for in op-shops. But similarly, when I used to shop in malls, I remember often walking out feeling dejected not having found the thing that I wanted, despite all the options available to me. I do agree it may take a little more time, but that’s a matter of patience, and not needing that thing you really want NOW.
Ask your friends to look out for things for you and vice versa – I have pretty much given up on buying birthday gifts and often randomly surprise my besties with gifts I have found in op-shops that I think are perfect for them. Most recently buying a stunning label coat for a work colleague, that was on sale for $15.00. Secretly I am also terrible at remembering birthdays.
For more upmarket clothes you can hit one of the numerous ‘label’ second-hand stores, which are now abundant in a lot of places, my favourites in Welly being Soup, Honour and Recycle Boutique. Also especially good if you are not tiny (I’m a size 16).
Head to Repair Cafes to get items you love fixed (my fave grey bomber jacket was repaired by lovely vollies at one of our Just Sew events).
Head to clothing swaps, or start one up in your own workplace, or with a group of friends lots of my clothes this year have come from staff.
My best gift of all time from my partner, was when he got my favourite bag repaired for me, so I have now had 3 more years use out of it and it’s still going strong.
The only thing I have really struggled with is sports shoes. I now have three very holey pairs of sports shoes. This is partly because I walk on average 10,000 steps a day with my dog, Pepper, and I have wide feet. The soles of the shoes still have tread but the tops look pretty bad. However I have also realised many people in Aotearoa have no choice but to wear shoes like this, so what makes me think I can’t?
So what does 2023 hold for me on this conscious consumerism journey? I am definitely in need of at least a few new undies, well-fitted bras and definitely a new pair of sports shoes, but I intend to shop for quality that will last. I would say 2023 is going to look a lot like 2022, to be honest. I’m not even that proud of my achievement, because it was just a little bit too easy! Next on my list is going to be using active transport more often. lovetoride
Susie Robertson - Community Manager