What is conscious consumption to you?

conscious sandals

To me, it’s an act of awareness. Awareness of our society and planet as well as ourselves. Essentially, being conscious of why we’re buying something and what effect that purchase will have on us and our society.

There’s a lot of talk about conscious collections and sustainable products, often suggesting that we can shop our way to sustainability. It’s of course not that easy, and conscious consumption therefore needs more layers. But what are these layers? Maybe it’s about buying something pre-loved, or something handmade by someone locally, or something made in an eco-friendly manner with reused materials.

But maybe it’s the conscious act of properly considering your purchase that is key? Doing your research into materials and production. Looking for something second hand instead of buying it new. Checking whether you can rent it instead. Or considering whether you can do without it completely.

Taking the time

Conscious consumption to me is also taking the time to properly question a purchase. Avoiding impulse buying and figuring out what you really want and need. You might change your mind in the process, you might realise you don’t need it after all, or you might find something even better that you can treasure for longer. This was definitely one of my key learnings during my no-shopping year last year, where I was listing things I was keen to buy once the year had passed, but once it had, a lot of the things on that list had been removed. Which is (anecdotal) proof that it probably would have been an unnecessary impulse purchase had I gone ahead and bought it straight away.

One of those thoughts that stayed with me during the whole year though was that I wanted to buy a pair of loafers or sandals from a small Swedish female-owned brand (Blankens) with conscious production in Portugal that I wanted to support. I’ve been following the brand for years and after a lot of thinking, and meeting the founder in their showroom in Stockholm’s Old Town, I recently treated myself to a pair of sandals for my birthday.

We can of course question whether we need to buy new things at all. Using what we have is always the most sustainable option, and buying something second hand is probably the next best thing. But every now and then, we’ll need (or want!) something new, and this is when we need to be especially aware of what being conscious means (and also be ok with the fact that we might not always be able to follow all rules). In my case with these new sandals, I went for a conscious brand that I believe keeps a sensible approach to production and consumption. After my conversation with the founder, where we were discussing the lack of investment in female-founded businesses, I was also convinced that in this case, being conscious also meant supporting women and female-led business.

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Never too old to learn.

stockholm library

Being human is being curious, keen to learn and to develop. Getting better at what we do, learning completely new things or setting goals as part of our own development journey – personally or professionally. I’ve always enjoyed studying and feeling like I’m actively educating myself on various topics. Since graduating from university a decade ago I’ve been keen to study, ‘properly’, but it just hasn’t happened, and I haven’t taken the time to do it.

But then came the pandemic. And all that spare time sitting at home, feeling worried / confused / lonely / bored / non-productive. I realised I wanted to do something more valuable and felt it was the perfect time to educate myself in a more structured way than just reading on my own.

These days there are fantastic opportunities of online education on platforms such as Coursera. And in Sweden, we have the huge privilege of free education. I didn’t take advantage of this for my Bachelor as I did my degree in the UK, but I’ve been meaning to explore the wide range of courses the Swedish universities offer online. And so, mid-pandemic I did.

New perspectives

Whether you’re learning something completely new or exploring a topic you’re more familiar with, you’re always going gain new perspectives. Either from reading something new, challenging your mindset or getting someone else’s point of view presented to you. So surely, doing a course in anything will benefit you in some way? Maybe it could even be seen as a sort of self-care?

I opted for something I’m already very interested in – environmental writing – and found a comparative literature course in ecoliterature that I got accepted onto. A chance to broaden my horizon and read books I may not have found or chosen myself, at the same time as I got a chance to explore the importance of literature when it comes to investigating our role in nature and in our environment.

To pass the course we had to write an essay based on some of the novels, poems and essays we’d read and I wrote mine exploring what type of literature may be best suited to encourage us to take better care of our planet. I won’t dwell on that here (I may do so later in a later blog post) but what I wanted to highlight here was the joy of getting an opportunity to learn and develop, as a student / learner / person.

I can truly recommend it. Whether it’s a course in French, art history, ecology, philosophy or pottery. Whatever it is, it will most likely be time well spent. To learn something new, to meet some new people, or even just to avoid being bored at home during a global pandemic.

p.s. if you’re interested in the course’s literature list, let me know and I’ll pass it on. Some of the books you can find in English were: The Vegetarian by Han Kang, The Great Derangement by Amitav Ghosh, and The History of Bees by Maja Lunde.

Photo credit: Unsplash

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Learnings from a year of no shopping.

At the end of 2019, I decided that 2020 would be a year of no shopping for me. Little did I know that it would be the weirdest year in our lifetime, challenging in so many ways forcing us to change the ways we live and prioritise differently. But I had decided to commit to a no-shopping year, and didn’t want to abandon it even though circumstances changed. So I stuck with it, and with us having entered 2021, I thought I’d share some of my reflections and learnings.

Why did I do it?

Over the last few years, I have changed the way I consume and have become increasingly more conscious of what I buy, what it’s made of and who made it. But the biggest shift has probably been around the notion of whether I need to buy something at all. Why am I buying it? Do I really need it? It is something I will treasure over time? Could I do without it?

I’ve also been exploring the act of consuming and what it does to us, and I wrote this piece questioning happiness linked with consumption.

A shift towards conscious consumption that questions the very act of purchasing something has been an interesting one and I wanted to explore this further. Trying out a year of no shopping seemed like a good test. To see what the challenges would be, what the benefits could be and what it would do to me.

Guidance or rules?

I didn’t set any specific rules but the whole idea was to try to avoid shopping anything, especially not for myself, unless I ran out of a beauty product for example. Some people make a list saying they can’t buy clothes or accessories, and others have a stricter no-shopping policy that covers all kinds of shopping. I opted for something in the middle but with a clear aim of exploring whether I could avoid all shopping.

If you’re considering doing something similar, I would recommend thinking about why you’re doing it and then set your guide or rules depending on this reason. Are you trying to save money? Then maybe try to avoid all shopping, apart from the absolutely necessary. Is your wardrobe too full and you feel overwhelmed by all the fashion you’re buying? Then maybe focus on setting rules for the amounts of clothes, shoes and bags you can buy.

My motivation came from wanting to explore what it would do to me to not shop so I set my aims based on that.

How did I do?

I started this year travelling in South America and bought a few books to read and I also visited a slow fashion boutique in Paraguay’s capital Asunción that I had read about and bought a top and a tote bag. I really wanted to support the girls running the shop and felt I could start the challenge once I got home…

Fairly early on in the year I realised my sports bra wasn’t doing what it should (after 10 years or so), and I had to buy a new one to be able to do my ballet classes without pain. It felt like a legitimate purchase.

And once the pandemic was our new reality and we had self-isolated in the countryside; I bought a jigsaw puzzle to have something to do.

In the autumn, I did a course (more on that in a different post) and even though I borrowed most of the books from the library, there were some books on the reading list I had to buy to get hold of them in time for the lectures. I also visited Gothenburg for work and wanted to visit a store doing clothes rentals, but because of the pandemic they had to close down and whilst I was in town, they hosted a sale selling off all their stock. I wanted to support them and bought two blouses, one of which I was able to wear at the (digital) conference where I was speaking.

And that’s pretty much it. We bought a few things for the flat over the year, but in terms of things for myself, that was it.

I didn’t manage to not buy anything at all, all year, but to only buy a handful of things over 12 months is definitely a result I’m happy with.

And how was it?

To do a no-shopping year during a pandemic had its challenges as well as advantages. When we haven’t got much to bring us joy, buying ourselves nice things to cheer us up is fairly common. But I had to just stop myself from thinking that buying stuff would cheer me up during such weird and challenging times.

The pandemic has been particularly hard for small businesses and the urge to wanting to support them has been particularly hard to deal with to be honest. And if anything, it has definitely showed me what kind of businesses I want to continue supporting once we’re out of the pandemic.

Being recommended to stay at home and avoid shops and crowded places has of course helped enormously when trying to avoid finding myself in situations where I might get tempted to buy stuff. Not going to shops is most definitely an easy way to not shop! But it has also made it clear how much stuff we buy just because we get inspired once we’re in the shop. If you spend a year barely being in any stores, you won’t find yourself impulse buying shoes / clothes / towels just because they looked good when you walked past them on a shelf in a nice boutique. And you realise you don’t actually need anything because your home is already full of stuff to use and wear.

What have I learnt?

Not shopping for a year was to some extent easier than I thought it would be. I’m privileged enough to already have a lot of things so I don’t need to shop. I also haven’t missed going around in shops feeling pressured to buy stuff just because it’s pretty / useful / on sale. What I have missed though is second hand shops and flea markets, which also says something about my shopping needs. I’m not necessarily interested in buying stuff on the high street, but instead I’m interested in finding rare objects, finds and old things that inspire me.

Going forward, this is definitely what I will continue focusing on. And as I mentioned earlier, the pandemic has made it even clearer that we need to be supporting the businesses we want to survive and thrive. Spending money on companies not doing much good for the world isn’t very satisfying, but every dollar we can give to the companies doing better is a much better investment. I’m aiming to continue being very selective with what I do buy and try to support conscious businesses as much as possible. To contribute to shifting the world’s capital towards better business.

During the year of no shopping, I’ve been working on a wish list on my phone. If I think of something I need or see something I really like then I put it on the list and let it stay there. Obviously this year, because I haven’t been buying anything, it’s stayed on the list for a long time, but what I’ve realised is also that quite a lot of those things get taken off the list after a while. When I realise I actually don’t need it, or even want it anymore.

An aim going forward will therefore be to continue the list, add things I’m interested in but then leave them on there for a while to see whether I still want it. That way, I’ll be able to avoid impulse shopping and it’ll also help me to make more conscious choices. I won’t do another no-shopping year this year, but I’ll try sticking to the list, I’ll definitely limit my purchases, and I’ll focus on second hand and conscious, small businesses.

Not shopping for a year has made me much more aware of what I do have already. It’s made me realise I don’t need a lot of new things, it’s made me appreciate what I have, and it’s helped me clarify what I do want and need going forward.

Anything else?

Whatever reason you may have for doing a no-shopping year, taking control over your spending is most definitely a useful lesson. I’ve never had much money to spare at the end of the month but with no shopping I’ve found myself in a different situation.

I’ve never been a big spender but have obviously spent the money I’ve had. Until this year. I’ve been lucky enough to keep my job this extremely difficult year and this has given me the very fortunate opportunity to properly start a savings account, to create a cash buffer, and even (on a very small scale!) enter the stock market. I’ve started taking control over my finances in a way that I haven’t before, and I’m certainly going to keep this up. I’ve set up a budget, monthly savings and a budget for charitable giving each month, and I’m hoping this will also help me be a more conscious consumer. With better control over my money and what I spend it on.

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Is being a pioneer always tough?

renting fashion

That we need new ways of thinking when it comes to consumption and production to become more sustainable is no news to anyone interested in the field and concerned about our planet. And innovative solutions from companies, organisations as well as consumers are leading the way towards a, hopefully, better future.

But at the same time, we’re realising we can’t shop our way out of the climate crisis. Slightly changing our habits or going for the slightly more sustainable option won’t create the change we need. We need systemic change from the top and as consumers, we need to stop relying on only being consumers. We need to be citizens actively creating change.

New habits, new alternatives

The most obvious way of being a conscious consumer is to be one who consumes less, way less. But instead of instantly seeing sacrifices, we should see alternatives and opportunities. Opportunities to explore our existing wardrobes, opportunities to mend that blouse we’ve been meaning to fix, and opportunities to challenge ownership norms.

In our world of fast fashion it is extremely easy and cheap to own clothes, shoes, and accessories. We get thrills from filling up our wardrobes, even though we often buy stuff we end up never wearing. Re-considering the norm of owning all this stuff is a key aspect of our transition into sustainable fashion.

Renting instead of owning

I wrote about the topic of renting our wardrobes two and a half years ago and I must say I would have hoped we would have come further since then. I’ve definitely seen some more interesting initiatives since then with people like Kajsa Magdalena in Malmö, Sweden setting up a spacious and fun showroom where she hosts styling sessions and where groups of girlfriends come to get ready before hitting the clubs. A great way of making renting clothes fun and exciting where you can explore fashion you don’t have in your own wardrobe and might not be comfortable buying.

But people still seem to love owning their own stuff and the renting industry hasn’t quite kicked off as one would have hoped. And of course the pandemic has been brutal to an industry that mainly focuses on renting out fun and exciting fashion that you might want to rent for a party, wedding or conference. With no-one going to any parties, the need for this kind of fashion is limited and many in the industry have suffered. Some have had to pause their business and some, like Something Borrowed in Gothenburg, Sweden, have unfortunately had to close (but they’re selling out their stock at great prices if there’s something you really need and if you’re able to support them).

Being a pioneer, and being someone who takes the lead to introduce a new way of living and consuming is tough. But they’re super important and the rest of us need to support them to help them create the change we all so desperately need. I hope, once the pandemic is over, we can help them accelerate by re-considering our need for ownership and try new things, whilst trying and getting excited about new fashion.

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The joy of getting dressed in the morning.

getting dressed

The cancelled parties, the lack of social gatherings and the time spent working from home, on your own, are all for a good cause. Once you get into the routine of it, you make it work. But not being able to do all these things we normally take for granted is taking its toll on many and I’m definitely feeling it.

I’m finding it hard not to have occasions to look forward to or even occasions to dress up for. First I just considered it as a shallow reaction to the new pandemic lifestyle that I should ignore (because many others are having a way worse time than me) but now I’m not so sure anymore.

Getting dressed in the morning, choosing an outfit that makes you feel hot / powerful / cool / beautiful / happy is an important part of the day for many to give one self a purpose, a mission for the day or just a kick to get up and go. I’m finding that the joy of getting dressed in the morning is one I’m missing. Not having this as a routine for months on end does have an impact on motivation as well as mental health.

What should change?

Finding ways of living through this pandemic, that can help us last longer, stay socially and physically distant, keep people safe, but also keep ourselves sane, is important. As we seem to be facing an autumn of working from home and avoiding social gatherings, finding a new strategy might be needed. To stay motivated and sane. What’s worked so far? What do you want to change going forward? What could make this autumn better?

As July hasn’t delivered satisfactory summer weather I feel like I’ve spent most of the summer in jeans and warm jumpers. I’ve barely touched my summer clothes. The flowery skirt I thrifted and wore all the time last year hasn’t even made it out once this summer. And since I’m doing a year of no shopping, I haven’t done any pandemic boredom shopping (which I’m guessing many others may have been doing). I’ve just done nothing with my wardrobe and it’s starting to make me feel a bit sad.

So, the plan is to make more of an effort when I do leave the flat and also to use it as an opportunity to work through my wardrobe as part of the challenge of not buying anything new this year. Maybe do a style challenge or a capsule wardrobe challenge? Or make a conscious effort of wearing everything once to also potentially clear some stuff out at the end of the year that I’ve realised I’m no longer interested in wearing?

What are you currently wearing and what’s your pandemic wardrobe strategy?

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Reflections halfway through my year of no shopping

evening light

Six months into this bizarre year of 2020 also means six months into my year of no shopping.

It hasn’t been an ordinary year so far and this has most definitely affected my experience of not buying anything for myself apart from essentials (e.g. toiletries). It’s affected the experience in several ways and has given me additional layers of reflection, so I thought I’d share some of them here.

External influence & pressure

When the whole world stops, in a way my generation hasn’t experienced before, it gives us this weird new perspective on life, on living, and on co-living with others on this planet. This pandemic has forced us to take a break from living our normal lives, from going to work, from seeing friends, from being out and about, and we’ve instead had to spend our time with ourselves, mainly in our own homes.

Going out shopping hasn’t really been a thing this spring, but neither has being amongst people in general. No parties where one might feel the need to buy a new dress, no trips where some new attire is needed, and no activities with others where we might be inspired, influenced or even pressured by others to buy something we’re missing.

This has certainly made things easier for me in terms of not buying anything. I’ve barely had any reasons to actually buy anything, at all, during these last few months and I know this is because of the fact that I’ve been isolation with my boyfriend. Not having to show up in public means I’m just using/wearing whatever I can find at home. The pandemic meant I had to go cold turkey but it’s also shown that I have a lot of stuff, more than enough, that I can and should use.

The online aspect

These days, a lot of our external influence and pressure comes from social media rather than people we see or meet in real life. During a pandemic where everyone’s at home, probably spending an awful lot of time on their phones, this is obviously even more prominent. Some may have increased their online shopping during the pandemic but since I’ve never really been into online shopping, this hasn’t been the case this year either.

And is it just me or have we actually seen a decrease in shopping-mania on social media during the pandemic? It might just be my own filter bubble, but I feel there’s less talk about shopping and that people have been genuinely less interested in consumption.

As people are losing their jobs, as the economy is crashing, and as we’re all feeling uncertain about the future, feeling less inclined to spend money is natural. But since I’m doing this no-shopping year anyway I’ve also had the chance to reflect on this from a more long-term perspective, and I think many others have too. Reflecting on what we actually do want to spend our money on, not just now but when we’re on the other side of the pandemic too.

Taking the time to prioritise

The key thing that’s made my no-shopping year pretty easy so far is the fact that I’ve barely had any opportunities to shop or even to be tempted to shop, because I’ve barely visited a shop all year. If you don’t put yourself in the position of actually being inside a shop full of things you’d normally want to buy, not buying anything isn’t actually that hard.

I’m hoping I can keep this up, post-pandemic too. To not tempt myself by going to shops I like just to browse, but instead to be more pragmatic and to take the time to prioritise and to plan my purchases.

During this no-shopping year, I’ve got a list on my phone that I keep adding things to that I feel like I need or want. I just leave them on there and some I’ve deleted because I realised after a while that I didn’t actually need or want them. Some might stay on the list this whole year and I can then reflect on whether I still need/want them and whether I should buy them in 2021. My aim is to keep this list going after this year too. To be able to make conscious purchases of things I actually need and to wait a while before buying them to see whether it was something I really wanted.

The result so far?

So far, it’s been pretty easy but I’m conscious of the fact that it probably wouldn’t have been this easy if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

Early on I realised I needed a new sports bra because the ones I had were old and not supportive enough. I made the decision that breast pain during exercise was a good enough reason and an exception I had to make, so I bought a sports bra. And a couple of months into the pandemic, when I desperately needed something to waste time with I bought a jigsaw puzzle for our small household.

But apart from that, I haven’t felt the need for anything really. What I’ve missed though is the excitement of walking through an antiques or second hand shop, looking through the shelves for some interesting/beautiful finds. I haven’t been to any shops though, mainly because of the pandemic but also to not tempt myself.

On a day trip the other week, in the rural countryside of Småland, we ended up in a small shop to buy ice cream and realised it was also an antiques shop. They probably don’t get a lot of customers normally, and probably even less so during the pandemic so my urge to support them got the better of me. So I bought a pair of small, ceramic candle holders.

A couple of slips and a necessary purchase to be able to do exercise during the pandemic. I feel that’s an ok result after 6 months.

I’m pleased it hasn’t actually been that hard and I’m most definitely motivated to carry on. I thought I might have felt more inclined to shop because of these weird/upsetting times but instead it’s actually helped me to truly think about what kind of life I want and what I want to spend my money on. Let’s see what the second half of 2020 brings.

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What’s this year’s Earth Day telling us?

nature

It’s been 50 years since Earth Day started being celebrated as a way to instill hope and optimism and to encourage action for our planet. And as we’ve started to see the true damage we’ve been doing to it over the last few decades, I feel this day has become increasingly important over the last few years.

This year though, everything is different. It’s still an important day and we now know we’re in the middle of a climate crisis, but we’re also in the middle of the corona crisis that is giving many of us new perspectives. Skies in China have cleared up and people in northern India can finally see the Himalayas after 30 years of smog. Some are seeing very little of nature at the moment as they’re at home in quarantine, but some might be spending more time in nature than ever. Because there’s not much else to do. And maybe, because we’re finally learning to appreciate nature.

Nature and people

As Sweden isn’t in complete lockdown I’ve been able to spend quite a bit of time in the forest, socially distancing. I know in these times, not everyone is able to spend much time in nature so I feel very grateful for my forest walks. I also feel very privileged to live in a country with such immediate access to nature. Because it is a privilege and it’s one that an increasing amount of people are missing out on as we collectively move to cities, destroy natural habitats and make our connection with nature more difficult.

This pandemic may also be sending us a message. As we’re putting pressure on Earth, through global heating and the destruction of the natural world for activities such as mining and farming, we’re driving wildlife into closer contact with people. Scientists speak of more deadly diseases that could be coming our way if we don’t change our behaviour and one could see Covid-19 as a warning sign from Earth.

Earth Day is celebrated every year with a varied range of campaigns, and with a lot of nice pictures on social media. Each year we’re seeing more disturbing statistics but probably not enough real action. Action that will truly shift people’s mindsets into doing better for the planet.

This Earth Day is different. And it might be one that really, truly creates a difference. Because Earth is literally shouting at us, showing us what damage we’re creating, and locking us up in our homes to think about what we’ve done. And I feel we’re actually starting to put two and two together.

Will things be different?

We’re slowly, actually, starting to appreciate nature – because we’re missing it when we can’t enjoy it because we’re forced to stay at home. And for those of us who are able to spend some of our social distance time away from people, in nature, we’re learning to appreciate what it really means for our wellbeing to be able to spend time in a forest, on a hill, by the seaside. To just be, in the moment. Listening to the wind, to the birds, or to the silence.

The jury is still out on whether the corona crisis will create a long-lasting impact on the environment. We’re seeing a lot of short-terms improvements as carbon emissions are going down but we’ll have to wait and see whether people’s ways of living will continue in a different manner even when we’re on the other side of Corona.

It’s most definitely given us food for thought though. What if we don’t need to travel around so much? What if we can host most meetings online to avoid travel? What if we don’t actually need to buy that much stuff all the time? What if, to be truly happy and healthy, maybe what we need is to take a step back and to start really appreciating Earth by living with it rather than just on it?

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Is a slower way of living here to stay?

Slow living

I started writing this piece pre-corona as a reflection on slow living, self care and the potential need for a re-brand of being lazy. But now, because of this almost unreal situation where we’re forced to sit back and watch our world being turned upside down, these reflections have taken new turns. One can only guess where this will end but for now, we’re forced to slow down and I’m wondering whether it’ll lead us to carry on with a slower way of living afterwards?

Many of the latest self care trends are about taking time for ourselves, to treat ourselves to a facial or going to the spa or going out for a long walk. But the time for ourselves when we’re actually not doing anything is normally not called self care though. It’s in most cases just called being lazy. And with that comes, mainly, bad connotations. Why?

lazy. unwilling to do work or use energy

I think the above definition gives us a few hints as to the complexity of the meaning of the word lazy. Because the unwillingness to do work could be an arrogant act by someone who refuses to do something others might be expecting them to do. But the unwillingness to use energy could just be when someone just wants a break from it all. A time to relax, to disconnect, to avoid using energy to gain new energy.

Using the word lazy when someone isn’t doing anything in particular, just laying on the sofa for example, makes it sound like a bad thing. It makes it sound like we should feel guilty about not doing anything more productive.

Taking the time for nothing

Today, having time is seen as a luxury, but maybe we should also see it as a chance to do nothing. We don’t necessarily have to fill that time with a pilates session or a visit to an expensive gym.

It’s on us though to make the time for this. I for one don’t feel I have time to do ‘nothing’ if I’m stressed about things I haven’t yet done. So for someone like me it’s about making a list of things that needs doing, ticking them off, and then relaxing afterwards. Probably to feel like I ‘deserve’ it.

Forced to slow down

Because of the corona virus, many of us are now forced to slow down, whether we want it or not. Maybe you’ve been ill, maybe you’re in quarantine or maybe you’ve decided to self isolate as you’re able to work from home. We’re not able to socialise, we’re not supposed to be in crowded places. Some of us are having to do with what we have within our four walls and some can go out for a walk or jog, away from people, ideally in a secluded forest.

We’re essentially being forced to do mindfulness and self care, forced to stay inside and do nothing. We’re forced to be lazy and in this case, being lazy is most definitely a positive thing because it helps stop the spreading of the virus.

We can only speculate what the total damage will be from this worrying and challenging situation, but we can hope that it will pass fairly soon. And we can hope that it’ll also bring something positive amongst all the sadness and tragedy. Because this is a time for us to think. Think about how we have been leading our lives. How we want to live our lives going forward. How we can reconnect with nature and take better care of our planet.

It’s a time for reflection and it may be a time when we learn to appreciate a slower way of living.

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Challenging style, my wardrobe and conscious consumption

When it comes to sustainable fashion, there’s a lot of talk about materials and innovative brands, as well as second hand, renting and other initiatives that come from the sharing or circular economies. But I feel we hear less about the most sustainable fashion of all – the fashion we already own.

I’ve decided to explore conscious consumption even further this year by doing a year of no shopping. To explore happiness, ownership, capitalism and culture. The no-shopping challenge is a challenge in itself, but I also want to turn this into a style challenge. Making the most of what I have, wearing everything I own, and wearing it in new ways.

Challenges and aims

Over the years I’ve done slow fashion challenges and various style challenges and will continue taking part in these to give myself an extra boost. To explore my own wardrobe and my own creativity. I think I sort of know what I like and I’ve bought mainly second hand and sustainable fashion over the last few years, but I want to pause this. Pause it to use and mix what I have, rather than add to it.

I’m aiming to keep track of what I wear, what I really like, and I might feel I need to add to my wardrobe. At the end of the year, I’ll then be able to check whether I still feel this way and whether those are pieces I still feel I need to add.

The aim is also to share my slow fashion here on the blog as well as on Instagram over the year as a tool/reason to keep me going!

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2020: The year of no shopping

A new year means a new start for many. A chance to reflect on the past and set new ambitions and goals. This often leads to a feeling of having to get bigger and better, to achieve and to have more. But does it need to? Is maybe what we have enough for the new year? I will explore this during 2020 with an aim of doing a no-shopping year.

At and earlier stage of my conscious journey, ‘conscious consumption’ used to be more about sustainable brands and eco materials. Second hand increasingly got into the mix and I definitely see myself as a conscious consumer today. But over time, this has come to be more of a question of whether I should buy something at all.

My conscious consumption journey has been a lot about what brand or material to buy, and it still is, and I’m really enjoying seeing new brands and new innovative efforts to find new ways of creating fashion. But now I tend to ask more often whether it’s something I should buy at all, whether I really need it. And this goes for second hand items too.

Buying things second hand is a very sustainable option because it means buying something that already exists. Many second hand shops are also run by charities which means your purchase till often go towards supporting charitable work in your community or globally. And this is of course a great thing, and it’s something that’s very important for many charities to be able to continue carry out their work. But in terms of sustainability, the most sustainable option is using the clothes/things we already have.

Questioning our consumption

Conscious consumption has to me always meant asking myself questions. Doing the research and asking myself why I’m buying something and what it is I really want. To make myself more aware and to question my own routines.

I’ve reached a point on my conscious journey where I’m questioning all consumption, for environmental and cultural reasons. A key question now is therefore whether I need something at all. Even if it’s a sustainable, second hand option. Even if it’s cheap.

At the end of last year, I wrote about consumption making us feel bad, even if we’re buying eco-friendly things. Research shows that buying less makes us happier and I think this is something worth exploring. I’ve done a few no-shopping months and have really enjoyed them because they allow me to ignore campaigns, sales and all things shopping. Once you start buying things, there’s always a want for more, but I feel when I’m not buying anything, I also want less.

A no-shopping year

Having a shop-stop year is increasingly popular and it’s something I’ve been getting more and more interested in doing. Some do it because they shop way too much and need to cut back, for environmental reasons, for financial reasons, or for mental reasons. I don’t shop that much but I’m intrigued by the challenge. I want to see what a shop-stop year means. How hard is it? Will I save money? What will I do with my money instead? What are the judgement calls I will have to make over the year?

Will it force me to be more creative with what I have? Mending things? Renting things? Forcing me to consider waiting, or not buying something at all. Because maybe I don’t actually need it, maybe I just want it?

The rules?

I’m expecting judgement call to be something I feel I (or we) really want or need. Something that’s been handmade by someone. Something that is really beautiful. Or something that supports someone or a good cause. But the aim is to not buy anything that isn’t a consumable, or something that breaks that needs to be replaced, or something that we really need for the flat.

I can trade things at clothes swaps for example, and I can buy meals at a restaurant or tickets to a play. I can buy beauty items, but only when I’ve run out of something and the aim is to stick to the basics (schampoo, moisturizer, deodorant, mascara). If we (really, really) need something for the flat then I will aim to buy something second hand, and if not, then handmade/sustainable/eco-friendly.

Have you done a no-shopping year? What were your rules and what are your best tips??

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