Emily:
I don't know about you, but whenever I glance over social media (Instagram I'm looking at you particularly) I am immediately bombarded with things to buy and items to lust over. I find myself struggling to find a story or a post that doesn't have the little ad caption somewhere hidden on the screen. Now, I don't disagree with people trying to make a living, but it's just the way that it's done.
As you know, I am trying to dramatically cut down my fast fashion consumption, but my morning scroll through my favourite pages is now more complicated than it once was. For me, my willpower is not strong enough to simply ignore the torrents of ’swipe ups’ or ’use my codes…..’. So my canny solution is to block these particular sites (Asos, Boohoo, etc) on my phone so that when the inevitable swipe up instruction comes my way, it's devilish temptations will no longer work on me. To be clear, I am not against fashion. In fact, I love it. But what I also love is not feeling guilty after every purchase. I am also nosy and I love seeing what people wear and how they style certain outfits. There is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from influencers, but you don’t have to go out and buy a new complete outfit. Take note of their style and keep that in mind when looking in charity shops and even your own wardrobe.
As you know, I am trying to dramatically cut down my fast fashion consumption, but my morning scroll through my favourite pages is now more complicated than it once was. For me, my willpower is not strong enough to simply ignore the torrents of ’swipe ups’ or ’use my codes…..’. So my canny solution is to block these particular sites (Asos, Boohoo etc) on my phone so that when the inevitable swipe up instruction comes my way, it's devilish temptations will no longer work on me. To be clear, I am not against fashion. In fact, I love it. But what I also love is not feeling guilty after every purchase. I am also nosy and I love seeing what people wear and how they style certain outfits. There is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from influencers, but you don’t have to go out and buy a new complete outfit. Take note of their style and keep that in mind when looking in charity shops and even your own wardrobe.
Alas, some may believe this is a drastic solution to a rather minor problem. But for me, as a recovering shopping addict, the pull of a new frock or bag is still worryingly strong. Instead of berating myself later for my weak will, I would rather prevent future chastisement from the rather brutal future Emily.
Essentially, what I am trying to say is that it's okay to put things in place to protect yourself from, dare I say it, consumerism. On that same note, I heard a brilliant quote recently from the author Matt Haig, and he said:
‘The environment is destroyed by consumerism. Consumerism thrives on our self-hatred. Healing the planet is healing ourselves.’
Deep. It is only really recently that I have seen how consumerism works in my life and how much it still has a hold over me. It makes you hate yourself and buy things in order to love yourself more. But I’m slowly starting to realise that ‘things’ won’t make a blind bit of difference. However, what is worse is that through this self-hatred the earth has taken the hit too.
In the comment beneath that excellent quote Haig continued with:
‘Mass consumerism has only been around for two hundred years. It has risen hand in hand with carbon emissions and anxiety disorders. We need to be kind to ourselves and the world. We keep buying stuff we don’t need because we are made to feel stuff we shouldn’t feel. There is nothing wrong with nature. Even your nature. Do something for the environment today: be perfectly happy with who you are and what you have. Like the world, you are complete.’
How profound. How true.
You are complete.
You have enough.
You are enough.
Peace out.
Em.
