By all accounts, fashion is a waste.
Author:Skylar BerglUpdated:Jan 7, 2020Original:Jan 7, 2020The apparel manufacturing process takes a well-documented toll on the environment. Factories use harmful chemicals to treat garments and process excessive amounts of water in washing and dyeing. The dangers extend to the people tasked with sewing, cutting and assembling pieces or attaching hundreds of buttons every single day for startling low wages.
I'm not sentimental about my age. But at the start of the year, my 30th birthday was around the corner. Even though I avoid focusing on such milestones, extra gravity surrounded this one. My wife and I started to discuss moving out of our New York apartment and buying a house in the New Jersey suburbs; then we actually did it. With that would come newfound costs, from property taxes to trash pickup and plenty more.
In addition to my Notes app budget sheet, I used a system of bookmarks to track anything that piqued my interest. I sorted items into folders and tracked their prices, re-assessing whether I still wanted them upon repeat viewing. These tricks took enough mental energy to deter me from entering my credit card info and forced me to actually weigh what to buy — if anything at all.
However, my renewed mentality bled into other areas of life. I wasn't just becoming a more conscious fashion shopper, but a better overall consumer. While our new home took up extra lines on the budget sheet, every potential purchase went through the same filter. We postponed a lot of big furniture expenses and leaned on more home-cooked meals, less frequent happy hours and fewer weekend getaways.
Looking back on these changes forced me to realize how easy it can be to fall into bad habits — and how difficult it can be to break out of them. The Marie Kondo effect has become popular philosophy, but without active changes, we'll end up drowning in a pile of clothes.The 2019 holiday season has come and gone with a new set of temptations. I treated myself to some new sweaters and a couple of polos.
Before we dive in, let's be clear: I still bought things. For a "normal" person, this still might seem like a lot of stuff. For anyone deeply interested in fashion though, I'd think it feels pretty tame.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Big Spenders: Millennials Are Projected to Dole Out $1.4 Trillion in 2020The 2020 Consumer Culture Report offers insights into the modern consumer’s motivations, influences and purchasing habits.
Read more »
Portal A found success in bypassing the traditional ad agency model - Business InsiderHow 3 childhood friends with no ad industry experience became YouTube's longtime agency and created videos for Odell Beckham and Steph Curry
Read more »
Lazio extend winning run to nine with another late showTwo goals from Serie A's leading scorer Ciro Immobile, the second in stoppa...
Read more »
CES 2020 Preview: Full Stream AheadEntertainment has always been a key component of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, but the explosive growth of subscription streaming is arguably making the technology showcased there more int…
Read more »
China could be the 'swing factor' for Tesla's stock as first Model 3 cars roll out to Chinese consumersTesla will begin delivering Model 3 cars made in its Shanghai factory — its first outside of the U.S. — to Chinese consumers on Tuesday.
Read more »