Are you a conscious shopper?

Those of you who live in the UK, or have access to the BBC's iPlayer, may have seen a programme in the series "Stacey Dooley Investigates", where she uncovered some of  Fashion's Dirty Secrets. If not, you might like to look at this clip, where Stacey took to the street to talk to shoppers and to demonstrate to them how much water goes into producing just one cotton item. The actual documentary upset me, especially when Stacey travelled to the Aran Sea and showed the shocking environmental impact caused by the fashion industry, but even worse was the detrimental effect of the polluted rivers on local children's health.

I know that I've been as guilty as many other shoppers when hunting for a bargain to add to my ever-increasing wardrobe. Taking part in challenges such as Project 333 and my current 10 x 10 challenge is helping me realise that I really don't need that many clothes, however we have to be realistic. I go through my wardrobe at the start of each new season, discarding anything that is past its best (nowadays I take them to the recycling bins) and this does create gaps. However I have resolved to shop more consciously in future and look at the ethical policies of any on-line companies that I am considering purchasing from. My latest purchases were from Mint Velvet, a company that is based in the UK although they deliver internationally. Click on the link above to read their ethical policy.

Mint Velvet top

This new red top instantly became my latest favourite, partly because red is one of my best colours, but also because of the gold stripes down each arm. Even better, it was in the sales!

One of my favourite online companies is Kettlewell, as they specialise in producing clothes and accessories in seasonal colours. You can read about their production and ethics here and I also recommend reading their blog. Other British companies that I have used are People Tree, the fairtrade fashion pioneer, and FatFace, who issued a '360' sustainability policy in 2016. Friends of mine have also recommended Thought and Seasalt. Although these are UK companies, they do deliver internationally. Do you have any ethical companies that you can recommend? If so please leave a comment below with details.

You might also like to read this blog post of mine that I wrote five and a half years ago. Have things improved since then? It doesn't look like it, so it is up to all of us to shop more consciously and spread the message. What I do know, having worked for a while in the retail industry, is that the big companies are interested in profits. If we become conscious shoppers and it hits their profits, they are more likely to do something about it - sad but true!

Analysing why we shop

I've already discussed the fact that many of us feel the urge to go shopping even when we don't really need something new. We don't "shop our wardrobe" - often because it's so crowded that we can't see everything we own! I am proud of the fact that most of the outfit that I wore to my niece's wedding has been in my possession for several years and that I resisted the temptation to go shopping in search of something new. I did buy a new bag to take with me, but that was after several old ones had been thrown out for various reasons: a couple were too scuffed, the zip on another one had broken. I deliberately chose a bag that was a neutral colour and will go with most of my clothes. Maybe, at last, I am developing better shopping habits.

I blame my father for my love of clothes shopping - it's always handy to be able to blame your parents, isn't it? Shoes had to be "sensible" and practical, with bright colours being off-limits. I remember as a teenager falling in love with a pretty green winter coat, and trying to persuade my father to buy it for me. He insisted on buying a camel coat instead, as it was a classic colour and cut and would "last". I wasn't impressed by this argument and stubbornly refused to wear it unless I really had to.  Fast forward a couple of years until I was in my twenties and had left home.  Visiting my parents I found the camel coat at the back of the wardrobe in my old bedroom and realised that it was actually a very nice coat (and hardly worn!) I decided to take it back home with me and started wearing it.

Similar to the rejected camel coat!

VS

My favourite colour as a teenager

The problem when I was growing up is that I didn't have a lot of say in what clothes my parents bought me. For a few giddy years in my early twenties I was able to buy exactly what I wanted: a bright green kaftan springs to mind, and a shocking pink top with a purple mini-skirt. Or how about a mustard coloured trouser suit? I think this period of buying brightly coloured clothes was a reaction to years of wearing safe (and boring!) clothes.

Once I was married, with three growing children to clothe, there was very little money for me to indulge myself in buying clothes unless it was absolutely necessary. When my youngest brother married, and there wasn't anything suitable in my wardrobe, I spent hours searching in the charity shops until I found a lovely red dress in Oxfam. Mainly for budgetary reasons, I had to reign in any impulses to buy new clothes in those days.

It's hardly surprising that, now I am able to choose my own clothes and have enough money to be able to indulge myself, I have been revelling in this freedom. What I need to do however is find a balance. I'm hoping that understanding the reasons behind my shopping habit will help me to control it better.

There are plenty of websites and challenges out there to assist those of us who have become addicted to shopping, including the Wartime Wardrobe Challenge as described in yesterday's post. I highly recommend taking part in Project 333: http://theproject333.com/. This has had an amazing effect on the number of clothes left in my wardrobe, and if you join the facebook group you will find plenty of support and lots of great ideas.  I have also found Jill Chivers' website very helpful:  http://myyearwithoutclothesshopping.com/.  Again, you can join her facebook group for additional encouragement.

Have you bought any clothes that you didn't really need or been tempted by the sales to spend money unnecessarily? If so, do you have any favourite websites that have helped you?

Clothes rationing

The summer sales have already started here in Spain and will continue for two whole months, which is a long time to resist temptation! I'm not sure whether I am prepared to go cold turkey and give up buying new clothes for as long as a year, but I definitely want to stop purchasing new clothes on a whim, just because  a pretty dress or colourful top in a shop window catches my eye and especially just because it's a bargain.

I have to thank Juhli of A Boomer Girl's Guide for first bringing the Wartime Wardrobe Challenge to my attention.  I think it's an ideal opportunity to monitor and think about what clothes you're buying. The idea is that you have 66 coupons to last the year, which was the allowance in the UK during World War II. If my Mum and Grandmother could do it, so can I!

As I am starting the challenge from 1st July, I will allow myself 33 coupons until the end of the year. This doesn't mean I can buy up to 33 items of clothing though, as everything had a different value.  A dress, for example, cost either 7 or 11 coupons, depending on what fabric it was made of. This is the link for the rationing chart, showing the number of coupons needed for various items: womenswear.

I now have a confession to make, especially to fellow Project 333ers: yesterday I bought three sleeveless tops from Aldi (in my defence, they were only available in packs of three!) The weather has suddenly become very hot and I realised that I have only a couple of sleeveless tops after my last wardrobe purge, although most of the short-sleeved tops are lightweight. These new tops will replace two of the heavier tops and one of the cardigans, which have now been put away until autumn. Not too bad for Project 333, though I will need to find another three items of clothing to discard after this latest purchase. However it is bad news for me on the rationing front, as it means I have already used up 15 out of my 33 coupons.  Luckily the tops have been certified as organic cotton otherwise it would have meant an extra 3 coupons, giving a total of 18.

If you are interested in trying this challenge to help you become more aware of what clothes you are buying, click on this link. What I like about the challenge is the fact that it is encouraging us to buy sustainable/eco fabrics, and particularly to buy second-hand and vintage items.  If I have run out of coupons by October, I will be trawling all the second-hand and vintage shops when I visit London, as we don't have any here in Spain! Do you think it would be cheating if I allow my husband to use some of his precious coupons to buy me some clothes for my birthday?

Why do we go clothes shopping?

This may seem an obvious question.  We go clothes shopping because we need to, don't we? We have a wedding to go to, or we are starting a new job, or it's the sales and we just love a bargain! The sales have just started here in Spain and I admit that it's tempting. The shop windows are offering discounts of up to 50%, so how can I say no? I'm pleased to say that when I went to my niece's wedding in the UK last month, I wasn't tempted to buy a new outfit. I wore a dress that I bought last year with a jacket and shoes that I have had for over four years and I still felt good in my outfit. However I do enjoy finding a new top or dress that suits me and doesn't cost a fortune, so it's hard to resist the lure of the sales.  Why not take a peek inside my wardrobe of summer clothes and then answer this question for me: do I need any new clothes?

This doesn't show all my summer clothes by the way as some of them are in the laundry basket, plus I'm wearing a red top and blue linen trousers. Also missing are my summer dresses and jackets, which are hanging up in the wardrobe in the spare room along with my winter clothes. In the photo you can see a navy skirt, some patterned skirts, a couple of pairs of trousers, a selection of tops in a variety of colours and two cardigans. I have a total of 33 items of clothing to cover the summer months: to see the whole selection, and to read about Project 333, click on this link. I am sure you will agree that I've more than enough clothes without buying new ones, so why am I being tempted? Why do so many of us buy clothes that we really don't need? For many of us, it has become a habit.

One of my reasons for joining Project 333 was to try and curb my shopping habit. Not that you are banned from buying new clothes if you take part in the project, but once you have chosen your 33 items of clothing, the idea is that you can replace older clothes with new items so long as you don't add to the overall number. "One in, one out" is the rule.

There is lots of helpful advice on the Project 333 website: https://bemorewithless.com/project-333/.com If you look at this, you will see that ideally you should include accessories, jewellery and shoes. I have to admit that this would be a step too far for me, so my 33 only includes items of clothing. Having said that, this is a vast improvement on the huge number of clothes crammed into my wardrobe and drawers before I started Project 333.

Here is another excellent website, which is very helpful for those of us doing Project 333 and trying to avoid the temptation of buying new clothes, and especially if you fancy the challenge of a year without clothes shopping: http://www.shopyourwardrobe.com/ You can sign up for free to receive "The 12 Secrets to Less Shopping". If, like me, you want to become a more conscious clothes shopper, it will help you to be more aware of your reasons for going clothes shopping. It also encourages you to look at your existing wardrobe first. I'm not sure if I could manage a whole year without buying new clothes, but I am hoping that it inspires me to buy less.