Category: No-shopping

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Rediscovering responsible fashion in 2022

It was august 2022 and five and a half years into my no clothes shopping commitment. Since I already reduced my clothes shopping starting 2015, it was almost seven years of not reading fashion magazines, visiting stores, attending the sales etc. But then my mother and sister insisted that they wanted to give me clothes for my birthday. I initially resisted the idea, but looking closer at the alternatives, which brands I might want clothes from, I was positively surprised.

A lot of things have changed in seven years (and some things haven’t). When I started to only buy (more) sustainably made clothes in autumn 2015, it required a lot of research and planning, asking questions to brands and getting more or less good answers. It resulted in very few purchases and the popular and latest fashion brands were often out of the question because they did not have very ambitious sustainability work, although there were some exceptions. Filippa K had some more sustainable pieces at the time and Danish brand Aiayu were both trendy (used by Gwyneth Paltrow) and sustainable. A french brand, Ekyog, had clothes in more sustainable viscose (lyocell), a new thing in 2015.

In 2022, however, there is so much more choice. Most brands try to be more sustainable, although not all brands succeed. Even Chinese super fast fashion brand Shein has a page called sustainability (containing very unconvincing information). Perhaps because there are so many corporate claims of being sustainable, it is still difficult to know which clothes are actually (more) sustainable. However, my understanding of sustainable fashion has changed too and sustainable fashion research has evolved in these years. So maybe sustainable fashion is a moving target, evolving as we all learn more.

In 2015, I noted down my own understanding of (more) sustainable fashion and at the time I was very focused on material choices and certifications. This remains how many brands show that they are more sustainable: their choice of textile fibres and organic certifications. Of course textile fibres matter. Just as in 2015, microplastics are a big concern. They say that 33% of primary microplastics in the oceans derive from our synthetic textiles (polyester, acrylic, polyamide etc.). Microplastics are released as we wear and wash the clothes. No solution has yet been proposed so, personally, I avoid synthetic textile fibres altogether.

However, and what I have learnt since, is that the energy use during production is the main climate impact of fashion (ca 60%) and fibres only account for 10-15%. This means that where clothes are produced (the energy mix used) plays a big role. Moreover, if one cares about the chemical pollution from fashion (which I did already in 2015) then EU chemical regulation is comparatively more advanced (although far from perfect). Working conditions tend to be better in EU too, we have unions to watch this. Certifications are of course good, but are often in place to make up for lacking national environmental regulation. Hence, in 2022, responsible fashion, to me, is made in Europe, alternatively in a non EU-country with less fossil fuels and some sustainability certification to compensate for lacking national regulation.

Whereas none of the clothes I bought during my sustainable fashion challenge in 2015 were made in Europe, today several brands do produce in Europe. There is fashion production yet again in Portugal (unfortunately using quite a bit of fossil fuels), a big industry in Bulgaria (although criticized for the working conditions) and some not too expensive French brands have relaunched “Made in France”. Because of its nuclear power, French production has a really good climate footprint. Swedish production would have to, but we unfortunately don’t have any production here.

The remaining issue is where the fabric is from and, as customers, we seldom get information about this. Certifications may provide some reassurance regarding the production of fabric, but it does not tell us about its climate footprint. More transparency from the industry is still needed.

So for my birthday, I chose a few pieces from Sezane, made from natural and/or certified materials, preferably in an EU country. Then, after five and half years, I actually started clothes shopping again. I bought a few pieces from another French brand Balzac (one of those relaunching Made in France). I am also buying vintage/second hand and I have had a seamstress make a few pieces for me from (more) sustainable fabric. The latter are probably among the more sustainable things I have bought this autumn.

Just like that I am clothes shopping again, which I even outed on Swedish TV. This decision has a lot to do with the fact that I have worn out quite a bit of my wardrobe over these years and decreased it with 10%. I addition, your fashion needs change slightly over time. Now I also know that I can do another no clothes shopping challenge if needed. It is very doable and not shopping saves a lot of time and effort. Having to put so much thought and effort into acquiring clothes is in fact one of my least favorite things about shopping again. But I am really glad that there are more sustainable items to choose from these days.

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2021 – 5 years of no clothes shopping

2021 was another Corona, and knitting in front of Zoom, year. Indeed, I managed to knit two sweaters, a pair of socks and sewed two tops and a dress for myself. In addition, I again inherited clothes from family (7 items). So, in total, 13 items entered my wardrobe despite the no shopping commitment. However, I really didn’t buy any clothes at all, in essence a good no shopping year. Although, on the shoe side (that is not included in my wardrobe count), I bought two pairs of second hand boots via Sellpy. Super cheap and useful. I was very lucky that they actually fit.

In terms of items leaving the wardrobe, I wore out 6 items and gave away 7 items that I bought as young (too short skirts and the like). So a total of 13 items left the wardrobe. Subtracting items going out from items going in, this year my wardrobe went plus minus 0 items. At the end of the year I still had 528 items in the wardrobe. Over the last five years, however, I’ve reduced the wardrobe with ca -23 items. 23 items less in the wardrobe is quite a significant decrease. Still, the wardrobe feels really full.

At five years of no shopping, I am starting to miss certain things that I have worn out over the years. I would rather like to sew some replacements for these items. However, I don’t really have that much time to sew. In contrast, I knit far too many wool sweaters (who needs two new wool sweaters during a year?). It’s much easier to get time to knit since you can do it anywhere (e.g. bus and train knitting). As I have blogged about before, the climate impact of these handknitted sweaters is in fact low. So this is an indulgence I will continue to allow. I actually parted with one of my first knits, a Siri cardigan that went to my sister, just so that I can knit a new one. I love to knit the Siri cardigan.

On the mending side, I spent a total of 3 hours mending clothes last year. It seems to be the average. Maybe I only need 3 hours a year. It was only my first year of no-shopping that I spent much more time mending since mending was a new ambition at the time and I had a backlog. Of course, after five years of mending, the need for mending is much lower. I don’t even have a mending pile at home anymore. I used to have two big piles.

As for dry cleaning and shoe repair, I spent a record low sum of 1050 SEK. This is likely an effect of Corona since it’s mostly party wear that requires dry cleaning. With fewer parties – less need for dry cleaning.

So, will I continue another year? Of course I will. No clothes shopping is a habit at this point. If I can sew two or three items this year, it would be great and add some novelty. But as I have 500+ items in the wardrobe I am sure I would manage without it too.

Anyone else doing no clothes shopping or similar? Would love to hear how it’s going!

And if you want to know how the no clothes shopping commitment started back in 2017, this is when I made the commitment.

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The slow fashion year 2020 in review

2020 was the year of comfy clothes. The fancy blouses only got used for the occasional Zoom meeting or drinks. Since I’m using a wardrobe app (Cladwell) in order to make sure I wear all of my wardrobe, it’s been quite a challenge to keep the fancy parts of my wardrobe in rotation. In the end, I resolved to just put the high heels in storage, there was no use for them during 2020.

2020 was also my fourth year of no clothes shopping. Like last year, I made a handful of exceptions in terms of (sustainable) underwear, in particular nylon stockings from Swedish Stockings. Although this brand is more sustainable than regular ones, the stockings still tear and require regular purchases every year. A very clever business model as customers always have to come back for new ones.

In total, my wardrobe went minus 13 items and I’m now at 528 items in my wardrobe (shoes excluded). Still a lot after four years without significant wardrobe shopping. When I committed to not shopping I had a little more than 540 items. So why is my wardrobe still so big? One explanation, as the reader might know, is that I only part with clothes in sustainable ways. For example did I sell two blouses on commission and I recycled torn stockings with the Swedish Stockings recycling program. Despite the best of intentions, quite a few items still ended up in the trash (which in Sweden is burnt and turned into energy). In total, 28 items left the wardrobe (less than last two years). 15 items interestingly entered the wardrobe, out of which 8 were results of my handicraft practices (sewing and knitting). I have been more productive than usual. I blame Corona for making handicraft at home so attractive (who else knits during Zoom meetings?).

Like last years, I have also kept track of the time and money I have spent on mending clothes. This year the time spent mending reached the record breaking 8,5h (in total, over the whole year). It is still less than an hour a month. I probably could do even more mending, if I had to. I spent a total of 5000 SEK at the dry cleaner and on shoe repair last year. Between 4-6000 SEK a year seems to be my normal. Of course, I would like to reduce the use of dry cleaning in particular because of the environmental impact.

At this pace, I will wear out my wardrobe in ca 40 years, at the age of 77 (much better than 90!). Clearly, there is a strong cumulative effect and the rate at which I am wearing out my clothes is increasing quite a bit. In a way, good news.

I still think that quitting clothes shopping is one of my best decisions. The time saved, the creativity of having to do with what you have and finding new combinations from what is already there. In addition, since I am a knitter and sew the occasional skirt, I do get some fresh wardrobe input, just at a very much slower pace. Buying fabric, finding a pattern and then sewing the item can take me a few years. Knitting a sweater takes me at least half a year. It is all good, since I do not really need more clothes. So I am very much looking forward to a fifth year without shopping.

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My slow fashion year 2019 in review

It’s a tradition now, to summarise my slow fashion year. I started this tradition the first year of my no-shopping challenge and while doing so I also made a wardrobe audit i.e. calculated all the clothes in my wardrobe and put them into an excel sheet. Since then, I have a very good overview of what I own and keep track of how much is added to and leaves the wardrobe each year. But my wardrobe statistics do not stop there, in fact this was just the beginning. The second year without shopping I started keeping track of how much time I spent mending clothes each month as well as how much money I spend at the dry cleaner (paying for mending and cleaning) and also at the shoemaker.

As if this was not enough, during 2018 I also started using the app Cladwell, inspired by slow fashion guru Elizabeth Cline. This app took my wardrobe statistics to another level as I now know how many times I wear each item in my wardrobe, which colors I wear more and which combinations of clothes I wear the most. I log my outfits, as on the picture, in the app daily and check my statistics unnecessarily often (so proud that I wear 98% of my wardrobe!).

Do you need all of these statistics and apps to do slow fashion or for a year no-shopping? Of course not. It’s absolutely not necessary. I didn’t start this way either. But on the other hand, if like me, you are the type that enjoys numbers and statistics, or also admired Alicia Silverstone’s computerized wardrobe in Clueless in your teenage years, then go ahead and do a wardrobe audit and/or use a wardrobe app that keeps track of the wardrobe and suggests outfits for you. Slow fashion should be fun and stress free. Not shopping reduces stress and saves time for me. The app helps me to get creative with what I own and to come up with outfits I didn’t think of before.

So what did I learn from all these numbers and tracking, what happened in my wardrobe during 2019? On the inflow side, I made two items. I sewed an Ogden cami in some silk fabric I bought and a Twiggy dress from a torn Laura Ashley duvet and dyed it with onion skins. I didn’t knit anything for myself, quite an achievement for an avid knitter. I was gifted some stockings from family members who know that this is always welcome as I don’t shop but wear a lot of stockings. I inherited four items from my mom. New this year is that I bought a bit of underwear for myself, choosing more sustainable alternatives such as Swedish Stockings. As I noted at the beginning of this year, it’s silly to ask others to buy for me just to keep the no-shopping record. Moreover, this year, like previous ones, I overestimated the need to buy clothing and apart from underwear, I’ve kept the no-shopping habit. In total, 28 items were added to the wardrobe, which is similar to last year.

On the outflow side, 38 items left the wardrobe, 8 more than last year. I sold a few items (on tradera, on commission at second hand stores and Vestiaire Collective) and gave a few to family members. I recycled some (mainly stockings in Swedish Stockings recycling program). I wore out and threw away 25 items (always after already mending), which is also similar to last year. I unravelled two knitwear, using this tutorial, and recovered the yarn so I can use it to knit with. In total, I am finally under 540 items, at 538, in my wardrobe, which feels like an achievement. At this rate, I will wear out my wardrobe in 54 years’ time, by the age of 90.

In the mending department, I spent approximately 3h mending during the whole year. It’s half the time I spent mending last year. This is very much a sign that my mending pile is now of a reasonable size. When I got interested in slow fashion, I had years of accumulated mending needs, i.e. lots of clothing in the wardrobe that needed mending in some measure. These past two years, it’s seemed as if mending is never ending. At some point, I decided to prioritize clothes in season when mending, as a season could go by and I couldn’t wear certain items because they were stuck in the endless mending pile. But, finally, things have changed and I’m up to date. I only have three or four items waiting to be mended, also an achievement.

As for outsourcing of mending and cleaning, I have spent 3800 SEK at the dry cleaner, also less than last year. A big part of those 3800 SEK went to changing the lining of a 1980s coat I once inherited from my mom. Basically, I could have bought a new cheap coat at the same price but chose to hand in the old one to get a new lining. It’s a decent coat, made in England, you couldn’t get that today for the 1600 SEK I spent on the lining. In terms of shoe repair, I only spent 500 SEK which is also less than last year.

To summarise, my friends, things are looking good. I am getting closer to a manageable size wardrobe that I might even wear out during my lifetime. I’m getting closer to a number of items that might actually fit in my cabinet and drawers. I wear most of my clothes on a regular basis. I spend very little money and time on the wardrobe. When I do spend time on it, it’s because I enjoy sewing/knitting things for myself. And, to tell the truth, I have been looking forward to writing this review of my wardrobe/slow fashion year for months. It’s one of my favorite end-of-the-year things to do. So big thanks to you people who read and ask how my no-shopping commitment is going, as I love to tell.

Happy new 2020 to you all!

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A third year of no-shopping?

Two years have passed without any clothes shopping on my part and you might wonder if I am embarking on a third year. Truth be told, I am wondering too. I would like to continue another year without shopping, these past two years have been a joy. When shopping is not an option you don’t even enter stores and don’t have to investigate if a potential purchase is a sustainable choice. You don’t need to worry about whether you really will wear that thing as much as desire tells you that you will. Lots of energy, thinking and money saved. Such a relief. And, as a bonus, I have gotten creative with my rarely worn clothes to find combinations and outfits where these things do work after all. So these two no-shopping years have been truly great for me and my wardrobe.

However, less than a month into the new year, I violated the no-shopping rule. I simply had to buy nylon stockings because it would be silly, frankly, to ask somebody to buy them for me just to keep the no-shopping record. As I’ve written about before, to me the purchase or financial transaction is not really the problem, it’s acquiring things you do not need. So, this year, I’m allowed to buy recycled nylon stockings from Swedish Stockings. And, if the urgent need arises, I might be allowed to buy other things too.

This, however, is murky waters and arguably more difficult to navigate. Shortly after buying the Swedish Stockings, I thought I needed to replace an item that is slowly getting worn out. I started googling what to replace it with and, as a result, fashion adds started popping up all over my internet. After not being able to sort out what would be a sustainable replacement, I, annoyed with the adds and fruitless time spent googling, returned to my closet only to find that I did in fact already own something similar enough that a purchase was not really warranted. Surely, I am not the only one who can’t memorise everything that’s in the closet? Now that shopping suddenly is an option again, if there is a need, I imagine there will be several similar situations this year. And how do you decide if there is a wardrobe need anyway? Murky waters.

Entering 2019, I’m proud to say that my mending pile is smaller than it’s ever been. This is a result of the 7h and 14 min I spent mending last year, on average 36min/month. I also spent 4900 SEK during the year at the dry cleaner/mender, ca 400 SEK/month. This is something I could potentially reduce if I got better at sewing buttonholes, hemming and thinking twice before dry cleaning clothes. On the other hand, sometimes it’s worth getting help rather than not gettings things done at all. I also spent 1600 SEK on repair at the shoemaker, an unavoidable cost.

Despite not shopping, my wardrobe experienced an increased in- and outflow during 2018. In total, 29 items entered the wardrobe, mostly things I inherited from family members. Six items I made, either knitted or sewed, for myself. While, as I concluded during last year’s wardrobe audit, I logically don’t need to make any clothes, I have enough as it is, these items still ended up becoming favorites. So while I need to be mindful of making too much or too fast, a little might be ok, I tell myself, as sewing and knitting is also a recreational practice. I do my best to only source sustainable fabric and yarn or, even better, use what’s already in my possession. For example, I sewed two Ogden camis last year, one from fabric scraps and the other from an old Laura Ashley pillow case and I very much love both of these.

As for the outflow, 30 items, I sold a few (which I’ve written about before) and wore out the rest. So not shopping does have a slow accumulative effect where things do get worn more and, eventually, even worn out. Overall though, I’m still in the ‘upper end’ of wardrobe size with 540+ items. And my prediction is that I’ll stay there for quite some time.

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Re-homing: how to give things you don’t want a new home

Re-homing means making sure that the things that leave your home gets a new home and don’t become waste. Post-Christmas is prime re-homing season as gift giving often means that people receive things they don’t need. Interestingly, while minimalism and decluttering has become trendy,  most people still buy gifts for others. It’s as if we feel inadequate if we don’t give to others. Right before Christmas, the Minimalist wardrobe blog even published a series on how to decline Christmas gifts, which caused some controversy.

This past year, I’ve tried and tested quite a few re-homing strategies and here are my thoughts and experiences.

Charity shops. There’s a lively debate around charity shops and whether things donated there do get a new home. What is clear is that we send an increasing amount of clothes to charity (30 ton of textiles per week in the case of Swedish Stadsmissionen). Is there a market for this enormous amount of clothes? The short answer is, no, there is not a market for these amounts of clothes locally so large amounts are instead exported to developing countries and sold there. There is a debate around whether this export of used clothing is good or bad. On the positive side, it is better for the environment that the people in developing countries use used clothing instead of new. However, some African countries argue that the large import of used clothing has harmed their national textile industry and thus tried to imposed tariffs on imported used clothes. As a result of pressure from and dispute with the US, it seems only Rwanda actually introduced the tariff. As I am not currently part of the charity shop market (I don’t shop at all) and it is uncertain if clothes to charity shops do harm or good, I avoid sending clothes there.

Giving to friends and family. This is where a large part of the clothes that enter my wardrobe comes from. However, be prepared that friends and family might give things back eventually. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes clothes are only right for you in a certain stage of life and then right for someone else. One of my favorites in this category is an old trench coat that my grandmother, mom and I have all worn. I cherish this coat.

Swap days. This is on my to-try-list. It’s as it sounds, you swap some of your clothing for someone else’s. In Sweden, Naturskyddsföreningen arranges a national clothes swap day every year. This year it’s April 6th, mark your calendars!

Reselling online (for example Blocket.se in Sweden, Finn.no in Norway). Usually there is a set price for the add, depending on the site, whereas you decide the price for what you sell although potential buyers might try to bargain. I’ve bought clothes this way (before my shopping ban), for example ski jackets etc. If you buy from someone local you can try clothes on before you buy. Also works well for furniture I find.

Selling on commission.  You get a part of the price and the commission store or site also takes a part. You set the price for the clothes together with the store/site. When selling on commission, you have to find the right outlet for your item. For example, selling clothes from French label Isabel Marant on French site Vestiairecollective.com worked really great but for example Italian brands did not work as well there. Selling a Filippa K dress in the Filippa K second hand store in Stockholm also worked great- it sold fast and I got a good price (and the store is super nice! Couldn’t all brands have their own second hand store?) So for commission, it’s worth considering the audience you will reach and if they are interested in what you’re selling. There are good venues for selling used books on commission too, for example Swedish Bokbörsen or the used books on Amazon. com, I use these a lot.

Auctioning. You set the starting price and the site usually takes a percentage of the final price. I’ve mainly used Swedish e-bay site tradera.se which worked great, for example for selling a pair of Converse Allstars, probably because it’s a rather standardized product where people know their size. Selling clothes has been more difficult, but it still got sold. Tradera is really excellent, however, for buying and selling homeware across the country and things that can easily be shipped. For more expensive things there are also the classical auction sites Bukowskis, Auktionsverket, Barnebys and Blomqvist in Norway etc. I’ve mostly bought furniture and glassware here.

The benefit of the online services is that it’s very easy to search for exactly the brand and size you’re interested in. There is also a bigger market with even international sellers and buyers. And you don’t have to search through a second hand store. The benefit of an actual store or buying from someone local is of course that you can try it on.

However, there are more items on my re-home-list than I have time to re-home. Reselling takes time and effort (finding out where’s the best market for this item- there are so many different reselling channels). So this is a great reminder to not acquire things I am uncertain of.  Eventually re-homing these things will just be work.

When re-homing, you also risk getting rid of something you might need or find useful in the future. There is usually also a loss of financial value when reselling clothes, rarely will you get more than you initially paid. Selling something and later buying it again new is not wise financially. On the other side, wearing something you don’t really like just for the sake of it when someone else might cherish it doesn’t really make sense either.

There is also a bit of a social movement push towards having a small wardrobe, being minimalist and the fact that some of us have less space than we would maybe need. As my non-minimalist sister says, maybe I don’t need less clothes but a bigger wardrobe so it doesn’t feel so crowded!

On the picture: the Filippa K second hand store in Stockholm, an excellent corporate initiative.

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Why is it so hard to resist fashion?

And maybe even more so, the sales?

It’s three years this August since I gave up conventionally produced fashion. Three years ago I decided to only buy sustainably produced fashion. Many of the items I subsequently bought (Veja shoes, Serendipity organics sweater, my Palmgrens bag) are still wardrobe favorites. The only time I cheated was when buying a pair of Chloe pants at the sales that winter (that in the end didn’t fit me and ended up with my sister). One and a half years ago, I decided I actually didn’t need any new clothes at all. The same month I traveled to London during the sales and  found it really challenging to resist shopping. I decided to not even enter the big department stores to resist fashion shopping. Shopping abroad and the sales-  getting expensive fashion cheap- is somehow so very hard to resist.

It also seems that fashion is more difficult to abstain from than other kinds of shopping. I recently finished the book ‘Not buying it’ by Judith Levine. Levine and her husband decide to only buy the very necessary goods (basically groceries) during a year. The book is a personal reflection on this experiment. They obviously save lots of money but also find certain types of socializing tricky. Interestingly, the only times Levine does cheat is in the fashion department. One time she cannot resist a second hand store when on vacation. She cheats a second time at the sales of her favorite fashion brand. Thus of all the kinds of consumption she has to abstain from- restaurants, books, interior design- fashion turns out to be the most difficult. And particularly when traveling and at the sales.

Funnily enough, Levine uses some grey area shopping strategies, just like me. In the book, friends buy her cinema tickets and give her presents, things she isn’t allowed to buy herself, since she has the shopping-ban. Similarly, I’m getting a year’s supply of Swedish Stockings nylon stockings for my birthday (so excited to try them!). These days when family wonders what I would like for my birthday, I tend to want something very specific in the wardrobe area. Is this cheating? It’s at least a grey area. And a way for family members to give me something I very much need as a gift.

Levine’s ‘Not buying it’ initiative was partly motivated by financial reasons but also has a political undertone. Unlike her, I don’t see anything wrong in paying someone for a service or a good as long as you can afford it and its production and consumption is environmentally and socially sustainable. My own shopping-ban is a way to stop my own overconsumption of fashion. To use what I own and get a manageable size wardrobe.

The general problem is really that so much of our consumption is not environmentally and socially sustainable. If we fix this, change production and end-of-life processes so that they are sustainable or even circular, I don’t see any reason to limit consumption.

If you are not politically against financial transactions and/or markets, there is nothing wrong with paying someone for providing you with a sustainable service or good.

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A second year of no-shopping?

At the end of a year of no clothes shopping, I concluded that I would not be able to continue another year. Despite ending the year with ca 540 items in my wardrobe, I saw ‘needs’ that meant that I would have to resume shopping this year.

Five months into 2018 and it turns out I was wrong. There have not been any urgent needs that I have had to address. Sure, I am running low on nylon stockings (but still I’ve managed 1,5 year using only my stash!). The boots are getting worn but they are still fine with a bit of leather balm. Clearly, I overestimate how much I wear items. In this part of the world, seasons change so fast so clothes/shoes are used only a few times before the weather is too warm/cold and the items get stored away again. The wardrobe gets worn oh so gently.

A friend asked how much time I spend mending. Yes, mending takes time. In fact, I’ve kept track of how much time I’ve spent mending the last four months. As a general pattern, I mend more when I have time to do so and less when I’m too busy. Only natural. What happens when I’m busy is that I get professional help with the mending and I’ve kept track on that too this year. So far it looks like this:

February: 32 min mending, no professional help

March: 15 min mending, professional help SEK 1600 (including mending,  dry cleaning & shoes repair)

April: 10 min mending, professional help SEK 2600 (including dry cleaning & sewing)

May: 1,5 h mending, no professional help

So I don’t spend a lot of time mending, but when I do I get a lot done (17 mends overall). I had five occasions of professional mending/sewing to a totalt cost of SEK2500. Two instances of shoes repair to a total of SEK 500.

From a financial perspective, it makes sense to mend things yourself. It’s fast and cheap. However, in very busy times, it might make sense to get help and save the stress of possibly not having the clothes ready for when you need them. I get help with mending and sewing from my dry cleaner and yes the cost adds up. Above all, less dry cleaning would save both the environment and my wallet. In once instance, I successfully avoided the dry cleaner by washing outerwear in the washing machine, after realising that it was mostly cotton and thus supposedly washable despite the label saying dry cleaning. Shoes repair I’m happy to leave to the professionals at all times.

I’m also happy to report that almost half way through 2018, my wardrobe is  minus 2 items. I went plus 8 when I inherited some clothes, mostly outerwear, from my great-aunt. In addition, since January, I’ve worn out 10 items (mostly basics). Since I don’t expect to suddenly inherit more clothes (fingers crossed!) and if I successfully keep other temptations at bay, I hope the wardrobe content will decrease even more. I am, as we speak, selling a pair of hardly worn Converse All Stars on auction site Tradera. That’s another minus one.

So to sum up, I’ve now managed 1,5 years without wardrobe shopping and, since the start, reduced my wardrobe with six items. It’s safe to say that I will never have a minimalist wardrobe. And that’s not the issues here either. I love my clothes. I just need to wear them instead of getting new ones all the time.

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The wardrobe audit: 2017 in review

Despite a year of not shopping any clothing my wardrobe is still full. Very few things got worn out last year. And, miraculously, things we’re added to the wardrobe without shopping. Consequently, I was quite curious to know if I expanded or reduced my closet last year. Basically, did I go plus or minus wardrobe-wise.

So I counted all my clothes the other day. I even put them in an excel sheet. If you google ‘count your clothes’, you’ll see that I’m far from the first person on earth to do so. It seems that an average, non-minimalist, wardrobe contains between 200- 500 items. Needless to say, I’m in the upper range, ca 540, including outerwear, swimwear, formal wear i.e. basically all form of clothing but no accessories or shoes. I might include these too in the future though.

To my defense, I haven’t given away clothes to charity shops the last couple of years because of sustainability reasons. As Karen Templer defined slow fashion, it’s about “wearing each item (whatever it is, wherever it came from) for as long as it lasts, extending the lives of things through care and mending, and re-homing anything that doesn’t work for you.” I think the last term ‘re-homing’ is important, making sure the item gets a new home, which isn’t the case of charity shops these days.

Reviewing last year’s wardrobe outflows, I re-homed a silk shirt and tank top to family members. I threw away some underwear, socks, and nylon stockings (after already mending them several times, thrown in the trash). Two t-shirts torn beyond mending  became rags to clean with (I remember my mom saving worn out clothes for rags when we were kids, when did we quit this habit?). A pair of jeans with broken zipper is stored away to use for second life sewing  somehow, i.e. practically they’re no longer in the wardrobe (anyone knows how to mend such zippers?). In total, I parted with ca 10 items.

On the inflow side, I sewed a scout tee from silk scraps in my fabric stash. I knitted a dark blue wool sweater (a knitting project my mom started but had abandoned). I found a 70/80s Austrian wool jacket and skirt at my parents that joined my wardrobe as well as mom’s old 80s salt and pepper wool coat. My sister trusted me with a torn Marella blouse that I mended and made sleeveless (on the picture). Thus six items joined the wardrobe. 

All in all, my wardrobe went minus four items last year.

At this pace, it will take a 135 years to wear out my wardrobe. Seen like this, it looks like my shopping days are over.

There were also a few items that neither added or subtracted but simply changed categories. A red wool jumper left the ‘wool sweater’ category and joined the ‘wool cardigan’ group. This refashioning of a sweater into a cardigan following Worn values tutorial was a success, I have been wearing the ‘new’ cardigan a lot, I never wore it as a sweater. And instead of 27 wool sweaters I now ‘only’ have 26. The wool cardigan category went from 17 to 18 accordingly.

As a knitter, it becomes quite obvious here that one might not need more than 26 wool sweaters. I so very much enjoy knitting sweaters and cardigans but will I wear them? There are, in my climate, maybe six months of wearing wool sweaters and cardigans, ca 180 days. Assuming that you wear either a cardigan or a sweater, not both at the same time, it means that I can wear each sweater/cardigan four times during the season. Basically, it will take many years to wear out a sweater when it gets worn maximum four times a year. Consequently, I have to rethink my knitting habits. While I can finish knitting my current projects, there is now a ban on starting new sweater/cardigan projects for myself. To tell the truth, I did not suspect I had such an abundance of knitwear in my wardrobe before I counted it.

While I was doing my wardrobe audit Worn values posted a review of her slow fashion year 2017. Interestingly, she calculates not only how many items joined her wardrobe but also at what cost. Since I had a year of no-shopping, I paid nothing for new items last year, the only cost was shortening the hem of a skirt (because I was too lazy to do it myself) to the cost of approximately 200 SEK. I also put new soles on few pair of shoes. It would have been very interesting to compare this amount to what I used to spend on my wardrobe. Of course, I never calculated what I spent on my wardrobe before (a passionate shopper doesn’t want to know)  but I suspect I’m saving around 30 000 SEK a year.

During 2018, I would like to not only keep track of in- and outflows but also of how much mending I do.  Sometimes I feel like mending is all I do, so quantifying it would be a way to highlight the effort I put into my wardrobe.

Previous posts about my quest for a sustainable wardrobe: “Is owning less more sustainable“, “2017, the year without shopping“,  “A month without shopping“, “The health bonus of no-shopping: reduced chemical exposure“

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A month without shopping

It’s been a month since my no-shopping commitment. Abstaining from shopping has been easy. Possibly because I had already quit habits such as reading fashion magazines and window shopping.

What’s more challenging is to wear what I own. All of it. They say women only use 20 per cent of our wardrobes (some say 30 and others 44 per cent). Supposedly, men are even worse and only wear 13 per cent of their wardrobe. The minimalist and decluttering initiatives tell us that’s a good reason to get rid of the unused 80/70/56 per cent. What they fail to mention is that throwing things out contributes to more textile waste. The longer we wear something, the better it is for the environment.

Personally, since I’m not shopping, I’m stuck with what I have. So if I want variation, I need to wear everything in my wardrobe. I have to turn the 80 per cent that’s currently collecting dust into things more wearable. Fortunately, there are some easy strategies for doing so.

Mending. Somehow I never learnt to properly mend clothes. I do remember my mom mending my torn pants as a kid but I never really adopted this habit myself. Having things mended for you is, sadly, sometimes as expensive as buying new things. Luckily, there are lots of help to be found on the internet. Wornvalues has a great tutorial for mending knits, for example. Katrina Rodabaugh has a tutorial for elbow patches. Cotton and curls for how to remove pilling and removing stains on shoes.

Second life sewing. Clothes beyond repair can be turned into ‘new’ things. Traditionally, we made rugs out of left over textiles. Aiayu, does so with their textile waste. But you can also make clothes. I removed the torn sleeves from a shirt and thus making it sleeveless. Using the left over fabric and another torn shirt, I made Willow tank, for example. All you need to know is how to operate a sewing machine.

Refashioning. For clothes that are wearable but where you don’t like the style or the size, refashion them. Make the hem a bit shorter or cut off the collar. I’ve been following Wornvalues tutorial for making a cardigan out of a former v-neck sweater that I never wear. This way I get a ‘new’ red cardigan without shopping. Cotton and curls have a tutorial for making jeans slightly bigger, which seems useful.

Dyeing. You can simply dye a garment if you don’t like its color. This natural dyeing book is on my wish list. I’m planning to dye a boringly white dress.

Embellishment. One of my new year’s resolutions is to start embroidering. This is a great way to make some garment a little more fun. There are again lots of inspiration on the internet on how to embroider clothes, for example Elisalex of By Hand London, Tessa Perlow or these collars by Nadya Sheremet.

Styling. If truth be told, there are also items that are absolutely wearable as they are but that I still don’t wear (typically stockings with pattern). In these cases, I have to challenge myself to put on the garments that are not in the comfort zone (but that I at some point thought was a good idea). I find that the key is to figure out new combinations. What I would love is some super inspiring blog for how to wear not-so-easy-to-wear things in ones wardrobe. How to combine items we already own but rarely wear to look really stylish. However, the styling blogs and Instagram accounts I encounter typically try to get us to buy things from different brands. There’s just much more available ‘inspiration’ to buy things and so much less for taking care of what you’ve got. But it does exist and the above are some of my favorites.

Got recommendations for blogs that style what we already own or other take-care-of-your-wardrobe tricks? Please share !

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2017, the year without shopping

‘I own so many things, I probably don’t need to buy anything for the rest of my life’.

This thought hit me while looking into my wardrobe yesterday. Unable to shake off this thought, I made up my mind. I will only use what’s in my wardrobe for a year. Then I will see if it is true. If I really don’t have any need for ‘new’ items. If it is only desire, identity and social impulses that make me buy new things (which this podcast discusses so well).

I used to be a passionate shopper, although somewhere in the back of my head aware about the issues in the fashion industry. I guess I thought buying more expensive items meant less environmental and social issues. I’ve since learnt that it isn’t necessarily so. Price isn’t a good indicator of quality production.

I finally decided to do something with the knowledge I had. I took on a sustainable fashion challenge during Autumn 2015, and since then I only buy sustainably produced garments. You can find how I defined ‘sustainably produced’ here. Acting in new ways during six months efficiently changed my habits. Of course, I’ve had at least one relapse (staying away from the sales still requires self-discipline!). But otherwise, how I acted during the sustainable fashion challenge describes well my current purchasing behaviour. As a result, I buy much less clothing (maybe five in a year) and I’ve saved money, a bonus.

Since Autumn 2015, I’ve learnt a lot more about the textile waste issue in society. From what I’ve read, throwing or giving away what you’ve once bought is not sustainable. So personally, I want to limit my contribution to the textile trash problem. This means taking responsibility for what I own by using it, mending it or refashioning if it doesn’t fit anymore.

How will I practically manage a year without clothes shopping? I will use what I have and if there is a clear need for something, I am allowed to make it myself. Making it myself means knitting or sewing or some other technique I haven’t learnt yet.

But as visualised in my homemade ‘Sewarchy’, focus should really be on the lower parts of the pyramid: on mending what I have. Making new items from scratch should be rare events. Luckily I am a very slow maker. I am not able to sew or knit so many things in a year.

The only exception to the no-buying rule is gifts to others. And then I will aim for sustainably produced items.

Has anyone similar experiences? Please share your thoughts!

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Is owning less more sustainable?

A popular reaction to our overconsumption and environmental  challenges is  to own fewer things. For example the 100 thing challenge says that we should only own 100 personal items. There are  many similar initiatives telling us to declutter and streamline our homes and wardrobes. It is a way to opt out of consumerism they say. Some even claim owning less is good for society and the environment.

Is it true though? Is owning less more sustainable?

Let’s look at the sustainability side of it i.e. the impact on people, environment and future generations.

Items going into your home. From a sustainability aspect, you want to keep new items going into your home to a minimum. Producing new items is resource intensive. The majority of items sold in stores are not produced in an environmentally friendly way. On the people side, a lot of manufacturing exploits workers by not paying a living wage.

When you reduce the number of items you own, many throw out two items and then buy a new one to replace these two. In addition, when you own fewer things (because you threw out a lot) the items get worn a lot more and need to be replaced more frequently. As a result, more new things go into your homes than if you had simply kept what you had before the challenge.

Items you get rid of. Most of these initiatives start by getting rid of a lot of stuff. Now what happens to the things you throw out? A lot of the products we buy today cannot be recycled. In large parts of Europe, they end up in a landfill where they release CO2 and other substances trying to decompose. In Sweden, textile waste is burnt . Clearly, this is a waste of resources.

What about giving it to second hand so someone else can use it? The majority of items donated to second hand are shipped abroad, often to countries with worse waste handling than Scandinavia. So unless you give it to a friend that will cherish it for life, giving things away is not a solution.

To summarise, in terms of sustainability, we should acquire as few things a possible and use the items for as long as possible.  Patagonia estimates that keeping an item for nine more months in your wardrobe reduces related carbon, waste and water footprint an estimated 20 to 30 per cent. Keep it for 15 years and it is a lot more.

So if the 100 items challenge means mostly keeping what you’ve got and giving a few items to friends so they don’t have to buy new, then go ahead. On the other hand, if you, like most of us, own a lot more than 100 items that you would have to get rid of then, no, it is not very sustainable.