Ahhhh shopping, probably one of my favourite things. I honestly think that ‘retail therapy’ is a real thing and should be given a lot more credit, I mean the amount of times a new pair of jeans has pulled me back from having a mental breakdown is truly astounding.
However, at the same time, I can admit to myself that there is a nasty underbelly to the retail therapy joy. I’m sure many of you can relate to walking into any number of ‘bargain’ fashion stores ‘just for a look’, only to then walk out twenty minutes later with a pair of pants that you may or may not ever wear but the colour was great, a dress you are almost 95% sure you really do not need, and that one basic top you found and bought in every colour available because FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IT WAS ONLY $10!!!
Now people, I agree a bargain is a bargain and everyone likes a little ‘bang for ya buck’. But have you ever considered how these seemingly happy moments of buying a massive amount of clothes for comparatively little money could be affecting our planet? Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way pointing fingers here. I am just as guilty of this as the next person, but that jacket you bought half price along with the rest of your bargain winter wardrobe won’t be much use to you in a future where global warming is a reality.
With women wearing a single piece of clothing seven times on average before discarding it, 20 pieces of clothing per person per year being manufactured (the population of the world is 7.7 billion – you do the math) and an approximate 9.5 billion kgs of clothing and textiles ending up in landfill each year – I think we can all agree that our retail therapy is contributing to a very big environmental problem.
So what can we do…?
Well – less shopping is a start – or perhaps just changing the way we shop……..? How about embracing the idea that resale could be the new retail? How about taking a leaf out of the share economy and sharing your clothes - you know like you do with your friends and your family (well sometimes...), but on a global scale so that you, and all the others like you, are creating a global wardrobe that everyone can ‘shop’ from.
Populace Threads is a social movement in fashion. We are trying to reshape consumer purchasing behaviour around clothing and fashion. Let's face it....it's hard doing the wardrobe clean out. You make all these piles - the sell pile, the rent pile, the repair pile, the throw out pile, the charity / donate pile - but then you have to actually DO something with them all - and that takes time.....! Our vision at Populace Threads is that we will provide the single platform to manage the wardrobe clean out, and by doing so, increase the circularity of clothing and decrease the amount of clothing ending up in landfill each year. We have Shop, Swap and Sell going already, and we will progressively add functionality as we grow to make it easier for our community to do the right thing, make some money on the way through, and engage in a little bit of #ResaleTherapy - Populace Threads style.
Check out the Populace Threads ‘How it Works’ page and then join our community of like minded people – people who care about looking good, feeling good, and doing good.
Comments