Fashion. Some of us embrace it, some of us resent it. Some of us still wear socks and sandals and try and label it ‘fashion’. Whatever your opinion and wherever you stand on the ‘fashion spectrum’ one thing is for sure – the speed at which we are demanding and consuming it is unsustainable.

The team at Homethings remember a time when you would buy a jumper and wear it until the threads were unravelling and you couldn’t decipher which was the hole for your head. You’d buy something you love and treat it with love, all the way until there was no more love to give it. Fast forward to today’s mentality that provokes genuine fear at getting caught wearing something more than once. A horrifying concept to our modern demands but quite the norm ‘back in the day’. The scary thing is that ‘back in the day’ wasn’t even that long ago. With the rise of the internet and with the narrative of ‘buy buy buy’ being pumped through advertising, it’s no wonder that the awful £1 bikini hit headlines and sold out. Bonkers.

So here we are, now what can we do? If the shocking use of raw materials, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions don’t make you want to at least take a look at your ASOS addiction then maybe we’re not the one for you (and that can be a hard pill to swallow when you’ve just signed up for a year of Premier Delivery). Luckily, we have some easy suggestions that can help ease the burden of your conscious and the impact on the planet.

1. Try shop second hand. There are a heap of charity and vintage stores on the high street, you’re probably just too busy running towards the 20% sale sign outside of Zara – dont worry, we’ve all been there, done that and got the t-shirt, quite literally. We don’t want to squash your dreams of looking fabulous in something you’ve just picked up from the store, but we do want to let you know that your dream can be more creative than the bad quality garms from Pretty Little Thing. Try downloading Depop, a fantastic app for not-new fashion and accessories. Get creative, try pre-loved fashion and when you’re done with it, donate it back to another store (unless it’s covered in vegan mayo and red wine stains). Look up Love Not Landfill for your nearest clothes bank.
   
   
2. Did you know you can hire clothes? Outside of that awful suit your Mum made you rent for your Sixth Form Leavers’ Ball, neither did we. But there’s amazing companies such as Hire Street, Hurr and The Endless Wardrobe that allow you to hire knock-out outfits for a small fee – delivery and dry cleaning often included. Or The Nu Wardrobe that focuses on sharing clothes, not renting them. Gold dust. A report by 1 Million Women revealed that if everyone in the UK stopped buying new clothes ‘for one day, the emissions saved would be equivalent to driving a car around the world 8,640 times’. How do we sign up?
   
   
3. Join us in the #YearOfNothingNew challenge. Now, no names mentioned but only ⅔ of the team have committed to get onboard with our initiative, whilst Lo (sorry) is dipping her toe in. As a bit of a guilty shopaholic, she is trying a #DayOfNothingNew challenge and has so far successfully completed 33 days. Whilst every small win is a win, we would encourage, celebrate and gently force you to think about getting onboard and set yourself goals for avoiding unnecessary consumerism. Exceptions of course apply, such as pants, socks and anything else you deem essential*.
   (*NB, Gemma Collins endorsed diamante socks are not essential).

With each person in the UK buying an estimated 26.7kg of clothing every year (weigh the top you’re wearing to work out how much that actually is, bonkers) we need to rethink the fashion industry and applaud ourselves for changing our habits.

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