LOVE WHAT YOU BUY
DAME Vivienne Westwood might be one of the world’s most famous fashion designers, but she is also a passionate environmental campaigner.
She has been talking about the need for a seismic change to the way we think and live for 20 years now.
Back in 2013 she made a plea for consumers to buy well, choose less and make it last.
In the years since, fast fashion has ramped up to a pace so furious that it’s estimated
£140 million of clothes go into landfill every year, not recycled nor given to charity shops, but sent to rot with old nappies in a hole in the ground.
When you look at it like that, you can see Dame Vivienne’s point very clearly. Disposable fashion is a problem.
Buy well, choose less and make it last is a great motto, but when I have used this phrase in the past, it’s been met with some trepidation, and on occasion, criticism.
Most people assume there is a big cost implication to shopping “well”. Certainly if you wanted to buy only Vivienne Westwood clothes from now on you would need fairly deep pockets.
I am frequently asked can you shop with a conscience if you are on a more modest budget? I have thought carefully about this and, although shopping ethically is a lifestyle choice, I’m aware that having a choice about where you shop is a privilege, and not one afforded to everyone.
And while it’s true that second hand is a very eco-friendly way to shop cheaply, affordable shops have their purpose.
So what does buying well look like? Does it mean shopping only for designer clothes? In a word, no.
Buying designer clothes isn’t a guarantee of anything – ethical manufacturing, longevity, even quality.
Buying well isn’t price dependent. So if buying well isn’t about spending more what is it about?
My interpretation is that it’s taking the time to think about what you are buying, caring about the quality, it’s not ok when clothes fall apart after a few wears, good clothes are designed to last, maybe not forever but a long time.
Shopping well should be about falling in love with the things you buy, coveting it, being excited to wear it and looking after it so it lasts longer, even if it’s the dreaded hand-wash!