Fashion Revolution Week
Every year in January we all get excited and promise ourselves to make changes and set New Year resolutions.
Some of us succeed and some of us fail and give up before the end of the year. I am guilty of setting many resolutions in the past and not fulfilling all of them. But this year it is different , because this resolution it is not about me alone.
I know I have to stick to it and I cannot afford to give up half way of the year.
On January 2017, I have decided to take a vow upon myself to abstain from buying any fashion related products for the entire year. This includes clothes, bags, shoes and fashion accessories . I know this sounds crazy specially for us women, but to be honest I was never a big shopaholic girl!. In this challenge , I am allowed to swap and exchange fashion products with people. Also I can recycle old clothing and fix them up into new style. On the other hand , I can make new clothes from fabrics and materials that I already own.( This is the hardest part for me...not being able to buy fabrics).
So why did I take this pledge upon myself, if you may ask?. We spent the past year researching and looking extensively into the Fast Fashion industry and its supply chain. We came to learn to many shocking facts about the industry we love and work in. We had no idea how bad Fast Fashion is to the Environment and to the people who make our clothes. Therefore, we have rebranded our company (Buno Design) into an ethical and sustainable fashion brand. It was not and easy or cheap move , but we believe it is the right thing to do. We all have responsibility as brand and designers towards our planet and the people who make our clothes.
It has been a long learning journey for us and we are still learning and making small changes everyday to ensure that we fulfill our duty as ethical brand.
Going back to my 2017 Pledge, since we are advocating for ethical and sustainable fashion to our clients. I thought to myself , how can I preach to people about changing their shopping habits and reduce their fashion wastage , if I did not understand the challenges that they face everyday. I wanted to start with myself , making the necessary changes I needed to make to as consumer . It will allow me to understand deeply what drives each one of us into this mind of compulsive shopping. Also, it will be a detoxing experience that will allow my mind to be free from the need to buy something new. I am hopping I will catch up with all my sewing projects that I have been putting off . I love DIY projects, so I can’t wait to give facelift to some of my old garments. I am going to try and share my daily struggles and how I over come them.
To make my experiment more fun and easy, I started with de-cluttering my wardrobe and getting organized. This has helped me see everything I own , hence reminding me that I really do not need any more clothing. I have organized and displayed all my jewelry and bags to make easily accessible . Such small changes to wardrobe made great impact onto my mind. It is really an eye opening experience which shows us wether we buy clothes because we need it or we want it.