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Measuring Waste

Love the idea of having food waste quantified for accountability and possible action. Reading this reminded me of the documentary True Cost about the true cost of cheap, street fashion. Despite what we may know about this issue, buying ethical is not always possible. As this article says:

Recently, I stared myself down in a dressing room mirror, unable to justify spending $270 on an ethically made dress. As much as I wanted to buy it, I couldn’t afford to, so I sulked back to H&M to try to find a consolation prize. The five women who I interviewed about their shopping habits all confirmed that their “loyalty” to brands like The Gap, H&M, and Primark boils down to pricing and the difficulty of finding ethical brands that fit their budget

Many can relate to this. My own solution to the problem is to buy as little as possible and hang on to what I have as long as possible. This means, short-lived fashion is never on the menu for me. I may admire it from afar but I would never spend money on it unless I see the style working for me ten years from now. It severely limits options and makes clothes shopping a very frustrating, time consuming task that I am never excited about. 

As I transitioned to this mode over the last decade, my wardrobe has turned to simple bordering on boring. I have made peace with that knowing that this is the most ethical I can be as a shopper. As side effect of this for me has been the impact on my self-perception and mental state. There is very little room for whimsy in my world - that went away years ago along with the crazy uncomfortable heels, huge chunky costume jewelry, bright patterns and vivid colors. They leave me feeling disorientated - I need more elemental, uncomplicated things in clothing and also in life.

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