Wow! Without even thinking much about it, it has been approximately one year since I made the commitment to shop more responsibly. I thought I’d reflect a bit on what has happened over the past year, what I’ve learned and what I hope to achieve moving forward. I had a couple glasses of wine before writing this post (it’s Friday!) so this could be interesting and also maybe emotional. Welcome to my writing process, where I rarely proofread.
I should probably try to be more polished. *Shrug*.
What a year it has been! The big things:
- I got married!
- I started focusing more on my health.
- We bought a house.
- I traveled to Germany, Norway, Italy and Greece.
The ethical fashion things:
- I made a commitment to shop responsibly. My first purchase after making that commitment was with Free Label, which, as you all know very well, is a brand close to my heart.
- After a couple of years of dabbling in conscious fashion, and then making a more firm commitment, I started my blog in September 2017.
- I re-branded my blog in March 2018.
- This community is amazing. I’ve had a lot of self-doubt and questions about if I’m doing or saying the right things. I’m always humbled by the kindness and support that ethical fashion bloggers give to one another. It truly is community over competition.
The day-to-day things:
- Every day I go to work for a company that is committed to protecting the environment and helping us all use resources more responsibly. I’m proud to play a small part in that mission.
What I’ve learned:
- Ethical fashion isn’t going to save the world. Policy is.
- As consumers, shopping ethically is one of the ways we can communicate that we demand workers’ rights and environmental stewardship.
- The most ethical, sustainable thing you can buy is nothing. But when you do need something, the best thing you can do is shop ethically (including secondhand).
- Fair fashion is a privilege that not everyone can afford, and I need to be mindful of that when discussing it.
- Life is not about having more, but about being more.
- Having fewer things gives you more space to think and create.
Looking ahead…
- I’d like to continue working on not comparing my ethical fashion journey with the journey of others.
- I’d also like to work on controlling my impulse shopping, especially when it comes to secondhand pieces that I think I’ll “miss out” on if I don’t just purchase them quickly.
- Improving my photography skills – composition mainly, for right now – is important to me.
- And, I just want to continue to connect with those who share an interest in responsible fashion in an authentic and supportive way.
Thanks for following along, everyone. It means so much to me. This is just a small passion project that I put my heart into when I get home after work, or early in the morning. I never really thought I’d get the comments and following I have. It’s small, but it’s engaged and kind and lovely and all I could ever hope for. It’s so crazy to me, and I promise I won’t ever take it for granted.
xx
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