Dear Readers,
The purpose & intention behind this blog post is to inspire you to truly understand the meaning of self-confidence, self-worth & divine grace.
Often times, I have witnessed my fellow humans associating their self-worth with the number of clothes they have in their wardrobe aka their fashion sense.
These are the people who would read this statement & scoff at it with a predominant feeling of denial. They will be the ones saying that they ‘shop a lot’ because they ‘enjoy’ it & ‘shopping & dressing up’ brings them joy.
Please know that I am talking about people who feel the need to purchase something (small/big) every single week or every single month.
It goes without saying that I’m not talking about the bare essentials.
Signs that your self-worth is attached to your clothes
-> You do not like repeating outfits.
-> You repeat outfits but notice others who do as well and smirk about it.
-> You feel the need to dress up to stand out in any group.
-> You cannot leave your home in lounge wear.
-> You think atheleisure is only restricted to the gym/yoga class.
-> You get conscious if someone catches you without make-up.
-> You always need to have a concelear around.
-> You put way too much thought & energy in your outfit before entering any party.
-> You dislike repeating outfits at a party.
-> You feel the need to get a new piece of clothing or accessory everytime you hit the mall.
-> You cannot return empty-handed from any store.
-> If not for self, you feel like shopping for others.
-> This one’s only for girls- You cannot step out of the house without adorning your waterline with a kajal (kohl).
If you catch yourself saying yes to any of the aforementioned questions, then this blog post holds the potential of serving you in the highest & best way.
Fast Fashion- What happens if you overshop?
Have you realised that everytime you walk into Zara, you see a new collection? Well, Zara’s business model is all about coming up with new items every 15 days. Mind you, I have a lot of clothes from Zara and like the brand a lot. What I now despise is the way they produce those beautiful pieces. It’s heartbreaking!
Same goes from brands like H & M, Forever 21, Topshop, Mango, etc. They all have an accelerated production process in order to get new items to entice customers to shop more & more.

Fast Fashion produces over 150 billion pieces of apparels every year when the consumption is not even 60 billion (considering there are some lame shopaholics loitering in the society).
Think of all the unused clothes…
Wanna know what happens to that?
Landfills!
Landfill Pollution!

Are you still proud of shopping too much?
Filth in fast fashion brands.
Institute of Sustainable Communication suggested that the fashion industry is the 2nd biggest polluter of water, thanks to all the chemical dyes & dump we have been creating ever since our self worth got attached to the way we dress-up.
Did you know that most fashion factories use up coal to produce apparels thus contributing 20% of world’s carbon emission.
So the bigger your wardrobe (more clothes you own), more carbon footprint you have on this planet.
In order to sustain in the market (competitive pricing, hello), these brands outsource production to countries such as Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Ecuador, etc.
Here, workers who are below the poverty line are hired and made to work in grave conditions- long hours, shitty factories without proper amenities and worst of all, painfully low wages.
Heard of the Rana Plaza scandal?
If not, I BEG YOU TO SEE THIS->
click here
Brands can go upto any extent to reduce their cost and improve profit margins for marketing & branding. They are also unapologetic about child labour. 🙁
And all of this is hidden from us unless a scandal is out & about.
Mindful shopping- how can we contribute?
Here is a list of Fast Fashion Brands that you must avoid if possible.
I am also including a list of ethical, organic, fair trade & sustainable brands that we all must support.
FYI fair trade brands are the ones that pay their workers fair wages and take care of their working conditions.
If a brand claims to be organic & sustainable check for accreditions->
>>ISO 9001 & OEKO-TEX certified factories for production to ensure fair trade conditions across the supply chain
>>WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization) & Fairtrade Foundation accredition if the company claims to be fair trade
>>GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified cotton & other raw materials
FAST FASHION BRANDS WE NEED TO AVOID
Missguided
Fashion Nova
Shein
Nasty Gal
Mango
Forever 21
H&M
Zara
Primark
Victoria’s Secret
ASOS
Beneton
La Senza
Hollister
Abercrombie & Fitch
Disney
Claire’s Accessories
ETHICAL BRANDS WE NEED TO EMBRACE
Amour Vert
Made Trade
People Tree
Krochet Kids
Bead & Reel
Kotn
Monsoon
Threads 4 Thought
Alternative Apparel
Pact
Ash & Rose
Thought Clothing
Armed Angels
Bibico
Jan ’n June
Komodo
Here’s a bigger list of ethical fashion brands for
Vegan Shoes
https://www.
Eco-friendly & ethical lingerie
https://www.
What have I been up to?
I am myself guity of shopping from fast fashion brands but in my defence, this ugly truth came to me not too long ago! Also, I proudly admit that I love repeating my outfits. I love creating 10 different looks from 3-4 pieces of clothing. Most of the clothes I own, are 7+ years old and I wear them all like a badge of honour. I am proud of the fact that my size hasn’t changed in over a decade which means I get to wear my favourite pieces over & over again, I just style them very differently .

Clothes that I do not wear, I pass on to my near & dear ones who cannot afford to shop. I have always seen my clothes on my house helps’ kids and it brings back old memories of joy.
I am not asking you to boycott the fast fashion brands immeditely. I am just asking you to-
>shop less from these brands
>build a capsule wardrobe
>start supporting (by shopping) from ethical sustaiable brands
>>donate clothes instead of throwing them
>not attach your self-worth with “repeating an outfit”
>think 10 times before you purchase anything; ask yourself Do I need it? Or Do I WANT it?


Capsule Wardrobe- dress like a pro who gives a damn about this planet!
Capsule wardrobe is a collection of FEW ESSENTIAL items that will never go out of fashion such as silk skirts, black trousers, caramel coats, plain white tee, black turtleneck, so on & so forth. Here’s how I have personally styled & restyled by outfits.


Strong Recommendations
Learn more about Ethical Fashion here.
Learn more about Capsule Wardrobe here.
Watch a life changing documentary, here (available on Netflix).
Watch a life altering documentary, here (available on Netflix).
If this blog post struck a chord with you, then PLEASE comment below!







If this blog post struck a chord with you, then PLEASE PLEASE comment below as to how you will contribute to eradicate this ugly fast fashion!
I m proud of you…..such an amazing idea….. simply great
Thanks a lot my love!
Firstly, this is the most well researched post you’ve ever put out and
Secondly, I’m inspired to reduce my footprint from clothing too.
Keep up the good work Aakansha
Thank you so much Rajeev, this feedback made my day 🙂
U have nailed it dear!
Thanks a ton Sumi love!
Wow! Very beautifully,well explained by the fashion Diva😘very useful for shopholic,and this blog is eye-opener, definitely will think about,thank u so much to share this important yet useful topics,😘😍 awesome
Your words of appreciation are super valuable to me. Thanks a lot Kiran didi- God Bless You!
This post is definitely an eye opener, thank you for sharing this !
So happy that you found this useful Zankar.
Your comment serves as an incentive to me for writing better & better…
-(hug)-
I almost had goosebumps at a point while reading this.. this is so well researched post by you Akanksha, an eye opener ..
proud of your work. ♥
you look lovely in the pictures btw.. 💋
Thank you so much my love.
Simply woow……
Ur blog educates me about things which the mainstream media never covers..
The idea of capsule wardrobe, fair trade etc. is too fascinating and something I am gonna implement immidiately 😁
So proud of you wanting to take immediate actions. Thanks for reading and finding my heartfelt content educational. I truly put my sweat & soul into this blog!
Love this! Thanks for this post. We need more people like you! Just one point: among all the things you mention, I’m with you; I just don’t know that ‘copying high-end brands designs’ is really a necessary point to make.
Thanks Claire, I’m glad you loved this article.
I am strongly against wearing or even promoting dupes/fake items.
I am a believer that one should save and purchase from a high-end designer if their financial situation allows them to instead of going for a fake due to intellectual property loss for the brand. I am going to think about writing a blog post dedicated to this topic. I studied INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY as a subject in my Masters. 🙂 Thanks again for your comment.
Wow, I must say you have a great understanding for fashion and clothes.
You gave all the information one needs for learning the reality of big brands and how to look even better by wearing same clothes, spending less, all in one blog.
Keep going ✌️
Thanks for your kind feedback Amit.
I’m glad this article helped you.
Wow….😍
Thank you so much 😘
It’s a pleasure my dear!
VERY WEILL WRITTEN POST. YOU HAVE ENCOURAGED EVERYONE TO USE/BUY ORGANIC, FREE TRADE PRODUCTS BY WRITING IT IN YOUR BLOG. YOU HAVE INSPIRED TONS OF PEOPLE. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, MY SISTER-IN-LAW:) 🙂 🙂 🙂
THINGS I LEARNT AFTER READING THIS BLOG IS
– WE HAVE EVERYTHING IN OUR LIFE, ITS JUST OUR MIND THAT MAKES US WANT THINGS WHICH MAKES US MORE GREEDY.
– I ALWAYS DONATE MY CLOTHES TO CHILDREN.
– AFTER SEEING THOSE PICTURES, I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START USING FAIR TRAD AND ORGANIC PRODUCTS.
Fantastic baby, super proud of your thoughts & comment!
Okay . I admit i hate to wear the same clothes again and again . But then I realised 3 years back ( when I started to earn ) that I’m wasting so much money unnecessarily. I had this guilt . The day i started to earn and shop from my own money it struck me I have to repeat clothes and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. After all it’s about being comfortable in what you wear . ❤😊
So true 🙂
More love & power to you 🙂
xx