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.consciouslifeandstyle.com/ethical-eco-vegan-shoes/

Eco-friendly & ethical lingerie

https://www.consciouslifeandstyle.com/eco-ethical-lingerie-bras-and-underwear/

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!