Is It Worth It?
Making it Last: A Column By Willow Bullington
Living sustainably often feels hopeless, it feels pointless and it does not feel worth it.
I think so much stems from social media and, my accessibility to obscure opinions from absolute strangers. At any time, I can type in a few words and begin to read millions upon millions of people's thoughts on random topics. With that being said, today as I aimlessly wandered into the abyss of social media, I saw a post about choosing to shop fast fashion. Essentially justifying shopping fast fashion because “you will only wear it once”, and most of the comments agreed. Furthering this mindset that it is ok to shop fast fashion if you are only going to wear it once, or it is ok to shop fast fashion because trends move so fast nowadays, or it is ok to shop fast fashion because one person cannot really make a difference.
And I can not accurately express why this way of thinking makes me so upset. I absolutely loathe this narrative. A lot of the comments made valid criticisms about how prominent fast fashion is in today's culture, its large-scale impact on our world, and how little control we as individuals have. It is defeating to realize how widespread the hand of fast fashion reaches and realize that you cannot reach nearly as far. But the thing is, we can only control ourselves, and creating real change starts with our own decisions. Often times we adjust our lives to fit a trend, to avert criticism, to give off a certain perception, instead of adjusting our lives with the intention of creating lasting change. Shopping ethically is often made out to be pointless, like it is an all-or-nothing deal. Framing a sustainable lifestyle as an “ all or nothing” undermines any real efforts that could be made to change the mindset around shopping ethically.
From my perspective, social media has become a mechanism to justify anything and everything. For example, as I read these comments I began to watch and engage with more videos to gain a broader perspective, and what bothers me is people using the inequity of others as an excuse. I want to be clear I am not speaking about those facing inequity, I am speaking about those who point out someone else’s inequity and use it as a cop-out. Using the inaccessibility in low-income communities as a justification for spending 1000 dollars on SHEIN is a complete fallacy. It turns the narrative on you, and makes someone else’s suffering about how it is “so hard to watch”. I know this is a blunt way to put it but I do not feel I can effectively communicate my point any other way.
Sustainability is not an equally accessible lifestyle, I have said it once and will continue to say that my point in writing this column is to share my experience for those seeking to live sustainably. I am writing urging you to apply these principles where you can, this is not a how-to guide, not a fully comprehensive breakdown, and not a guilt trip, this is meant to shed light on the difficulties of attempting to live sustainably. Seeking sustainability is not a lifestyle suitable for everyone, we as people change and grow and therefore our habits and disciplines should change and grow with us. It is time-consuming, and not for everyone, that's why I started this column to help everyone find principles that apply to their own lives.
Anyways I will now step down from my soapbox.
As I have spent these past few months being intuitive and intentional with where I shop, I have realized that shopping has previously been a very passive activity. It was more for the sake of fitting into a trend of buying something I like instead of examining the effects it had. The more I dive into what it looks like to live sustainably I have begun to look further than a label or a tag on, I began looking at the communities, the people I am buying from. Clothing and clothing production has always been a very tedious and detail-oriented art. Go watch and biography on any designer and you will be moved to see all the hours, minutes, seconds even that go into every campaign. Clothing is always more than just fabric, it is personal style, it is self-expression, it is much more than just fabric. And when we buy clothes we buy a lens into someone else’s lives and their work.
What has made shopping sustainability worth it for me, is the connection and investment into more than just clothing. When you begin to view clothing as more than just clothes it changes the value. Clothing is self-expression, clothing is fashion, clothing is comfort, clothing has the power to be more than just fabric.
Living sustainably is not a decision you make to “feel better” about yourself. Living sustainably is about living a life beyond yourself. Realizing your actions affect other people, our actions cause harm to other people and the planet. As people, we think very selfishly about the inconvenience lifestyle change can illicit, but the inconvenience and discomfort are bettering the lives of others, and the planet overall. Our world is so intricately interconnected and it is vital to realize that our actions affect every person one way or another. I am urging you to make change where you can and learn to make it last. Not just our clothes, food, and everyday essentials, but chose to make it last for others, chose to make it last so the planet lasts beyond just the foreseeable future, beyond our era.
With All My Love and More,
Willow