Do you really need that new frock?

Now #underconsumption core is trending on TikTok, are you trying to buy less stuff? If so, try asking yourself these seven questions before you click add to bag to decide if you really do 'need' it!

In 2020 I started The Elephant in my Wardrobe on Instagram to challenge throwaway consumption and refocus my relationship with fashion. I believe that if we want to live sustainably within the boundaries of the planet’s resources and slow down climate change, then many of us are going to need to buy a lot less stuff and I wanted to learn how to do exactly that!

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’d spent over 30 years of working in the fashion industry spotting, and creating new trends. I really liked shopping and I shopped for all sorts of reasons. I shopped to reward myself when something went well, to cheer myself up when something went wrong, I shopped to make myself feel more confident, or younger, or thinner, hilariously I even shopped to try and make myself someone else entirely. On reflection, my purchases were generally emotional, often impractical, and it’s interesting to speculate the extent that the between 6000-10,000 ads targeting us everyday triggered those needs?

Picture taken by me in Traid in Dalston 2022

Over the last four years I have slowly reduced my personal fashion shopping by over 75% and try to buy just 12 apparel items a year. It’s not always been easy! But over time, I've learned to ask myself these ten questions whenever I feel the urge to shop.

1. Do I really need it?

For me this is the BIG question!

When I started this project there were lots of things I thought I ‘needed’ which may seem odd because, at the time, I already owned well over 200 items of clothing. What could I possibly really need?

In 2020 I decided to limit myself to just two apparel purchases a month. At the end of the year I asked myself whether I really did need all the things I’d bought or whether I could have happily lived without them - it was about 50/50. So in 2021 I reduced it to one item a month and that’s what I’m trying to stick to now.

I’ve learned that the key to understanding if you need something is asking yourself how, when and where you’ll wear it.

Do not, I repeat do not, buy clothes for the fantasy life you would like to live, or see other people living on social media. If you can't imagine wearing it your real life, here and now, then step away.

As part of this I find shopping in season, when I know what I’m wearing, and not wearing, helps.

Next I check if there anything similar in my wardrobe already that does that job? Many of us are drawn to the same things over and over again. For me that’s jeans and trousers (21), roll necks (14) and jackets (15) - I know I don’t need anymore.

Then consider whether what you’re contemplating works with the clothes, shoes and accessories you already own. If buying it means going on a spending spree for new things to style it with, then I suggest stepping away. Or at least sleeping on it?

Finally if you’re buying it for a special occasion, shop your wardrobe first or try to find a style you can dress down and wear afterwards in other ways? Something you can keep wearing year after year?  If you really only want to wear it once, could you rent it?

2. Do I really love it?

So you’ve decided you do really need it - great! Next step - only buy things that you really, really like. Take your time, shop around and try to find your perfect something. That doesn’t have to mean expensive, particularly if you shop secondhand, but it does mean don’t settle for something that isn’t quite what you wanted because it’s cheap or something that doesn’t fit you properly or make you feel good. The majority of my ‘mistakes’ in 2020 fell into this ‘not quite right’ but ‘it will do’ category.

3. Will I wear it a lot and will I keep wearing it for years?

This is important. Research by Wrap suggests that, on average just 20% of the clothes in our wardrobes are worn regularly. Increasing the number of times you wear a garment, even extending its worn life by just nine months, can significantly reduce its carbon footprint.

This question is particularly relevant for trend pieces. If it’s A/W 24’s ‘must have’ ‘key piece’ but you can’t see yourself wanting to wear it next year then perhaps it’s not for you?

4. Can I buy it secondhand?

Once I’ve decided I want something I always try to buy it secondhand first and there are several reasons for this…

• Firstly, it’s a more sustainable way to shop. For me, as a consumer, shopping secondhand instead of new will reduce my personal carbon footprint.

• Secondly, it allows me to trade up and buy better quality clothes from brands that would be unaffordable new.

• And thirdly, because I think you can find pretty much anything you want in the secondhand market if you have the time and the perseverance to hunt it down, and if you are a fairly standard size. Sadly the secondhand market does amplify all the inequalities around size availability in the mainstream fashion market. Although I do wonder if the sheer volumes of stock available on some of the big resale platforms may be starting to mitigate this. What do you think?

5. What’s it made of?

Did you know that almost 70% of a garments carbon footprint is created during the production of the fibres and fabrics our clothes are made from and around 8,000 different chemicals, some of them toxic, are used to turn raw materials into textiles? As a consumer I think it’s very hard to make ‘informed’ choices about what’s sustainable because we aren’t given all the relevant information but some of the things I think are worth considering are…

• Growing non-organic cotton uses lots of water, chemicals and pesticides.  If you can, choose certified Organic Cotton or look out for Better Cotton Initiative labelling.

• Canopy estimates that 200 million trees are cut down every year to make viscose fabrics, destroying ancient forests and wildlife habitats. If your dream dress is viscose try to find Lenzing certified fabrics that are made from sustainably managed forests.

• If it’s polyester, are you going to keep it forever, because it’s not recyclable and it will take 100's of years to biodegrade. Also consider how often you will need to wash it? Washing our synthetic clothes is releasing half a million tiny plastic microfibres into the ocean every year. If you're washing polyester consider investing in a Guppy Bag.

• The most sustainable fibres are probably biodegradable, like non mulesed merino wool and linen, but they may still have a high carbon footprint depending on how far they’ve travelled from field to factory to your home?

6. Who made it and how does that sit with my values?

This isn’t an easy question and I don’t think there is one ‘right’ answer. We all have different values, different budgets and many of us lack the time to uncover the information we need to make an informed decision about this.

But asking questions about where and how our clothes were made is an opportunity to use our power as consumers and show brands, and businesses, that we care and share what’s important to us.

A good starting point is to check out Corporate Social Responsibility reports online and if you can’t find the information ask questions of their customer services or social media teams.

7. Can I take care of it and repair it?

Terrifyingly an Oxfam report in 2019 suggested that 11 million garments end up in landfill or being incinerated in the UK each and every week. Sometimes this is because of something as simple as a lost button, stain or tear. Before you buy something ask yourself if you value it enough to mend it and maintain it over time?

And then ask yourself if it will be possible to repair it? This is not always straightforward. I am currently trying to refurbish my much loved Birkenstocks and finding it a lot harder than I’d like. If you’ve got any thoughts on how I can do this I would love to hear from you.

Whatever you do - do NOT bin it! If it's literally worn out then investigate recycling options and try to dispose of it responsibly.

What else?

If you’ve read this far then I’d love to know whether you found this piece useful and whether there are any other questions you think I should add to this list?

What next?

I’m thinking about sharing my top tips for shopping secondhand in my next post - would that be interesting? I’m also wondering if a post collating recycling options for unwanted apparel would be useful? Let me know what you think I should write about.