A Quick Guide to Mindful Purchasing
how to be intentional about your purchases
Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely holiday and enjoyed some rest and relaxation time. This article started as small leather purses I would recommend if I was looking for new options (still happening — coming next week!), but it quickly turned into me writing an article about mindful purchasing and opting towards a focus on sustainability. Disclaimer: I am not an expert in sustainability. These are my thoughts and some techniques I’ve gathered on my journey towards more mindful purchasing habits. Before I proceed I would like to say that I use the terms “mindful”, “ethical” and “sustainable” throughout to represent similar meanings even though they carry different connotations individually.
Let’s Talk Awareness
I’ve been fortunate in my life. As I’ve grown older and progressed in my career, more resources and privileges have become available. This has given me the space to focus on learning how I can avoid partaking in harmful consumption habits. I strongly believe you should not just vote with your ballot, but with your dollar too if you have the privilege to do so.
So how can we strive to avoid these harmful consumption habits and work towards more ethical, sustainable and environmentally conscious purchasing habits? Let’s be frank — the most sustainable thing we can do is wear and use what we already have. My inner consumerist has trouble with this definition so, in an effort to compromise, I’ve ended up defining sustainability for myself as buying less and buying better quality.
Again, I want to once again acknowledge that the ability to purchase “better quality” products isn’t always available. I certainly wasn’t able to purchase a $300+ dollar coat when I was younger and didn’t have the financial means I do now. My brain and wallet couldn’t justify that purchase no matter how much I cared for sustainability. I think we ultimately reach a threshold where if we have “enough” disposable income, we start to have the luxury of thinking beyond our immediate financial needs and onto the impact our purchases have on ourselves and others. What I’m saying is — we are all doing the best we can and being kind to yourself in the process is important. Awareness is the first step.
Fashion Hierarchy of Needs - My Journey to Mindful Purchasing
Over time, I’ve built what I like to call my fashion hierarchy of needs. While this journey will not be the same for everyone, I wanted to share mine as a starting point to thinking about sustainability and its implications:
Minimum set of clothing to function in society as it exists today
Once we have met this initial need imposed upon us by societal standards, we might start wondering about general style and how we’d like to present ourselves to the world
Once we’ve learned more about style and done some soul searching on how we want to present ourselves, we might start to wonder more about fabrics
Once we’ve learned a bit more about fabrics, we might wonder more about quality over quantity
Once we’ve invested in quality, we might wonder about the impact our consumption has on the environment, how a company treats its employees, etc.
Combatting Impulsive Purchases - Questions I Ask Myself Before Buying
As I moved up in my fashion hierarchy of needs, I had and still have those moments where I feel the impulse to purchase something new and exciting. It could be a new style, cool fabrics I’ve been eyeing or just spur of the moment inspiration – no matter the time that has passed or my increase in awareness, those impulses still come up.
The majority of the time, these questions keep me from impulsively buying something and give me more time to think through it and reflect:
Is it a “need” or is this a want?
Is it on my wishlist? Is it a new want or is this something I keep coming back to?
Would getting dressed be less painful with this item?
Why haven’t I purchased it yet?
Do I want to purchase it due to a sale?
Do I want this specific piece or something like it?
Is there anything else in my closet like this? If so, do I use that piece? If not, why haven’t I?
If I can’t afford the item I want:
Can I find something similar via thrifting to fill the gap in the meantime?
If I find a similar item, will I still want to buy the original item?
Is this something I see myself wearing for more than one season or year? Can it be passed down to another generation?
Let’s Talk Company Responsibility
While we can focus as individuals on striving towards only buying what we need or really want, I also think this falls on the companies we support. We can’t put the entirety of the burden of sustainability on the individual, nice try BP oil ad campaign from the 90s.
My fashion equivalent of “world peace” is a future where corporations have a strong passion not just for their craft but for the world they share with the rest of us, thinking more proactively about their impact and less about their profit. In a capitalist society driven by profit maximization, this type of company obviously does not exist, but I do know there are some that at least try to care about how their production practices impact the long term viability of society as it exists today on this Earth.
Soapbox aside, how can we identify which companies attempt sustainable practices? Before we continue, I want to say that sustainability comes in many forms: we all assign different levels of importance to different sustainability practices. Some of us may care more about how often they release new products, while another may value fair wages and working conditions more. Sometimes knowing it’s 100% cotton is enough. I am not the sustainability police, but I can share what I define as a product that is sustainable and of high quality.
I look at the following:
The fabric. I want to make sure the item is mostly made from natural fibers that I can “easily” maintain throughout the years. I am shopping for longevity and reusability.
The company. Do they partake in fast iterative fashion? Do they acknowledge their carbon footprint and what are they doing to combat that?
The price. Is it reasonable for the perceived value I have assigned it?
For example, I’ve been on the hunt for a black wool coat that I could easily throw on everyday. I found this Marcella New York coat. I’ve never purchased anything from Marcella New York and I know very little of the company. So my steps were as follows:
I checked the material and saw it was 100% wool. It does have a viscose lining.
As I scroll down, I see a section about their ethical production cycle. Before arriving at the footer there is an entire section on their employee benefits and their commitment to fair and good working environments. They also have a section about their packaging and their “just in time” production process. I personally love that it is easy to find and available on every single product listing.
Currently on sale for $276.25, but at full price retails for $325.
At a glance, I am convinced this coat is worth its value and that my money would support fair wages, maternity leave, 40 hour max work weeks, paid time off, etc. While I will look and weigh different options against each other before purchasing, this coat appears to check all of my peace of mind boxes.
Ultimately, you have to decide what is important to you. It’s hard to be an ethical consumer in a capitalistic society. Ethical spending is often achieved through iterative compromise and a continuous weighing of your options against your current values and financial means.
Here are a few more questions I like to ask myself when considering a brand:
Can you find any information about their sustainability practices on their website and validate them elsewhere?
Do they offer all material information on their product listing and is it easy to find?
Is it a natural or synthetic material? What is the environmental implication of that material?
How often are they releasing new products? Or offering new colors?
What do the reviews say about the product?
Do they have a repair program?
Do they make products on demand?
Do they give you the ability to sell your clothes back to them for store credit?
Who owns the company?
Buyer Beware: a company can claim they engage in sustainable practices but they just have deceiving marketing tactics that paints a pretty picture through greenwashing (making false or misleading claims about environmental impacts for a product — often disguised as a benefit). Be sure to do your research and due diligence. Here are some strategies I use when digging into a company to see if their claims pass the sniff test:
Reading beyond the label. What type of materials is the company using or not using? Are they transparent when it comes to their supply chain? What type of claims are they making?
Do they have sustainability certifications? What do they represent? Who do they benefit?
Question your purchases! Being aware and asking questions is one of the biggest steps toward sustainability you can take.
Wrapping It All Up
This is a lot to digest. Coming back full circle, when I feel myself getting overwhelmed with the energy required to make mindful, sustainable purchases, I remind myself that the best thing I can do is just use what I already have or look for a secondhand option. Sometimes letting the item sit on a wishlist for a while can also help navigate the feeling of something being “worth it” for you. Ultimately, you are exchanging your hard earned cash for an item’s perceived value. Is that exchange worth it to you?
If you find yourself reading this, then I think you’re already asking the right questions. Curiosity is the gateway to gathering more insight on how we impact the world with our consumer power and purchases. Ultimately, you should buy what you are excited about while exercising caution. I hope this guide helps you navigate the minefield that is purchasing products in today’s world.
What questions do you consider while making purchases? Are there companies or brands you like to support who have good sustainable practices? Let me know in the comments!
xx Ofelia