Five Tips for Thriving This Slow Fashion Season

Beginner's Guide

May 10

It’s almost Slow Fashion Season. Have you signed up yet?

Every year, from June 21 to September 21, people all across the globe come together to combat the fast fashion industry by actively choosing to slow their consumption down. In 2019, close to 14,500 people joined the pact and opted not to buy any new clothes for the three months of summer.

This year, CollAction has set a goal for 25,000 participants, which will roughly save the equivalent of up to 750 million liters of water and 2.5 million kilograms of CO2 emissions.

The purpose of Slow Fashion Season is to raise awareness of the impact of the fast fashion industry, as well as to empower individuals to take responsibility for their shopping habits. Traditionally, the rules have banned the shopping of any new clothes, but given COVD-19’s impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs, they’ve made an amendment this year to allow for the shopping of smaller, local, sustainable fashion brands.

Taking this vow to be a conscious consumer can be a big commitment and to help you streamline the process, I’ve created a Slow Fashion Season survival guide.

Here are five tips to help you thrive this Slow Fashion Season.

1. Set An Intention

The first step to conscious consumption is to check-in and ask yourself why you are making this commitment. What are you hoping to get out of the experience and what impact do you want to achieve? Why does this movement matter to you?

Getting in touch with a concrete “why” or vision can motivate you to stay focused and when the going gets tough.

2. Use the Closet Mass Index (CMI)

The CMI is a helpful tool that students at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute have put together to help consumers evaluate the current “mass” of their closets.

It requires that you go through your entire closet and track where your garments came from. Technically, the only categories are “new,” “secondhand,” “gifted,” and “unworn,” but I personally like to take this as an opportunity to note how long I’ve had a garment for, and a rough estimate of the number of times I’ve worn it in the past year.

Performing the CMI allows you to objectively look at your closet and evaluate everything that you own. This can be a helpful reminder for when you’re creating a shopping list (tip number 3).

3. List The Things That You “Need”/Want To Buy

Take some time to reflect on your current wardrobe and brainstorm on some items that you’d like to add. Create a list of five items that you “need” to buy—this includes garments that you’ve been eyeing for ages, garments that will pull your wardrobe together, and also garments that would add versatility to your closet.

Use this list as a guideline for shopping. Much like going to the grocery store with a list, creating a clothing shopping list can help you stay focused on what you actually want and prevent impulse purchases.

Sometimes, I like to leave one or two slots open at the bottom of my list for any spontaneous pieces. This might simply be a psychological trick to avoid feeling like I’m locked in, but I think it’s useful in case you come across a unique garment.

4. Change Your Environment

Actively removing yourself from shopping situations will be helpful for the coming three months. We’re all currently stuck indoors, but when the economy beings to reopen, be mindful of where you’re spending your time. Shopping can often be a social activity, but instead of relying on that for connection, see if you can find an alternative activity to fill your time.

This also applies to your digital environment. Avoid the fast fashion temptation by blocking all of your favorite shopping sites (at least for the next three months), unsubscribe from newsletters, and unfollow social media accounts.

5. Remember, It’s Okay To Shop!

The key here is to simply do so mindfully. You can still shop at secondhand stores and purchase from sustainable fashion brands. Just because we’re slowing down consumption doesn’t mean that you have to stop completely (though if you do want to participate in a no-buy freeze, I highly commend you).

Bonus Tip: Give Yourself Grace When/If You Do Mess Up

We’re all human and mistakes happen. It’s important to go into a commitment with the mindset of a 100% success rate, but if you do end up purchasing fast fashion, it’s important that you avoid beating yourself up and instead treat yourself with kindness. Acknowledge that it happened, but move on from the guilt and just take it as a lesson learned.

Slow Fashion Season is an incredible global movement that I’m excited to take part in again. Have you participated in it before and what are your top tips for succeeding? If you haven’t signed up yet, you and do so here!