At the end of 2019 I discovered the concept of a low or no-buy year, where people cease their shopping habits in the pursuit of using what they already have and quelling the need for a retail-based dopamine hit.
As someone who loves to shop, and who took a long hard look at their overwhelming wardrobe, I realised that maybe I should make some changes. After scouring the internet for as much information and inspiration I could find, I decided to start small and begin 2020 with a no-buy January.
In 2019, the reality of consumption on our climate and our planet became clear. With horrifying statistics about the number of litres of water needed to make a single pair of jeans, the under-pay and abuse of workers that comes with the insane pace of fast fashion and the millions of kg of clothes that get burned every year, I looked to second-hand clothes shops and ‘vintage’ items as my saving grace. There is something particularly fun about charity shopping, especially when it benefits the environment and the money goes to a good cause. My best friend and I have been doing it since we were in sixth form.
But last year I tried (being the key word) to educate myself on the sustainability of fashion by listening to podcasts, watching documentaries and reading articles surrounding the topic. I found that whilst buying from charity shops was almost certainly better for the planet, I was still purchasing items that I didn’t really need in my life. I was buying, yet again, another white jumper that really does not suit my ‘pasta with a tomato sauce’ lifestyle. It would sit in my cupboard looking pretty, and I would feel great that I only bought it for £3.50, but it would never see the light of day.
This is when I started to consider a low-buy year, and particularly a no-buy January. I realise that may sound daunting but there are some ways to ease yourself into it.
1. Make some rules for yourself
Look at the things you purchase the most, particularly if you’re bored or if you’re feeling a smidgen lazy. Think ‘online ASOS order’ or ‘reasonably-okay coffee between lectures.’
Make some rules for yourself that still allow you to purchase these things (don’t go completely cold turkey!) but within reason. You can still buy yourself a new pair of jeans, but only if the old ones need replacing. You can still buy a nice coffee when you’re out, but maybe limit it to twice a week or only when you’re with a group of friends in town.
This way you start to identify when you’re spending money just for the sake of it.
2. Get an accountability partner or tell people
Find someone else to do it with! Both agree to sit down and write your list of rules out: ‘I can buy things that are beneficial to my mental health,’ ‘I can have two fancy coffees a week,’ ‘I can spend money on experiences with friends up to £££.’ Then hold each other accountable!
Ask how they’re doing with their low-buy and support them when they’ve succumbed to perusing the sale section of an online website, just looking for something that’s cute and less that £10. It helps to have a support mechanism in place, to remind you that it’s okay if you slip up, but more importantly to keep you motivated to stay on track!
3. Remember it’s about what you already have
As we have so much at our fingertips all the time, it’s difficult to remember what we have right in front of us and the reality that what we need to survive is very minimal.
A low-buy period will remind you that as much as that skirt or that book looks really nice and you really really want it, you don’t need it. You already have three skirts at home and 10 books you haven’t read that once looked really nice displayed on the Waterstones shop floor.
It’s readjusting our focus on what is essential without making ourselves miserable or being too extreme. Everyone’s different, but a low-buy period is about discovering what’s just stuff and what has an impact on your life.
Here are some people who have already done a low-buy/no-buy year, if you’re interested in finding out a bit more.
- Ingrid Nelson – Why I (Almost Completely) Stopped Shopping
- Style Apotheca – How My Low Buy Changed My Life
- The Personal Philosophy Project – I Quit Shopping For A Year
Loads of HCX Love xoxo