In the second part of this series on insights from Patrick Grant’s book Less: Stop buying so much rubbish: How having fewer, better things can make us happier we talked about work, and the quality of today’s clothing.
In this, our third and final part, we’re focusing on what we can do across society to reduce the over consumption and burden we’re placing on our planet.
Grant points out that because making better things is more expensive, we all need to become comfortable with the idea of having less. That we need to embrace wearing, and being seen wearing, the same thing multiple times.
Grant also talks about affordability, and that well-made does not need to be expensive, nor does expensive always equal well-made. If we buy less of something that is affordable, wear it more, take care of it and mend it, it can be more economical than buying the same cheap item over and over because it does not last.
“We only wear 27% of the stuff we buy, so let’s just not buy the stuff we don’t wear...With clothes so cheap as they are now, there is little economic incentive to think hard about the purchase we’re considering making, but there is a huge environmental and human cost. If you don’t think you’ll wear it at least a hundred times, don’t buy it.”
Grant then outlines ways that we can do this, and relieve the pressure on our environment, and increase our happiness and well-being too. For ease, I thought I’d try to summarise some of these into dot point tips that we can all work on, below.
If you want to feel inspired to ditch fast fashion, to feel good about wearing the hand knitted jumper from your Nanna over and over, or the windcheater you found at the Op Shop, to feel hopeful that we don’t have to buy into the over consumption craze (literally) and that there is another way, this is the book for you.
In Less, Grant shows us that “we can all afford less, that we all have room in our lives for less, and that we all have time for less”.
With that, here some tips on how we can embrace Less:
Take stock of what you wear and own
Most of us have far more in our wardrobes than we need, and research tells us we only wear 30 per cent of the clothes we own. Simplify your life and donate or sell what you don’t need, then repair or replace, don’t add (As an op shop lover I find this tip very difficult!)
Buy less
As Grant says “there is no downside to us buying less but better, unless you own Amazon or Shein. Our current globalised, high volumes, low value economy is a taking economy, but a local, low volume, high quality economy could be a giving economy.” If you’re not going to wear it at least 30 times, don’t buy it.
Read clothing labels.
They have information on where something is made as well as what it is made of, and how to care for it. Taking care of our clothes, washing them less, in cold water etc, helps them to last longer.
Find joy in hand me downs, and clothes with stories made from old.
Buying second hand not only decreases your environmental footprint, and your expense account, it also brings joy. Thinking about who made the vintage dress you just scored for $20 brings on a deeper feeling of joy than the mass produced bargain you bought at Westfield.
Buy from local makers at markets.
This supports highly skilled, highly fulfilling jobs. “We’d significantly reduce the pollution we cause and the waste we create – in fashion and clothing it could easily be a 90 per cent reduction or more.”
Importantly, by supporting local employment, it also generates tax revenue which then feeds back into our local communities with the provision of important services, instead of being shipped offshore.
Buy natural fibre clothing.
Cotton, linen and wool, will all break down naturally in our environment. Fabrics like polyester, lycra and nylon, come from oil, making them plastic which takes thousands of years to break down. We’re now finding natural fibres are also better for our health, with research showing that we are literally eating microplastics that are shed from polyester clothing with wear and washing.
Learn how to make and repair.
Keeping items at their highest possible value eg jeans as jeans, for longer, is one of the best things we can do for our environmental footprint. Check out our workshops here!
Re-engage with craft.
Once you start making yourself, you develop a whole new appreciation for what goes into handmade objects; the skill, time, care and you start to recognise good quality over poor.
“Physical work makes us happy, craft work fulfils a basic human need to show our skill and to be useful to our society.”
Request loved ones to gift you a workshop you’d like to try for Christmas or a birthday, or jump on YouTube for a beginners tutorial on something that interests you.
Find new hobbies in place of shopping.
Research undertaken by Greenpeace shows us that ‘retail therapy’ only lasts up to 48 hours, and once it’s gone it’s often replaced by negative feelings of guilt and unhappiness. In contrast, hobbies like walking in nature, connecting in person with friends, exercising, listening to music, bird watching, reading, and making with our hands, generate feel good emotions, mindfulness and joy. We’re all a bit naff at something when we first start out, keep going, it’s the journey that’s important, not the result!
For more Cactus tips, check out our below links here:
Help your clothes last longer through the laundry
Give Op Shopping a go with our guide for beginners
Check out our mending workshops here
Learn how to care for your woollens and keep the moths away
