6th March 2020

Is your consumption conscious or compulsive? Listen to Future Dust

The facts are undeniable; fast fashion may be cheap, but it comes at a tremendous environmental cost. For example, according to the World Economic Forum, the fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply.

Rethinking our relationship with fashion means rethinking how, what and why we buy. That’s why Future Dust – “a space for responsible fashion” – is worth paying attention to.

The Instagram profile by Alec Leach peppers you with examples of innovative solutions to the industry’s problems and media coverage of the issues. A welcome addition to the average feed, we reckon.

In conversation with Alec, he gave us permission to re-publish his thoughts on consumption and the need for all of us to move from a compulsive to a conscious mode. Read on below…

“When we talk about conscious consumption, we think of the effect shopping has on the planet. But we don't think about the effect shopping has on us. ⁠

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“Everything we own is a relationship. ⁠Fashion shows us amazing, inspiring images, but it doesn't talk about the tedious work that comes with owning clothes. A beautiful piece created by an amazing designer still needs to be laundered and cared for. Maybe it'll need to go to the dry cleaners, or a tailor to be altered or repaired. All these tasks add up to an impact on our lives — our clothes cost us time and energy, as well as money. ⁠

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“That's why it's so important to make sure we buy the right things. Because, whether you like it or not, a new purchase is a new relationship. If it's a good purchase, something that you'll love in years to come (and that's durable enough to last that long), then it's a relationship worth having.⁠

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“But if you make a poor decision — something that often happens with impulse buys — that relationship will weigh you down. You'll feel guilty thinking about what's lurking unloved in your closet (most people only really wear a fraction of the clothes they own). If you end the relationship, you'll still need to work: selling it on a resell site, or donating it. Either way, it's yet more time and energy that you could have spent on something else.⁠

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“Fashion wants us to be compulsive. If we're not thinking things through, we'll buy things quicker, and more often.⁠ We get lost in the marketing energy, the beautiful stores, the amazing designers and the new trends. But that's not good for us. We end up with piles of clothes we don't enjoy, let alone need. Something that is supposed to empower us ends up making us feel guilty and overwhelmed.⁠

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“So next time you see a new piece that you like, ask yourself: ‘Am I ready to start a relationship with this?’”

– Alec Leach, editor, writer, consultant and founder of Future Dust.

If you don’t already, we recommend you follow Future Dust now.