Can you shop ethically and still be stylish?

MENTAL HEALTH TIP: Do you play games? You should — here's why

Jul 07, 2024

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Tarjay? Yay or nay?

Who doesn’t love a Target moment? Alone with your iced latte, breathing in the smell of newness and all the possibilities of your perfect home and fabulous summer fit — some might call this heaven. (In fact, a few friends and I do!)

Alllll the swimwear possibilities! Such cute workout gear! Do I need a tennis skirt? Those adorb sundresses! (Mama needs hers before she hits up the kids’ section!) Towels and outdoor pillows on sale! F#ck, where did I leave my latte?

I’m a sucker for it all. The worst part is that I know it. I mean, I definitely have my sustainability moments, too. Crossroads and Goodwill are on my rotation, along with The Real Real for designer items. I never buy leather new, if at all, and vintage is my jam. (Don’t get me started on ALL the amazing home décor I bought secondhand!) But sometimes fast fashion — and its price tags — can reel me in with its sexy convenience and trend.

(For what it’s worth, Target scores better than many similar retailers on the Fashion Transparency Index, but at the end of the day, it’s still fast fashion.)

I’ll be on vaycay with my family all next week (stay tuned for the next BeWell newsletter from Amy!), and my wardrobe rotation includes a new butt-covering bikini, hippie skirt, and nylon shorts, all from Tarjay. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to escape the allure of new crap, but I can be aware of its effects and put in the work to do my best via the helpful tips from Heather below. And I can recycle my Starbucks cup — if I find it. stranded. on a shelf. somewhere. (Please tell me I’m not the only one.)

Sustainable style in an era of overconsumption

By Heather Kenny

Can you shop ethically and still be stylish? It’s possible.

I used to be a personal stylist, editing clients’ closets and shopping to fill the gaps. One of my main stops was the Nordstrom on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. The variety made it an efficient destination, the salespeople were helpful, and the return policy was generous.

But when you shop for a living, you start noticing things. Like the sheer amount of merchandise constantly coming in. I started to wonder what happened to all the stuff that didn’t make it out of the store. Where did it go? Where would it end up? I started to see the fashion industry as a giant cycle of manufactured demand and supply that resulted in a lot of waste. And it kind of nauseated me.

For the most part, my efforts resulted in less waste: I helped my clients find clothes and accessories they loved and would wear over and over again, so they didn’t need to buy as much. I liked that aspect of the work. But for other clients, I was basically hired to pick out luxury items to fill their already-stuffed closets. Being so close to the neverending hunger of the capitalist machine was unsettling.

Many others have already written extensively about a lack of sustainability in the fashion industry and the problems with fast fashion in particular (including Ways to dress more sustainably in a world of fast fashion by Anne Holub), so I won’t go into them here. But the question remains:

How do you indulge in a love of fashion and style ethically and sustainably?

As much as the idea of opting out of the system entirely is attractive, most of us aren’t able to weave fabric or make our own clothes like some modern-day fashion Thoreau. But we can educate ourselves about how we can find and buy clothes and accessories with an eye to greater sustainability and better labor practices.

To get some industry insights, I talked to my friend Jamie Hayes, the designer and boutique owner at Production Mode, which specializes in “slow fashion” that’s ethically made. She also taught the inaugural Sustainable Fashion Practice course at Columbia College Chicago. Jamie reminded me the abundance of choice in clothing we have today is a relatively recent phenomenon dating back only a couple of decades — people used to buy less and take care of it, and clothes were generally of higher quality and more expensive.

Still, she admits, “It’s hard as a person who loves style to not want 4,000 options.” And figuring out how to ensure what you buy was made sustainably and ethically “is a lot for the individual to take on and manage.” Real industry change, she says, must come through things like advocacy, organizing, and legislation.

Jamie Hayes, designer and boutique owner of Production Mode

Keep your wardrobe fresh while minimizing your impact on the earth and avoiding human exploitation

Purchase fewer items of higher quality

Clothes and accessories that are made by people who are paid fairly and use sustainable or ethically sourced materials cost more money. But here you’ll still have to do your research: even though clothes at J. Crew are more expensive than at H&M, that doesn’t mean their practices are sustainable or ethical. One way to get more clarity on what goes into making a label’s clothes is to buy from local or independent designers. Smaller brands and designers tend to keep manufacturing closer to their base of operations, and they’re often more open about their practices. Plus, you’ll be supporting a small business, which is always good. Higher-quality items will also last longer with proper care, so you won’t have to replace them as often.

Choose natural fabrics

Most clothes today are made from synthetics, which Jamie points out are generally plastics and chemicals that take longer to break down in landfills. Anti-wrinkle fabrics are also often coated in formaldehyde. Natural fibers do break down faster, but there are ways to make clothing last longer, including washing them in cold water and not throwing them in the laundry after every single wearing (which also saves water and energy). “Washing and drying is what ruins your clothing over time,” she says.

Vintage shopping means scoring unique looks

Buy more vintage and secondhand

There are more options beyond spending hours in thrift stores – you can find gently used designer and other clothing online on sites like Thredup and Poshmark.

Shop your closet

A classic tactic for getting the most out of what you have, this involves seeing what new combinations you can make with your existing pieces, reducing the number of new items you might need to buy. In our 40s and 50s, we’ve typically amassed a fairly sizable wardrobe, and it can be fun to take a few hours and put together some new ensembles. The restriction can actually spur creativity! Conversely, it can also help you see where there might be a glaring gap — such as for a basic piece like a white button-down shirt or a wide belt. Then you can shop with a specific item in mind, making it less likely that you’ll get distracted by things you don’t need.

Mend or repurpose

Do you have a little pile of clothes with a hole or a tear? Commit to getting them repaired so you can put them back in rotation instead of replacing them. Even some things that seem beyond hope could benefit from visible mending, which highlights a fix with colorful embroidery or a patch rather than trying to hide it. You might also be able to repurpose items by taking them to a creative local designer or tailor.

Hold a clothing swap

This is a fun way to get “new” stuff for free, especially if you have some nicer things you don’t necessarily want to put in a donation box. Ask your friends to bring their high-quality, gently worn castoffs. Things that they’re sick of or no longer fit them might be perfect for you or someone else, and you get the satisfaction of knowing your items found a good home.

Consider a few bespoke items

This can be pricey and time-consuming, so I’m not suggesting to have an entire wardrobe made. But perhaps there’s a dress pattern you’ve always liked, or you want to re-create a favorite blouse. A talented seamstress or tailor can make it for you, and you’ll have a custom-made piece that fits you perfectly.

Try to avoid fast fashion

“Don’t buy SHEIN,” Jamie pleads, pointing out the company’s egregious working conditions and the environmental costs of its manufacturing practices. If you must indulge occasionally, even H&M is a better choice.

“Nothing is perfect — everything that you consume requires energy and human capital,” says Jamie. Shopping more consciously means you’re voting with your dollars to divert those resources to brands and designers that use them consciously and ethically, which can mean more of them will stay in business and that others might follow their lead.

Shopping and building your wardrobe consciously also can be freeing in that you also start to see how the fashion industry manipulates the public into buying more through trends and planned obsolescence. Style is ultimately about personal choice and expression, and what better way of asserting yours than by refusing to play by the rules?

This article was originally published here on The-Midst.com.

Do you play games?

By Anne Holub

Does the idea of “playing games” make you happy or sad?

When we were kids, games meant anything from tag to Monopoly. With the advent of video games, we had our Atari and Nintendo in the basement with our friends. But now, Gen Xers, games might mean a round of Wordle on your phone, and then back to the grind. And apparently, that’s really bad.

Why adults should play more games

Gameplay has literal connotations that we shouldn’t brush off as adults. While no, you shouldn’t play games with people to manipulate them, you should play games with friends to help lower your blood pressure. Gameplay, like sitting down to play board games with friends, can be beneficial for boosting your memory and logic-processing skills, and it can even help ward off dementia!

In addition, you get all the cool social benefits when you get together with friends (or make some new ones) with a little board game meetup or drop-in session at your local bookstore or coffee shop. (You’d be surprised where you’d find board games once you start looking for them — your neighborhood bar might even have a stack of them!)

Playing games doesn’t have to mean something bad

The key is the word “play” — being playful is a great trait for adults. Studies have shown that playfulness can help lower your stress levels. “Playfulness, defined as the predisposition to perceive and interpret situations in a way that provides oneself and others with amusement, humor, and/or entertainment, is linked with how stressful situations are perceived as either something within or outside one’s control,” the study’s authors noted in the journal Current Psychology in 2022.

In fact, a playful attitude can also help you tap into creativity when you’d otherwise hit a mental block. If you’ve had a job where they stress outside-the-box thinking and being creative, then having the right mental mindset can take you far.

Even video games are good for you

While lots of evening news programs will run any scary headline about video games being bad for you, real-life gamers report that they play to relieve stress

“While there may be some stress responses triggered by games, overall self-assessments provided by gamers failed to show a link between problems with social life, academic behavior, work behavior, or physical reactions (stress),” writes Elizabeth Scott, PhD at VeryWell Health. “This suggests that, if there is a negative effect, gamers themselves are not aware of it and its effects on their lives.”

Mostly video games that are casual play (think ones where you wander and make a new environment, like Animal Crossing or Minecraft) or cooperative (like Super Mario Bros Wander or Untitled Goose Game) are best for stress reduction. You can even play cooperative games with your spouse, partner or kids!

Bottom line, loosen up in a way that makes you feel happy. A relaxed attitude can take some tension out of your shoulders and help you destress. Go play!

Thanks for reading BeWell!
X, Lauria, Head of Content

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