I’ve mentioned in my post the other day, that I’ve just read ‘To Die For’. That book is so eye-opening and interesting, that I can’t help but talk about it. In one chapter she mentions an easy option how to get better at (the often expensive) ethical shopping: set a shopping budget. And not only a shopping budget – a yearly budget. Why is that a difference? Well, imagine you buy about two items a week both at about 20 € (more or less). By the end of the month, you will have spend 160 € on clothes only. At the end of the year, it’s even more: 2080 € on clothes which means you now own 104 new items. Did you expect that? And: who needs all those clothes?
If you take that money, but instead of buying loads of cheap clothes you are most likely only going to wear a couple of times, you invest in 20 quality items, five for every season. Doing the maths, that means that you can spend about 100 € on every new addition to your wardrobe. You will end the year with 20 new quality items that you actually love wearing and that have been produced under ethical conditions and not even spend more money than you normally do. It’s that simple?
What do you think? Do you set yourself a budget while shopping or do you just go and buy whatever you fancy?
PS: I realize that not everyone spends 160 € every month on clothes, shoes and accessories. But if my calculation is not working for you, why don’t you just look at your bank statement and add up what you normally spend on clothes in a month. Divide the yearly sum by 20 and voila – you have the price for your next ethical finds.
Picture by the talented Helena La Petite.
I just discovered you blog and I love it! Budgeting is one of the important steps in my 20b Day Sustainable Fashion Challenge. I’d love to know what you think of it :)
http://www.tortoiseandladygrey.com/20-day-sustainable-fashion-challenge/
Hanna’s Places is a green lifestyle magazine written by Hanna Ulatowski. It’s all about slowing down in a fast-paced society and finding ways to live a more sustainable, simple lifestyle.
March 24, 2015
Very clever tip! I had never seen things this way, it is worth considering!