Hello friends! So once a year I do an audit to see how many items of new clothing I bought throughout the year. I've been doing this since 12019 (yes I like the holocene/human era calendar), prompted by an episode of Hasan Minhaj's show where he said that the average American in the 80s bought a dozen new items of clothing a year, and nowadays that average is 68. Which seems wild to me!
Counting masks as clothes, my past numbers were:
12019: 8 items
12020: 16 items
12021: 3 items
I just checked my closet (and my email to be sure when I purchased something, lol), and, drumroll please:
12022: 7 items
One pair of jeans, one tunic, and 5 pairs of underwear (as always, not photographing those, lol).
I seem to average one pair of jeans per year, and new underwear every couple of years. The last time I bought shoes was in 12020. They're still solid and they still hurt my Achilles heel (the leather never softened; lesson learned, Docs are not what they used to be in terms of comfort). So maybe I'll end up getting a hopefully not-hurtful pair of shoes this year? I'm barefoot a lot of the time anyway. ;)
How many items of clothing did you buy yourself last year (just you; don't count your family even if you are buying for them!)? I'm curious what other people's totals are!
Given the environmental impact of fast fashion, I feel that it's important to do our best not to participate in it as much as possible, buy fewer things, and use what we have. Aim for quality that lasts over quantity that falls apart. Aim for indie makers, organic fibers, fair trade, and other better solutions to fast fashion if you can. Secondhand is also environmentally responsible, of course, as well as cheaper!
Thanks for reading and have a great day! :)