This feature is the first in a series of articles written by UTOPIA The Edit’s new contributor Aoife Rooney, the founder of AOIFE®; an award-winning, circular Irish fashion brand.

Small Acts 

You’re likely already taking steps towards being more environmentally friendly, like bringing your coffee mug in hand or reusing your shopping bag. We don’t need to perform grand heroic gestures to take part in making a positive change in our consumption habits. Instead, small actions, when done collectively by many people, can positively impact the world.

Interconnected

In today’s world, everything is interconnected, with capitalism being the primary driving force of our society. Consumerism plays a crucial role in shaping the economy, which affects us through the laws and policies governing us. Even though we are just a tiny part of this more extensive system, we can make a difference by making more informed purchase choices.

Fashion has driven innovation and human ingenuity, initiated cultural transformation, and fostered economic development for centuries. Still, it’s time to hit the reset button because of the thirst for overconsumption and production. We are consuming more resources than ever, exceeding the planet’s capacity for generations. In the meantime, waste and pollution are increasing, while the gap between the wealthy and the poor is widening. Health, education, equity and empowerment are all adversely affected. Did you know the fashion industry has doubled its clothing production since 2000? This growth comes at a cost to the environment.

The Garment Timeline

Creating a garment involves much more than we typically hear about, such as the designers, brands, shops, fashion shows, trade shows and Instagram influencers. Farmers, spinners, weavers, sewers, artisans, and other workers produce and transform raw materials into clothes. Clothing production requires using precious natural resources such as water, soil, seeds, land, forests, animals, electricity, oil, chemicals, metals, etc. Clothing contributes to 10% of global carbon emissions, releases about 500,000 tons of microfibers into the oceans yearly, and accounts for 20% of all industrial water pollution.

The Strategic Shopper

The only way we can predict our future is to start creating it by implementing positive acts of consumer change, which means doing more with less. In the last five years, things have changed for shoppers. They’re more clued up and aware, and a new kind of shopper is on the block—the strategic shopper. 

Being involved in the fashion process is a big deal for these shoppers, significantly impacting what they buy. They’re always looking for new trends, brands, and deals to stay in the loop. This kind of fashion-involved know-how drives their buying behaviour the strongest.

Consumer Influences

In today’s world, social media has influenced consumers on another level. Internet communities, AI, blogs, forums, and social networks – these digital platforms have become an integral part of people’s lives. Social media is a communication tool that brings customers closer to their favourite brands. Brands can act like people, which is important because people like doing business with others, not brands. How can social media impact consumer behaviour and purchasing power? Social media enhances the consumer experience, increases consumer involvement, and encourages purchasing power quicker than ever before. The research indicates that the impact of social media is an essential attribute of value perception. With today’s speed of social media, we are provided with easy access to vast amounts of information about a brand, company or product- turning the average consumer into a researcher. 

Conscious consumerism allows us to collaborate in shaping a more sustainable and equitable world. We must swing into attitude and action to achieve net zero by 2050. Despite these challenges, promoting sustainable clothing consumption must remain a business priority, and consumer behaviour is critical to the solution.

What you can do…

1. Buy Vintage

One of the simplest ways to contribute to circular fashion is to purchase second-hand or vintage clothing. Keeping the garment in the loop reduces the production of new clothes.

2. Invest in Quality Pieces and Circular Brands

Buy better, high-quality pieces designed for longevity, and avoid fast fashion.

3. Repair and Reuse

Learn how to sew, and when your clothes start to wear out, repair them or go to a local tailor to get them repaired.

4. Recycle

Donate your unwanted clothes. Or recycle your clothes by returning your old clothes to be recycled into new textiles

5. Drop what you are doing, and dance!

Dancing is a great way to help the planet. It’s a mood booster and exercise and doesn’t involve consumption. Skip retail therapy and get your groove on. The buzz lasts longer! 

Sustainable consumption is the key to minimising the environmental impact of products and services. It means fulfilling our needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Circular fashion is an environmentally friendly approach to fashion that aims to reduce waste and create a closed-loop system. By making small changes to your fashion habits, you can play your part in creating a sustainable future for the fashion industry and the planet as a whole.