It may seem a contradiction or, at least, a challenge that deserves attention, because it is not easy.We are invited to rethink our consumption models in a room full of red posters with percentages where the message is clear: more, more, more;Cheap, cheap, cheap.At least, in general.Some stimuli to which it can be difficult to resist but that do not always affect everyone.
"I think the sales are like waiting rooms: who we are," says Marta D.Riezu, author of the trials 'Water and soap' (Newfoundav."The capricious ones are thrown in the head to enjoyment, those who buy little simply ignore these days these days.It is a period in which voracious consumption is not only normalized, but is celebrated.I am very distressing to think of those tons of new clothes that are piled up, that nobody wants and will end up in the landfill.This overproduction (fruit of the overexploitation of resources) is a brutal disrespect to the planet ".The author of the dissemination work in which some of the most prominent problems of the fashion industry have become a recurring and authorized voice when exploring the paths of conscious consumption, even when the environment does notIt makes easy.
Here, the evidence gains: responsibility, pause and reflection should be companions of the purchase decision.One that also would also have to be backed by the way critical thinking.
"We have gone from treating the client as a sovereign who will model the future of consumption to relieve his responsibility and say: look, however much you do, your gestures are tiny compared to the limiting laws that a government can establish, that is, not that it does notYou need not to bother, "Marta D develops.Riezu."Fiesta! Champagne for everyone! From now on I will buy mutant chicken from the hypermarket and spend my salary on dress of 20 euros because, total, my very small contribution is of no use, it's just symbolic.Well nothing: hope for overproduction to be legally punished and that the lords of the United Nations framework convention make the right decisions, and in the meantime we live well fluffy in cynicism.Stripping the consumer of his responsibility is to infant him and deny him a power that he does have.Summary: In everything that concerns climate change, the message is clear: in favor of any improvement and commitment, have the magnitude you have ".
"It is very difficult to resist," explains Beatriz Warleta, founder of Good Karma, Spanish second -hand luxury sales platform."The sales are made for that: to pique.It is a strategy that appeals to the human instinct to always seek the best, and the best offer.Even so, I think it is no longer the madness that was a few years ago.Yes, I think there are more and more aware people, and there is a sector that is beginning to saturate as much promotion and pressure to consume.This past Black Friday, for example, on our Instagram we did a survey and saw that a large percentage of our followers try not to buy on sale, or if they do, they do it consciously and out of necessity.It was a surprising and hopeful fact ".
"I think that during the sales it is much easier to fall into buying things that you do not need just because they are lowered, and you think it is a bargain," Warleta confesses."I have done it myself, and sometimes I get wanting something just because I see it reduced.But the reality is that if you do not need it, it is not a bar.
The creator of Good Karma gives one of the first keys, an evidence that should not be forgotten: to think if we really need it or not. En ese sentido,Riezu hace hincapié en "redescubrir nuestro armario, repensarlo con combinaciones distintas, ajustarlo y mejorarlo con la ayuda de una modista, regalar e intercambiar con nuestras amigas".The objective?"Get rid of that absurd slavery of the new".
A second step after that popular (but little practiced) shopping in our own closet is emerging in relation to technology: uninstall the applications of our devices brands.It is not the panacea, but it makes the purchase process more difficult, which forces to devote more time and, therefore, greater conscience.Something similar happens with payment automation: it is not the same not having to introduce any data because they are already memorized on the websites and mobile devices that type one by one the credit card digits or PayPal's password.This is what is known as Pain of Paying, that is, literally the pain of paying for something.And eye: here using effective is the most painful and, therefore, recommended.
A last trick that can be applied to avoid falling into compulsive purchases is the old method of calculating (approximately) the cost for use of what is going to be acquired.In her book 'Love, Style, Life', the photographer and illustrator Garance Doré announces it as "the fashion equation", which is nothing other than a division: that of the price of the garment or complement for the number of timesthat it is believed that it will be used.The figure will usually have decimals, and the more it approaches 0, the more that garment would be amortized, which would help to know if it is really worth buying it or not.But here you have to make several clarifications:
Although it may seem like a trivial point (or perhaps, less practical), the truth is that it is more important than it seems.At least, for those who want to start traveling the path of responsible and conscious consumption.And that is something that depends on the small gestures of consumers, but also on brands and how they are perceived in the collective imaginary.
"It is one of the great challenges for the fashion industry, because it is one of the elements that most harms it but that is most difficult to fix," says Warleta about the sales."They are part of a hyper problem chain that not only hurts the industry itself, but it extends beyond.They began as a solution to overproduction and excess inventory, and have ended up feedback.The consumer today awaits the sales, which makes brands very difficult not to participate for fear of losing against the competition.This creates a new expectation in the consumer about the real value of the garment, and trains you to buy alone, or mainly, on sale.Every time, therefore, lower prices are expected, which makes brands increasingly produce greater quantities to offer those prices.As they produce more, they have more excess inventory, which causes them to create more sales with lower prices.And so infinitely ".
"This not only has repercussions on the economy of companies and therefore the economy in general, but also for raw material farmers and textile producers (with lower salaries and worse conditions), and for the planet (the overproduction ofclothing is one of the biggest problems that affects climate change) ", continues."In the sales nobody wins".
Although it is not simple, there are more and more brands that move away from the traditional sales system, which can be understood as an ethical and economical positioning. "Son dos asuntos que confluyen: una posición moral clara, estableciendo una distancia con el frenesí colectivo que ciega el criterio y nos hace comprar mucho y mal, y una cuestión práctica: en la etiqueta de precio de la moda responsable no hay apenas hueco que permita inflar o adelgazar", cuentaRiezu."A decent salary has intervened in production in production; if that price is lowered a lot, someone has to adjust their belt".
"It is true that companies are trying at all costs right now, and that the consumer has less purchasing power than two years ago; it is understandable that many brands decide to rely on the sales as a solution," says Warleta."But if we continue to lower prices, producing more, selling for less, lowering the value of our products, ignoring the social, environmental and economic repercussions that our business models have...Are we really going to trace?In the short term, it can.And in 10 years? "
It has already been reflected on the impact of the sales in the industry, on the panorama in which we move as consumers and we have in our hand several practical tricks so as not to fall into the impulsive purchases that will end up hanging in the closet and without using themselves.But what about those responsible and meditated purchases?Is it possible to buy ethically and healthy on the sales?The answer, although with nuances, is that yes.
Having tried the formula and closed a budget (another practical step that should not be eluded), the ideal would be to opt for those firms with which it is commune in a matter of values and aesthetics, which has ethical production conditions and with which, with which, with which, with which, with which, with which, with which, with which,In short, one feels comfortable.But another extra step can be to try the second hand.
"It is a sustainable and ethical way to consume at a lower price, in a more conscious way, all year," says Good Karma's founder."But more than simple second -hand consumption, what we try to promote is also a change of mentality.We want to encourage you to think about clothes as an ephemeral and low value good, but as a product that has been designed and produced by people with valuable skills.To buy what we are going to use, and to take care of it, value it and circulate it.If you buy something on sale with this mentality, it is possible to participate as a consumer in the sales in a conscious and ethical way ".
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