As you've gathered if you've read my closet declutter post, you know I have more than enough clothes in my possession. Therefore, I can quite easily go on a low buy at least for a while. The only things I'm not denying are things that I "need" to replace. Like, when I recently broke my only pair of Black flat knee-high boots and gave myself a pass to get new ones if I couldn't fix them myself. So I've been on no-buy with clothes since the start of October, and am planning on trying to do this until February or so. I'm also trying to avoid collecting too much stuff by starting to put away one or two things every time I'm bringing in something new. That may also go for other things than clothes. (Exception being my nail art things because that is my collection that makes me happy as huge one. Not giving that up just to be minimalist.)

Now, one of the goals for this low buy is for me to plan my buys more. Since I want to do more ethical choices, buying less and doing my research on where to make my purchases are very critical. Next time I need, let's say, a dress, I have to first figure out if my old things can't be worn/styled differently enough to match the occasion. If not, then I would be going online to the second-hand app Zadaa, and seeing if they have something I'm coveting. If that would fail, my next step would be to search on brands who sell dresses on Good On You (they have a great listing on international brands, although there could still be more Nordic brands), and find if some of them sell nice pieces. And that process will go for anything except for shoes and underwear, where I would skip searching for used ones (although yes, there are unworn pieces in Zadaa as well), for probably obvious reasons.

This way, I'm hoping to achieve a closet with not that much in it, and a closet where I love each piece. Also, I really want a closet where the items are ethical as well as being the right style. Even though fashion industry - especially fast fashion - makes us feel our looks are outdated in weeks, take a moment and think about this: Does it really matter in the big picture, whether your clothes are a day old or a decade old, if they still look good on you, they suit the look you want to wear, and are comfortable? And secondly, have you surrounded yourself with the right people if all they see in you is the age of the clothes you wear? I personally wear things that are older than you'd think quite often, because I stick with the things that are my favorites as long as they fit me and are not broken. Like a faux leather jacket I have, which has been in my closet somewhere between 5 to 8 years old, and I may have accessories that are way older than that. Which I sometimes like to emphasize, but sometimes keep it as my own little secret.

Now, maybe you're reading this and don't know where to start with the ethical shopping. What are the tips for it? There are blogs about ethical fashion, but to be completely honest most of them are not my style so... I can't recommend you any. That being said, the information in them can be super valuable still, as the facts about if something is ethical or not stay the same even if the style changes. You can also go search YouTube, where I've found helpful tips. If you don't mind owning pre-loved things, you should check out Zadaa, ThredUp, Depop, Poshmark or similar apps/sites - or go to thrift shops and vintage shops in your town. In most of them they have even designer stuff if you're into that, although maybe not so much on local stores because there's the risk of people stealing things. The reason this is my first tip is that for this, not that much research is needed. You can get the familiar brands, but you're not straight up supporting fast fashion, but instead giving use to an item that might otherwise live on the landfill for an eternity. You buy things that were already made, so you kind of don't make more demand for clothing.

The second tip is to find small businesses, who sell nice items. This can be on Etsy, or you can find them through Instagram and web searches (and even through influencer reviews). On these, the prices can be high due to the small batch sizes and customization, but on the other hand you get things that are unique or close to that. Wouldn't you rather have that than a cheap item thousand other people have right now? I know I would. You can even consider ordering custom made things from local seamstresses and clothing designers, because with them you can discuss what you would want from the materials, and you know the work is done by someone who has been paid well instead of getting something made in a sweatshop. Again, this is not necessarily cheap, but can be ethically such an amazing choice.

The third tip is to start going through lists of ethical brands, and seeing which ones are sold near to you or ship to your country. This can be time-consuming, and that's why it's only third on my list. I know when I started researching, it Felt overwhelming - and to be honest, it Still does. I'm struggling to find the brands that share my style, my values and would be somewhat affordable. But, when I figure my favorites out, I promise to share them with you.

Lastly, I want to share an interesting video by Sarah Hawkinson with you. She made a video talking about the reality of not buying fast fashion (click here to see it), and not to spoil it too much, but she did a great job bringing up things you may face when you give up buying fast fashion.

Some of you may ask how this will be showing on my blog? I will do my best to promote sustainable brands and materials as well as other facts with you every once in a while. I won't be pushing this on you in every post, so if you don't care about preaching about sustainability, you can skip the posts regarding that. I'm more than okay with that. That being said, if you also catch me on having an item or supporting a brand you feel is wrong, you can ask about it on comments here or DMs on Insta, but I ask you to be constructive about it. "Bitch why to do this, are you dumb" kind of comments don't make anyone want to have a conversation with you. (Just a friendly reminder for those who love the anonymity of Internet too much.) Also, if you want to check out the clothes I'm selling after the declutters, you can find me on Zadaa, and in case you want to get 5 Euros for shopping in Zadaa, use the code JL1361 at the checkout (you can use the code to buy from anyone's boutique, not just mine).

Does this make you have any questions about sustainable fashion? Let me know in the comments and I try to answer them as well as I can!