My Journey to Sustainability : Theory of the wants

 Contrary to popular belief, I do not shop a lot. My closest friends can vouch for it. I do not even have the budget for compulsive shopping, but that's not the point here 👅. Because of my line of work and my love for fashion and lifestyle, people tend to think I have a wardrobe full of beautiful clothes, shoes, and accessories. And while that may be true to some extent, my wardrobe might not really meet the "blogger-wardrobe" expectations.

I love to window-shop, don't get me wrong here. I love knowing what's on the rack, what's on the online sales, what's the newest art on the runaway. It helps me decide what to buy and where to invest. When I shop for myself, I ponder upon a piece for the longest time- Do I have an alternative of this piece in my closet already? In how many ways can I wear this? Will I really wear it out? Or is it something I can hand-it-down to a cousin? If it ✔ one of these boxes I go ahead and buy it!

There are always exceptions, of course. Those pieces do not logically fit into my "needs" and lean more towards my "wants". For those pieces, I sleep on them. If it haunts me in my dreams and flashes at the back of my head while I take a bath (like those beautiful Japanese ghosts 😬) I go ahead and buy it. And when that happens, I've realized I wear them more often than I thought I would- pushing my creativity to try to fit them into my style. My Zara animal print heels I bought back in 2018 is one such example. 

I first saw them in a mall in Mumbai. I absolutely LOVED it. But I didn't "need" it. So I applied the technique I always do. I slept on. it.

Now, one cannot possibly think one could forget about this beauty once one has slipped one's feet into them😌 Am I right or am I right? So weeks past and it was clear I was bewitched. So I bought it as a birthday/Christmas gift for myself (cons of being a December born). You know how this turned out sustainable? I increased its Life Cycle, its longevity, its use. The number of times I've worn it makes it worth my purchase. To this day (March 2021) it is my favorite "dress-up" shoe. 

An example of how not buying what I want and instead of buying cheaper alternatives turned out unsustainable? My love for Nike's Air Force One. My reason for not owning it is not only the price of the shoe, in fact, it has more to do with it being NIKE's. I've avoided buying the brand ever since news of the brand's unfair practices when it comes to hiring child labour surfaced (first in 2001 and then again) in 2010. My love for the design, however, never died. So I bought alternatives from different brands hoping secretly that the white sneaker trend fades away meanwhile. This never happened. And now years later when I am in need of white sneakers all I can think of is the Air Force. All the sneakers bought before were a waste. An unsustainable purchase. Ones I never truly wore out. Waste of material, money, and ownership.

Oh the dilemma. 

You see that's the thing about Sustainability. No one formula can work for all, and yet we all must choose to be a little more thoughtful, care a little more, put a little more effort into calculating which method would help in your situation. Less impulsiveness. More mindfulness.