For years now, I have hated
shopping for clothes. I'm not sure how it first started. Perhaps as an
adolescent I was somewhat conscious of my shape (that is, having visible
hips!!), or felt that buying clothes showed a degree of materialism that I did
not want to endorse. Or maybe I hadn’t found my style. However it came about,
the result was a 17-year old who spent an entire summer in baggy, stretched
hand-me-down T-shirts, comfy green shorts and the same pair of worn thongs,
saying that my ideal life would be an all-natural indigenous girl in a tribe
somewhere, preferably hundreds of years in the past. While saying I didn’t care
about clothes or physical appearance, deep down, I felt embarrassed about my
presentation and somehow developed the idea that I was less of a ‘genuine’
woman than my peers because I didn’t love shopping and was not well groomed.
Imagine the reaction when
this scruffy teen arrived in presentation capital: Argentina, South America,
where many people shower twice a day, wash their runners at least weekly and
wear skin-tight clothes no matter what their shape. It wasn’t long before my
host family let me know that my wardrobe was not ok and took me shopping.
Coming back home to
Australia, my family and friends noticed a marked difference. ‘Rosa’ actually
had a shape! Despite this apparent Latina makeover, I still found shopping
painful, and my dear husband remembers tears and tantrums on trips to the
shopping centre to look for clothes as my well loved Argentinian gear started
to wear out. I could not see the value in buying mass-produced, synthetic
clothing from large chain stores, and mostly made in South-East Asia where I
had no idea of the work conditions or the environmental impacts of the fabrics
I was investing in. I didn’t care if it was ‘on sale’. For me, those purchases
were still contributing to a slow, global death.
A couple of years later, I
was sitting in a Physical Education tutorial at uni, watching ‘The Economics of
Happiness’. I was almost in tears watching the disastrous effects of
large-scale multinational companies that were shutting down local businesses
and rendering local cultures obsolete around the world with their massive
factories and poor quality, thoroughly poisoned and overworked crops. Fortunately,
the end of the documentary provided a seed of hope that ignited something in
me: ‘localisation’. That was it! I would have to find the local wool producer,
seamstress and designer, or learn to make all my clothes myself! I dreamt of a
commune-type lifestyle where everyone produced a different product and lived a
completely sustainable existence.
Lacking the skills and
means to make this a reality, I looked around at local markets for clothing. The
clothing there seemed to follow a certain ‘hippie’ and tie-dyed theme that I wasn’t
so interested in, and the Australian clothing I found on websites was not
necessarily made here or even made with sustainable, natural materials. Plus,
they were very expensive. Next stop was the reputable stockists of quality
apparel at the shopping centre, with the hope that at least high quality
clothing would last longer than the cheaper options I had been replacing
annually. None of these stores could say that they stocked clothes made of
natural materials, which I was looking for, having experienced some itchy and
sweaty side effects of synthetic and bleached materials.
Finally, an online search
for ‘organic and natural clothing Australia’ returned refreshing results. I
found multiple Australian websites offering comfortable and durable clothing
made of organic cotton, bamboo and merino wool, suitably priced for a medium
budget. Although it is only the beginning of this new shopping journey, I am
thrilled to find the growing list of suppliers of healthy, ethical and somewhat
local clothing, and rather fancy that, being outside of the mainstream
smorgasbord of international retailers, this approach is a new type of
revolutionary, ‘resistance’ shopping!
Ok. Comment time! Have you
ever found an ethical product that you absolutely loved? Do you have a
favourite brand of natural clothing or know how to make it? Or have you ever
felt dissatisfied with following mainstream shopping practices and found a
better way?
Yours musingly,
The Learning Philosopher
Wow Rosa,
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you went through all that growing up. I know you hated working at Target because you felt like a commercial robot at the registers, but i didn't realise you were so miserable or wanted to be an indigenous person. I'm so happy for you that you're finding things in this world to help ease the discomfort you feel as a non-commertial person. Just think, when you go to Heaven one day you won't have to worry about any of this!! I'll try to be a better sister and be more aware of these passions of yours. You're lucky to have such a supportive husband. Keep up the journey you rebel shopper!! PJ
Rosa, I worked out how to read your blogs! Am I not brilliant?
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with what you wrote here. Amazing that even as a teenager, intuitively you had a sense of compassion for people and the environment. I am really looking forward to meeting you.
:)
Bob