When Sonya McIntyre-Reid informed family and friends she was not going to purchase something she does not want in the course of the month of October, they have been stunned.
“I did have a number of them snigger at me and say ‘as if’ and ‘you are the largest client there’s’,” she stated.
It was the advertising and marketing company proprietor’s current thirtieth birthday which sparked the realisation she needed to overtake her life.
A self-confessed enthusiastic on-line shopper, she stated she had parcels arriving at her Albury-Wodonga dwelling on the NSW-Victoria border continuously.
McIntyre-Reid stated she obtained into the behavior of hiring a brand new frock for each occasion – together with for all her thirtieth celebrations – and did not need to re-wear them.
Scrolling on her cellphone whereas watching on TV within the night noticed her usually buying garments and make-up. Loads of the time, it was only a “distraction”, she stated.
Consuming and consuming at cafes and eating places was additionally a behavior she began after the tip of COVID-19 – however by no means stopped.
However because the begin of the month, McIntyre-Reid has not spent any cash on something that is not important.
She is even saying no when her colleagues ask her if she needs to go and get a espresso, as a substitute utilizing the machine in her co-working area to make her personal.
She hopes to place the cash she saves in the direction of an abroad vacation.
To date, she hasn’t slipped up.
“It is going rather well and I really feel like I’ve discovered my means round,” McIntyre-Reid stated.
“It has been a mindset shift.
‘I’ve most likely saved perhaps $300 to this point.”
If McIntyre-Reid feels she wants a brand new outfit – corresponding to for a glamorous occasion – she’s going to hire it.
She stated scrolling by rental websites corresponding to The Volte provides her an analogous hit to buying – besides she provides the merchandise again.
A rental web site, The Volte, is backing the “purchase nothing” initiative.
It permits trend followers to mortgage out their designer garments to different folks.
Not solely does it assist lower consumerism however it permits trend followers to start out a aspect hustle and make cash from their outfits.
Australians purchase 56 new gadgets of clothes every yearly with an analogous quantity discarded annually in keeping with the Australian Style Council.
Over 200,000 tonnes of clothes is shipped to landfill yearly, fuelling local weather change.
Australia is the second greatest client of quick trend after the US.
Using staff who aren’t correctly paid plus the quantity of dumped garments shipped abroad are additionally associated points.
The Volte CEO Bernadette Olivier stated consumers should look past shopping for quick trend particularly.
“We can also see by the expansion of The Volte that Australian shoppers are in search of alternate options to purchasing new garments, particularly for particular events the place a costume is purchased and goes on to be solely worn a couple of times,” Olivier stated.
“On common a costume is rented out 9 occasions on The Volte.”
She says it is not possible to say how many individuals have joined the in initiative since then.
DiMattina claims she hasn’t purchased something new for 20 years, counting on second-hand gadgets in an effort to do her bit to fight local weather change.
She urged different trend lovers to additionally have a look at renting garments relatively than shopping for.
“Renting is fabulous. We have to get as a lot use from our stuff as humanly attainable,” she informed 9news.com.au.
