Lately, I’ve been in such a rut when it comes to defining my blog, my brand, and myself. I should start by saying, I gave up fast fashion several years ago. Since then all of my wardrobe items have been obtained from thrift stores, eBay, clothing swaps, or gifts. I’m sure all of you know by now, I love thrifting and shopping secondhand, but I feel like I should be doing more as a conscious consumer.
I feel like I should be helping to support ethical companies, especially since I have this amazing platform. That desire/belief (whatever you want to call it) puts me in such a blogging rut. I become so overwhelmed by the different types of ethical companies and causes that it leaves me feeling confused and at a standstill as a consumer and an influencer.
Let me explain. When I made the decision to become a more ethical consumer, I also decided to only support eco-friendly clothing companies. To me, clothing companies that did not care about the environment were total savages. Shortly after vouching to only shop eco-friendly, I discovered a clothing company designed to empower women to rise out of poverty. Surely, I should be supporting them, right? The only problem was that they weren’t eco-friendly. This definitely caused some cognitive dissonance for me. This company was socially responsible and in no way would I consider them to be savages. Did this mean it was okay for me to shop socially responsible companies as well? I honestly didn’t know.
Recommended: 5 Ways I Failed at Conscious Living
More recently, I bought a t-shirt from a small black-owned business. The shirt was not eco-friendly and the company was not socially responsible. I felt sooooooo guilty for buying this shirt. What had I done? Did this mean that I was no longer an ethical consumer? After going down the rabbit hole of guilt, I realized that my money just went to a small business owner. A small black business owner. Small businesses struggle to compete against big businesses and minority-owned companies have an even harder time competing because they make up such a small portion of the marketplace. I decided that I shouldn’t feel guilty about shopping small. Also, I once saw a meme on Instagram that said “When you buy from a small business an actual person does a little happy dance.” I’d like to think that the person I bought my shirt from danced a little bit.
Quitting fast fashion was easy. Now the hard part is defining what being an “ethical” consumer and ethical influencer actually looks like for me. Do the brands I support need to check all of my ethical marks? What if they are a good company but fall a little short? I am still navigating what that means for me and for my blog/brand. This is a whole new territory I’m venturing into, but I look forward to stumbling through this journey with you all.
What are your thoughts on being a conscious consumer?
This was a really eye opening post. I really haven’t considered where my clothes were coming from. I do LOVE supporting small businesses and will make it a goal to shop them much more frequently. I also adore taking my clothes in no longer need to be donated. That makes me super happy to have someone else use my clothes I don’t need or use any more. Great post girl.
Thank you Jeanette! I love that you support small businesses and that you donate your old clothes.
I can definitely relate! All the questions become overwhelming. The same happens to me when I think of “eating clean”.
I guess the only thing that would help is thinking of what values you choose to live by first and then finding a brand that has those same values to support.
That is interesting looking at it from the clean eating perspective. I hadn’t even considered how challenging that could be as well, especially with companies falsely labeling their food products as organic, gluten-free, etc.
Also, thank you for that advice! I keep trying to make my brand into what I think it should be, but I need to focus on the values I currently have.
I love how transparent you are about this topic. I’ve thought about if my clothing was eco friendly. I can totally see you dilemma. I agree with Ashlynd in finding brands that support your values.
I love how transparent you are about this topic. I’ve thought about if my clothing was eco friendly. I can totally see you dilemma. I agree with Ashlynd in finding brands that support your values.