518

 Fellow human's question: clothing item at the end of its life

A fellow human asks: My partner has completely worn through a pair of jeans. We have repaired them many times and I’m afraid they’ve come to the end of their useful life. How would you approach a situation like this?

I can empathise with this situation because I've certainly been there myself. What do I do with a clothing item that cannot be repaired anymore?

When I read my fellow human's question, the first thing that came to mind is my mother's practice of crocheting rugs and other small items from scrap fabrics (she would turn old, unrepairable clothing into strips and use them as yarn). My grandmother would turn old clothes into cloths for cleaning. While I adopted my grandmother's practice, I never got into crocheting from fabric scraps or any other upcycling projects because I know I would not use those objects. I also feel that my partner and I don't generate enough textile waste to meaningfully use it for anything rather than cleaning cloths. In a situation when I have an item of clothing that is beyond repair and cannot be turned into cleaning cloths, I recycle it. Here in Denmark it is possible to recycle textiles. In the picture above, for example, is a bin where one can take their items to recycle. I've also recycled textiles in other countries in a similar manner. It does feel uncomfortable [i.e., like I'm not doing enough] to recycle textiles (wearable textiles get burned, much of it is exported, etc.), but I do think that it's the best option (after upcycling). There could be other options such as seeing if local artists and artisans need textiles. When I lived with a dog, I would put pieces of fabric inside his bed as it would get flat over time. 

517

Fellow human's question: sorrow about others' habits

A fellow human asks: Do you sometimes feel deflated or frustrated by the lack of other people’s awareness of how their consumption habits are negatively impacting the planet?

I try not to judge fellow humans (rather, I try to live differently and hopefully inspire fellow humans to relate differently with the world), but I certainly feel sorrow when I observe or contemplate other people's attitudes and behaviours. 

I am especially frustrated when I observe fellow academics who know better. They know how their consumption habits are negatively impacting the planet, but they choose to live "as usual". This is not to say that all fellow humans in academia are like this, but some certainly are. They claim that the system needs to change first, that the system makes them live like this. But I disagree. I believe we have agency/capacity to act. When I think about living a normal life as an academic, I think about my grandmother. She is one of the family members who find it very difficult to accept my mode of living. After all, I spent many years at a university, got a PhD. I am supposed to live in a nice house, have a car, a career, a husband, children (who would each have their own room in that house and lots of toys), furniture, paintings on the walls. I am supposed to have a wardrobe full of "nice things", look presentable, travel and eat in restaurants. I am not supposed to live in a tiny apartment, with very few items, less than 50 personal possessions, 10 items of clothing, barely ever travel outside the Nordics, take breaks in my career, shop rarely, and so on. I feel that many choose to live a normal life because they invested so much time, energy and money into achieving a certain position that they don't want to give up on the lifestyle that this position affords. At the same time, it is our job, our responsibility to increase awareness of ecological degradation. But why would anyone listen to me if I cannot live according to the theories I promote? I would not expect anyone to listen to me, be in any way inspired by me if I said one thing, but lived completely differently. 

I think that many fellow humans are aware of the fact that their consumption patterns impact the planet negatively. And I do think that more could be doing something about it. But there are also various factors that work against this awareness. For example, the system of education does not educate humans for care, gentleness, responsibility, kindness, empathy towards the self, human and non-human others and nature. It educates us for conventional success and jobs. Corporations spend much money on either highlighting something other than awareness (e.g., the need to reinvent oneself), or on calming people down ("your consumption pattern is not so bad, just buy second-hand/certified/green"). There are not many policies that allow humans to dive into contemplating their responsibility and practices, or to organise for sustainability (e.g., establish local no-buy groups, swap shops and so on). Universal basic income, universal basic services, and paid leave would be examples of such policies. I don't feel that there is enough public discourse about awareness either. Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I feel that diminishing the value of personal actions disinvites people to act. It encourages them to vote differently (which is also important), but takes away their agency. 

As for those fellow humans who are simply not aware, of course it is frustrating, but those who are aware need to do more to invite others to become aware. In academia we deal with many facts about ecological degradation. But apart from sharing facts and provoke thoughts, we need to share ideas and concrete examples and provoke emotions. Connect with people's hearts, not only their minds. We need to show how changing one's consumption pattern actually makes life better, demonstrate that reducing consumption is not a sacrifice, but freedom. 

516

Fellow human's question: others' reactions

A fellow human asks: Do you find that people sometimes ridicule or make fun of your lifestyle? I ask this because this was my experience. I haven’t met anyone in real life (not online) who shows an interest in minimal/sustainable living, so those who I have shared this side of myself with have been quite critical. If you have had experiences like this, how do you handle them and not internalize their opinions?

As I'm contemplating this question, many groups of fellow humans come to mind. As for my fellow humans online, so far, most of the feedback I've gotten has been positive. People have been kind, supportive, gentle, caring, encouraging, generous. They share their own experiences, ask questions, create safe spaces to learn from one another. 

The biggest source of support for me, apart from the fellow humans online, is my partner. Both of us are sustainability researchers and practitioners. Though before we moved in together, I lived with less (no furniture, no kitchen appliances, no washing machine, etc.), together we try to live as sustainably as possible. We think about sustainability together, read and write about it, experiment with different practices. 

There are also non-human beings such as trees, stones, animals. None of them ridicule or make fun of my lifestyle. I feel only support and gentleness from non-humans. 

I'm thinking about my and my partner's families too. Some family members have been supportive, while others much less so. None of them said that they want to live like this, but some family members have practised sustainable living for a long time (though in a different form to how we live our life). For example, my partner's father and stepmother have been very supportive. They share their experiences with various practices of frugality, zero-waste, slow living. The same goes for my brother. My partner's mother is worried about our lifestyle. She is worried about the items she will leave behind and what will happen to them. She is worried about us imposing this lifestyle upon our future child. She is also worried about my partner and I meeting in the middle rather than living the way he used to live before we moved in together. My grandmother thinks that I live in poverty. She believes that I've wasted my "potential" to live a "good life". 

As for my friends, they don't want to live like we do either, but they have been very supportive. At times they joke about my mode of living, but they are not ill-meaning.

Yet another group of fellow humans are fellow academics. This is the group of fellow humans from whom I have received most of the negative feedback. Before I say more, I want to say that there are also many fellow humans in academia who have been incredibly kind and supportive. Those are mainly academics who believe in the unity of theory and practice and practise sustainability themselves (not necessarily in the same way as me). 

There are two main points of critique coming from fellow academics towards this work of mine and my practice. One is that these kinds of individual actions don't matter. The other one is that it's just a privileged lifestyle. 

As for individual actions, there is no right way to think about them. Some believe that change arises from individual actions. Others believe that it's systems that need to change. I adopt the perspective (coming from critical realist philosophy of science) that assumes the following. Individuals reproduce or transform social structures, while social structures constrain or empower individuals. Importantly, only individuals (human beings) can act, obviously within the framework of social structures. Thus to me, individual actions matter a lot. Change arises from us reproducing nurturing, good structures and transformation of detrimental ones. No practitioner thinks that their own individual actions cause huge changes in systems. They believe that we change systems collectively. 

I also strongly believe in the unity of theory and practice. If I say in my academic work that we need to live with less, it means that I need to live with less, too. Not just others. I'm puzzled by those fellow humans who write about sustainability and live unsustainably. 

As for privileges, it is important to recognise them, and I try to do my best to do just that in my autoethnographic work. However, I find simply labelling this lifestyle as privileged unhelpful. There have been some comments directed at my lifestyle that claim that it's just educated, middle-class people playing poverty. I think that even if (perhaps especially when) one is an educated, middle-class person who could earn more and consume more, they need to try and live sustainably. It is exactly persons like us (my partner and I), living in a materially wealthy country in Europe or elsewhere, who must change our patterns of consuming and relating with the world. A fellow human once mentioned that our lifestyle would not apply to a "poor person in Mumbai". A materially poor person in Mumbai already lives more sustainably and uses fewer resources than we do. Having said that, it is also unhelpful to only seek differences between persons rather than seek similarities and learn from one another. A poor person in Mumbai, like us, wants to have a roof over their read, eat, sleep. They want to live a happy and fulfilling life. They want their children to have good lives. Just like we do. 

I contemplate negative comments and see if there is value in them, if there is something that I can use to grow as a person and in my practice. I don't internalise ill-meaning comments because there are so many fellow humans (and even more non-humans) on this Earth. One person's opinion is just that: one person's opinion. There are some things that I strongly believe in (such as that individual actions matter, and that the unity of theory and practice is important) and I stand by them. I discuss negative comments with fellow humans to find support and reflect on my practice. I also check in with myself and have internal dialogues with myself. And I spend much time with nature that is a source of comfort and wisdom. For example, I sit with a tree or with the sea and feel oneness with them. 

515

 Fellow human's question: white clothes

A fellow human asks: How do you keep your aged shirts so white? I have found white clothing loses its brightness over time and looks almost dirty. I have opted for darker clothing but have been learning about the negative impact of clothing dyes, so as my clothes wear out I would like them replaced with pieces made from natural and undyed fabrics.

Most of my clothes are white/off-white and beige. These are the colours I've gravitated towards most of my life. I think it's due to sensory processing sensitivity that I live with. These colours feel calming to me and I never get overstimulated by them, or tired of them. 

Though I try my best, it is difficult to show my practice exactly as it is to my fellow humans via my autoethnography. It is hard to show the ageing process of things, especially when I take pictures from a distance (e.g., to capture my whole wardrobe). Many of my white clothes have imperfections, such as discolorations and small stains on them. I still wear these items. Very stained items I usually wear at home when I cook, but small stains are not an issue. At least, I don't think they are. I'm not becoming a worse human being, a worse teacher, a worse partner when I wear a stained t-shirt. 

Having said that, acquiring new stains is not something I pursue. I try to keep my white clothes as white as possible, as long as possible. Because most of my clothes are this colour (or similar), I wash white clothes separately from black ones. In fact, we separate our clothes and other textiles into two piles: white and black. And this is the main thing that I do to preserve the colour. I use laundry sheets but no other chemicals when I do laundry. I also try to wear clothes that are not too close-fitting. This is because of the skin condition I live with, but I've noticed that it also prevents sweat stains. 

When there is a new stain, I hand-wash the item immediately. I use whatever is nearby: dishwashing liquid or soap. 

Over the years, white clothes lose their brightness though, as the fellow human said above. And that's ok. I continue to wear them until they can become, e.g., cloths for cleaning my home. I try to avoid buying bright white clothes though. Not only because very bright white loses its brightness faster, but it's also not my best colour. I find off-white more calming, serene, and look for colour names such as natural white, off-white, ecru, or even undyed cotton (which I find incredibly beautiful!). The t-shirt in the picture above might look bright, but in reality it's a calm and soft white colour. In the snow, it would probably look a little bit grey. In our home we have only two t-shirts that are bright white, but I never wear them (my partner does). 

514

I have recently received several wonderful, thought-provoking questions from a fellow human. I'm deeply grateful for them. I decided to answer them here in my autoethnography so this work and reflections associated with it become guided by fellow humans' questions too rather than merely by my own mind. I will answer the questions over the next few days. 

The fellow human asks: If a piece of clothing you live with wears out beyond repair, and you can’t borrow another one or go without it, how do you approach acquiring another one? Would you purchase second hand or from a sustainable/local/ethical business? What would your thought process be?

As I was contemplating this question, I was thinking about concrete situations I found myself in where what my fellow human describes was the case. Strangely, shoes rather than clothing items came to mind first. As for clothing items, perhaps trousers come to mind, as this is something I've found difficult to borrow. 

I've been borrowing clothes almost as long as I remember myself. In the beginning (I was in my early teens), I would mostly borrow from my family members. My grandmother, my mother, then my stepfather and my brother. I would then borrow clothes from my friends and partners. None of those clothing items were in my size, but they were wonderful to wear nevertheless. It was easy to borrow sweaters, t-shirts, shirts, scarves, and jackets, but impossible to borrow trousers as they would be too big for me. It's still the case now. I borrow my partner's t-shirts, shirts and other items. As for trousers and shorts (I live with 2 pairs of sweatpants and 2 pairs of shorts), I buy them from a sustainable Danish business. It feels somewhat uncomfortable to say/type the words sustainable business. I'm a researcher who specialises in sustainability in business, and, considering the type of sustainability that I advocate in my works (post-growth), I believe that genuine sustainability requires much more than what most businesses actually do. This includes most businesses that I buy from. While there are many aspects of their business models that are sustainable, there are many ones that are not. For example, the company that my trousers and shorts come from makes their products in Europe from organic cotton. They have a permanent collection of items so it's easy to replace the item when it completely wears out. At the same time, it's a for-profit business. It's not a small business either. In my experience, the quality of their products is inconsistent too, and I observe that even though they claim to avoid following fashion trends, they still feel the need to introduce new things and new colours. It invites humans to consume. 

I suppose the short answer to "what would I do if I needed a new item and could not borrow it?" is, I would buy from a sustainable/local/ethical brand. I look for items that are made in Europe (since this is where I live), are made from natural materials, and would last, as a minimum. Though my partner and I live with some items that are not made in Europe and are made from blends of natural and synthetic materials too. In this case, we buy such items from companies that have multiple sustainability credentials. And we make these items last.

Oftentimes fellow humans ask me why I don't buy second-hand. Buying second-hand is a very good sustainability practice, and I definitely encourage fellow humans to adopt this practice if, for example, they need something for a special occasion (I don't wear anything special for special occasions) or like to experiment with different styles (personally, I wear the same outfit every day). I avoid second-hand shopping for several reasons. First and foremost, when it comes to clothing, I look for particular fabrics (mostly organic cotton), colours (neutrals) and styles (basics). I look for organic cotton because I live with an autoimmune skin condition. My skin reacts to many fabrics and laundry detergents. When I buy something new (which in reality happens rarely), I can choose organic cotton and wash the item with scent-free laundry sheets. I wear a uniform to normalise wearing the same thing every day. It would be time-consuming to look for second-hand items that are almost identical to the ones I wear. And I want to avoid investing my time in shopping. Shopping is something that I try to avoid as much as possible. I don't enjoy browsing, looking for "new" things. I would much rather spend this time elsewhere. I am somewhat sceptical when it comes to online second-hand market places. Perhaps their founders and owners would claim that sustainability is at the heart of it, but could it be that normalisation of perpetual shopping and consumerism is also there? Could it be that shopping second-hand leads to spontaneously buying something else or a feeling that one cannot miss some deal, or a feeling that one still doesn't have enough? Of course buying something second-hand is better than buying the same thing new (for this reason, I always asked universities to give me second-hand equipment), but I can't help but think that second-hand shopping is very similar to buying new things in its underlying psychological and social mechanisms. I also wonder if the existence of second-hand marketplaces encourages people to consume more of new things. They might buy more knowing that they can just sell it later, so recover some money and supposedly avoid contributing to ecological degradation. 

To me it is important to wear the same outfit every day because if I wear different ones (even if it's second-hand), it might inspire fellow humans to consume more. After all, they do not know if I bought something new or second-hand, unless they ask, which very few people do. I don't want to inspire consumption. 

Having said that, if a person can find exactly the item they've been looking for second-hand, there is nothing wrong with buying it. In my experience, I've found it difficult to, at once, wear a uniform, go for certain fabrics/colours/styles, avoid spending time on shopping and buy second-hand. Yet, as I said above, my first preference is to borrow than buy new items. Perhaps I've been lucky in that my current partner and my previous partner prefer very similar things to what I like wearing.