Teacher wears the same dress for 100 days straight to show how to stop consumerism

So you open your wardrobe door, take a look around and think, “Oh, I have nothing to wear… again!” Well, that must be a real headache. But the biggest problem here is that there are piles and piles of pieces of clothing that you’ve only worn once or twice. Some research says consumers bought 60% more clothes in 2014 than they did in 2000, but kept each piece for half that time.

Julia Moore, an art teacher in New Jersey, was alarmed by the negative effects of the fashion industry both socially and environmentally. That’s why she decided to draw people’s attention to this kind of problem in a surprising way.

The team of awesome.club was surprised by the depth of Julia’s message and now believes that everyone should adopt her sustainable consumption trend.

Julia shared the first “project” message on Instagram in early August 2018. She announced that she was going to create a challenge for herself and that she would wear the same dress for 100 days. Expecting many questions, at the beginning Julia spoke about some topics.

“Unpleasant? Well, just wash! Not funny? Of course, I love expressing myself in what I wear as much as any American woman.” She also explained that if her dress ripped, she could fix it, like people did in the past. Also, she thought about wearing an apron over her dress to work to avoid ink stains. But let’s find out what was the main reason why she wanted to “suffer” in this way.

The search for simplicity was Julia’s great motivation. She noted that the angst over the question of what to wear every morning ceased to be an issue. And, if you have 2 children who must be ready before 6:30 am, this way of life simplifies your routine. Julia also added that this measure can help save space, since the less stuff you have, the less cupboards you’ll need, and for some families, this can actually be a relief.

In explaining this decision to her daughter, she addressed the social system. People demand large quantities of clothing at low prices, which forces large companies to move their production to other countries, where US labor laws are unable to protect workers.

For example, there is evidence that several countries employ forced labor and child labor in the fashion industry. And some workers receive wages that are 3.5 times lower than what they would need for “a decent life with basic facilities for daily living”. The fast fashion industry puts pressure on the entire production infrastructure and leads to a situation where profits are more important than people’s well-being.

Irresponsible consumption also leads to environmental problems. Just look at the following facts: producing a single pair of jeans generates the same amount of greenhouse gases as driving a car 70 miles. AND 2,700 liters of water are needed to make a single cotton T-shirt. This may be enough to meet average consumption needs. of water of a person for approximately 3 to 5 years.

Sometimes we buy clothes without knowing if we are going to wear them. We believe that making people aware of the above facts will help us to avoid this situation.

Julia encourages us to think before entering the “buy, wear, discard, buy again” circle. She asks not to continue feeding the culture of defining people according to what they wear, instead of seeing who they are.

With this 100 day challenge, Julia wasn’t trying to get everyone to wear the same clothes over and over again, but wanted to show that we really don’t need that many new clothes. It’s better to spend our energy and money, for example, on acts of kindness.

The challenge is over, but for those who are curious, Julia no longer wears the same clothes every day. However, she has significantly downsized her wardrobe and is now focusing on sustainable fashion.

The teacher continues to spread her ideas and hopes to attract as many people as possible. If you want to participate in this challenge, use the hashtag #OneOutfit100Days.

Day 1.

January 2, 2019

What did you think of the idea? Would you like to participate and share your results and feelings? Show this post to that friend who invites her to go shopping every weekend!