There is a lot happening for The Big Shwop this month: we’ve started planning our next event (watch this space!), we’re doing lots of development on the business, and during a break between jobs I am using the change of season to get cracking and take some personal challenges in the name of responsible shopping.
1) Cut up the credit card and take a one month no shopping challenge!
I can’t deny it – I really love clothes and I really love shopping. That said since starting The Big Shwop my impulse shopping spree’s have been greatly curbed and directed towards collecting great second hand and NZ made items. However, the cunning credit card still lurks and tempts me now and then and I thought now was the time to take the plunge and go one step further: CUT IT UP AND CUT IT OUT – and see if I can go for 4 weeks without buying a single item of clothing. Not even tights or accessories! Because basically we all have way too much stuff in our lives, and my stop shopping challenge will hopefully prove that we can definitely make a lot more use of what we already have!
2) Take the Six Items or Less Challenge
You may have read about this interesting new idea on one of Sarah’s previous blogs here. The Six Items or less challenge was started by a group of people from across several countries who took part in an experiment where they choose six (and only six) items of clothing and pledge to wear only those six items of clothing for a month. The challenge provided some valuable personal insights for them – and after reading about it on their blog Six Items or Less I got to thinking – by joves I could do this too!
So – Myself and my trusty partner in crime – Big Shwop Co-director Chrissy McGonigal are taking the plunge and doing the Six Items or Less this month – all the in the name of sustainable fashion!
We’ll keep you updated on how we go – it will be another reminder that we can still be fashionable without having to constantly update our wardrobes with clothes that are often made without any respect for the environment or the people who have made them. And please feel to join us on our mission! If you’re keen to take up the challenge with us please get in touch via the blog or email me – inga@thebigshwop.co.nz, and we’ll include your stories along with our own.
I’ve started choosing my items – I have my first four locked in: plain black jeans, oversized merino T-shirt, button up printed dress & vintage leather jacket. But am a bit stuck on the last two…. Crikey pretty soon it’s going to be an easy choice of what to wear each morning!
Keep in touch to see how our spring challenges work out!
The Big Shwop 
Hi, In my view it’s totally stupid to cut your credit card, the key is to become a responsible shopper and pay your bills after you’ve earned the money to shop.
That’s responsible shopping… the way other generations have done it.
It’s NOT about going on a reckless shopping spree and then wondering how to pay for it. That’s silly.
You EARN, you SHOP responsibly, and preferably made in NZ, and you pay your BILLS only when you have the money. Not the other way around.
That’s responsible and Sustainable and you can keep your credit card at the same time.
Voila for the Education. Cheers.
Hi Jo,
thanks for your comment and for reading the blog.
You are completely right that spending beyond your means is not a sensible or sustainable way to use your money.
However, the ‘cutting up the credit card’ post was just an experiment that I am undertaking to show that we do not need to shop excessively for poorly made clothes that damage the environment and are harmful to the people who make them – in the way that a huge percentage of our society currently does.
I actually hardly use my credit card so it was intended as a symbolic act more than a ‘solution’ to help me shop responsibly. And in fact what I meant by ‘responsible shopping’ is actually thinking more about where our clothes come from, what they are made of, and whether we feel good about our shopping choices, I think what you have taken it to mean is ‘responsible spending’ in terms of not buying things when you cannot afford them.
I was not implying that we should not ever shop or that we should not ever use credit cards – it was merely a conscious act on my behalf to prove to myself that I can make more of what I already have and look at alternative ways of updating my wardrobe.
Thanks again for your interest in our blog.
Inga
Good Luck Inga and Chrissy!
You good keen things!
Looking forward to seeing you both completing the challenge in style! Though you have upped the difficulty level somewhat with aiming to do this over a NZ spring (with repeated rotations of all season within a day) with just 6items to choose from !!
Thanks for the good wishes – it was really really hard deciding on the 6 items. 2 days down just 28 to go.