I spent $5,000 on clothes on Depop in 2024 and maybe 2025 is my year of not buying clothes!?

Not quite this bad, but not far off!

How much we consume in the Western world is often on my mind. I often think about where our used items and products and packaging end up eventually. Even when we try to dispose of things in a sustainable and conscious way, there is still so much impact that we will never have full visibility of.

Black Friday

Considering Black Friday sales now start in early November, it can be very hard not to get caught up in this frenzy but this year I decided that I wanted to take a more considered strategy. I decided that I wanted to approach the sales as a stable, normal and controlled person - worth a try! Year on year, I tend to alternate my approach to Black Friday; some years I have completely removed myself from buying anything and other years, I spend as if I have just discovered credit for the first time. My thinking for this year was that I would buy things that I use and need, making a conscious and intentional list of essentials that I use throughout the year - (think SPF, shampoo, underwear and the like).

But, despite my well intentioned strategy, in the last month or so, I have been absolutely bombarded with temptation - email marketing, TikTok influencer marketing and instagram ads are coming at me from all angles! It started off with Black Friday sales, then Cyber Monday and then Boxing Day sales, in early December! I haven’t clicked into most of the emails although I’m yet to do a mass unsubscribe (unroll me is the GOAT for doing this efficiently). I try not to follow any influencers on TikTok but my ‘for you’ page behaves as if it has access to my inner world with how much accurate content it delivers to me. There were even a few “gift guide” lists here on Substack, my safe place - god forbid!!

Out of all the social media platforms, instagram hooked me the most - my god, those algorithms just know me so well. Anything I’ve been googling/ researching lately was popping up in an ad, offering at least 30% off from brands and stores that I know and love. Argh! Even the strongest amongst us would find this hard to resist. I had multiple tabs open, was admiring things I absolutely did not need and, despite understanding the marketing tactics of this time of year and “knowing better”, I was starting to be drawn in. (Let’s call my rock bottom the moment that I came-to whilst navigating my way around a $4,000 portable LED face wand website. To my credit, this one was recommended by Eve Hewson and if it’s good enough for Bono’s porcelain skinned daughter, it’s good enough for me!)

Thankfully I soon snapped back to reality; deleting socials, closing tabs and burning my credit card (not quite, but definitely close).

Depop as an alternative

But the withdrawal from the madness of buying new things was not yet dealt with; I took my dopamine needs to Depop. Although I do believe that contributing to the circular economy and buying clothes second hand is significantly better for the environment and for the intense consumerism/ overconsumption that we are experiencing, I also know that my little reward system feels like it has somehow cheated the system and found a loop hole!

I will always advocate for shopping local, supporting small businesses and being a part of the circular economy (the consumer part, mostly). My values align with Depop/ Vinted/ second hand shopping and I am grateful that they are an option. However, what I am learning as my little addict brain gets it boosts and hits from bargains and package deliveries, is that it’s still consumerism. It’s still being trapped in the spending cycle, it’s still parting with hard earned money which could, in reality, be paying off my mortgage! $5,000 in a year didn’t go to Amazon or big unethical brands but it also didn’t go reducing my debt! Yes, I have come away with some absolutely epic bargains and items. Some that I have worn over and over and over again. But there was something still not sitting right with me in my gut about the whole thing.

Trialling No Buy

After watching the recent documentary on Netflix about what brands do to keep us consuming, how little thought they actually give to their products’ end of life and the impact that all of our consumption is having on the planet, I decided to do a two week no spend before a recent trip overseas. I named her; No Buy Before Bali. (Tourism tips on that Bali post here).

What I discovered during this time is that it was freeing! I felt less trapped with the option of shopping totally removed from my life. I felt lighter and less pressure and thoroughly enjoyed the natural high it gave me. Once I got to Bali though, the restrictions were lifted and I went back to my old ways (which, it bares mentioning is not those of a manic shopaholic but what would probably be considered ‘normal’ spending habits these days), with the underlying feeling that I am maybe just a slave to the consumerism of it all.

With all of this mulling in my brain, I saw someone on Substack speak about completing a year of buying nothing new and how liberating it was for them. The idea feels genuinely terrifying to me but maybe that tells me all I need to know. Despite the fear, I know deep down that in order to really change my habits, focus my time and energy on things that bring me real joy and to free myself from the consumerism cycle, going big is the way to go.

I don’t do things by halves so I guess by putting it up here, I guess I’m committing it to the world! Go hard or go home, hey!? WISH ME LUCK!*

*It is absolutely worth acknowledging in advance that any money saved from deleting Depop will most likely be spent on meals out and cocktails and so, my mortgage will remain unchanged. But hey, we have to get our kicks from somewhere and I’m opting for the activities that keep my dopamine monster at bay!