We live in a society that strives for perfection and is quick to call out and ‘cancel’ people if they mess up. And whilst this rhetoric is needed in many instances so people can learn from their behaviour and grow, a lot of the time it’s just downright toxic.
“Human nature is full of contradictions so instead of criticising what we can’t do, how about praising the differences we are making”
A few weeks ago I attended a panel by my University’s Women and Non-Binary Network titled ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears: The true costs of Fast Fashion’, which was an incredibly insightful discussion around the fashion industry and its hidden costs, but also the intersectional approach needed when talking about these issues.
Panel guest Dr Patsy Perry, Lecturer in Fashion Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University, quoted a poem by @ethicallykate on Instagram which read:
‘To the vegans who fly every week.
To the meat eaters who only shop local.
To the thrift shoppers sipping plastic coffee cups.
To the DIY mums who use disposable nappies.
To the electric car owners who don’t compost.
To the zero wasters who eat fast food.
To the gardeners who buy fast fashion.
And to the recyclers who have long showers.
To all of you out there; keep doing what you can.
You’re making a difference.’
This idea of making small changes really resonated with me; we’re human and we can’t expect to be perfect. Human nature is full of contradictions so instead of criticising what we can’t do, how about praising the differences we are making. I approached Dr Patsy Perry for further comment and she suggested:
“We can all make small changes and if we can align them with our own personal values and what’s meaningful to us then hopefully they can become habits, which will help to tip the balance as well as engage people rather than expecting everyone to change everything.”
This whole idea got me thinking that doing something even a little, is enough to make a difference. And this is something that applies to most things in life.
Veganism and Vegetarianism
Take veganism and vegetarianism for example. I’m vegetarian and have been for a year and a half now. Whilst my meat-eating family praise me, I do get the typical “But what do you eat?” and “Do you not miss chicken nuggets?” on the daily. There is a community of people who criticise people like myself for not going far enough.
“Gatekeeping your lifestyle is counterproductive and only going to alienate people from it further”
But what people have to realise is that these issues are inevitably tied up with other issues of class, accessibility, health and culture and it is a privilege in itself to be able to make such lifestyle changes – it is not something that is accessible to all. We have to stop judging others for simply doing what they can.
The food trend ‘flexitarian’ is a perfect example of this. Flexitarian by definition is “a style of eating that encourages mostly plant-based foods while allowing meat and other animal products in moderation.” This is something often criticised by hardcore vegan/vegetarians as not enough. But surely doing something a little bit is better than nothing at all? I think just reducing consumption is such a huge step in a society where eating meat is part of the norm.
The world needs more imperfect vegans who try to reduce consumption than a small number of perfect vegans after all. We can’t criticise people for doing what feels manageable to them. Besides, gatekeeping your lifestyle is counterproductive and only going to alienate people from it further.
Furthermore, whilst this sentiment of individual change is important, we put too much pressure on individuals to change. Of course, individual change is incredibly important because if everyone had the ‘I won’t make a difference’ mindset, the world will see no change. But we also need to be mindful of the small number of major corporations who, instead of improving their ethics, turn the blame on ordinary people like us, in order to evade their own contributions to global crises.
But you should never be made to feel guilty for simply doing your best; we cannot judge people unless we know their full circumstances.
Fast Fashion
“More and more routes to sustainability are becoming inaccessible”
This is the same thing when it comes to fast fashion. I won’t lie to you and say that I don’t buy from fast fashion brands – because I do. And although I try to reduce my consumption as much as I can and only buy pieces that I like and will last, I won’t go into my excuses about being a broke university student because you’ve heard it all before.
But this is another matter inevitably tied up with a number of different issues. We can all reduce consumption and buy second hand when we can, but a mother that needs to clothe her children that rapidly grow out of clothes is obviously going to choose Primark. I certainly don’t have the money to be buying from ethical places all the time and with the gentrification of thrift stores and charity shops as a result of people buying and selling for four times the price on Depop, more and more routes to sustainability are becoming inaccessible.
“The issue of sizeism is hidden within these discourses”
So, buy from high street stores if that’s what you need. But do it less often, and buy classic and timeless pieces that won’t be out of fashion in three months. Create a wardrobe that you love, with items you’ll wear over and over again.
This is also to say I’m not excusing the £800 Shein hauls I see all over my TikTok “For You Page” because these people evidently have the money to shop with more sustainable brands and are just mindlessly going through pieces that will fall apart within a week. But we should never, ever judge those who do what it takes to get by and for whom it is all that they can afford. Not to mention the issue of sizeism that is hidden within these discourses, and how difficult it is for people that deviate from society’s normative body standards to find clothing sustainably.
Mental Health
“We always have to be mindful of the variety of issues tied up with ideas of sustainability”
This sentiment of doing something, even just a little bit is an idea that can be applied to a plethora of things in society including struggles with mental health. When getting out of bed feels impossible and showering feels like a mountain, even just washing your face and bruising your teeth is enough. Hell, even just choosing to wake up every morning is enough. Anything that you can muster will always be more than enough.
So, although we can all be spreading awareness and making small changes, we always have to be mindful of the variety of issues tied up with ideas of sustainability and self-improvement. Calling people out for not going far enough rather than praising them for taking steps in the right direction might just end up alienating others from the cause.
The argument that ‘there can be no ethical consumption under capitalism’ is often thrown around without thought, but in a lot of circumstances, it does ring true. If someone is taking the first steps towards something, don’t criticise them for going far enough – instead, praise them for making an initial change, because it will always be enough.
Emily Smith
Featured image courtesy of Brett Jordan on Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.
