Hi, my name is Hayley, and it's my challenge to you to be 'Naked for One Year'. Obstain from purchasing any new clothing or fashion accessories for just one year, and consider donating a percentage of this to an organisation which helps people in second and third world countries, like World Vision or Oxfam.
The whole point of this is to not purchase new items which rely upon exploitative production relationships, and result in unliveable conditions for workers. This means, that you can make your own clothing, or purchase secondhand items (as long as your purchase doesn't actively encourage first cycle (new) purchases by others.
This is actually a very easy exercise, in which you'll quickly discover that your old clothing actually suits you just fine, and there will be no neon sign that identifies you as a hippee, hobo, a charitable case, or any other socially undesirable form you can imagine becoming. There are people all over the world engaging in similar ventures, I will attempt to track them down and find some links to them. Personally, I've discovered a whole wardrobe I never knew I had and, l've begun to expand on the question of what it is we really 'need'.
This leads me to my second point~
Reconceptualising Need
What is it that we really require to live? This is so difficult to explore! After going without clothing for six months, I have realised that it makes NO DIFFERENCE to the way in which I live! My only 'inconvenience' has been to pass by the racks of cheap, pretty dresses, and have to remind myself of where they originated in order to resist buying them. Life is hard for a girl today, isn't it?
Apparently, I'll also need a $20,000 wedding sometime in the next few years, or at least a cheap $3000 imitation at a bowls club. I think I'm going to city hall. That's my solution, I'll leave it to you to create your own!
Hayley :)
