Tangible Action is a series that celebrates my marvelously tiny, beautifully miniscule response to the climate crisis and general chaos of the world. Every action, no matter how small, truly does matter. Today’s Tangible Action for climate empowerment is supporting the #NoNewClothes Campaign!

#NoNewClothes is a movement and community sponsored by Remake Our World that supports ditching the completely false capitalist belief that we must buy new clothes at the turn of every season in order to feel good about ourselves, keep up with others or present ourselves in a certain way. The challenge begins with 90-days of buying no new clothes (new as in straight from a retailer) but rather encourages us to reinvent our philosophy behind clothes shopping for a lifetime.

Retailers like Target have popularized the idea of shopping therapy, a trend that I’ve been guilty of falling into many times. I have mindlessly filled my cart with clearance clothing after a bad day at work, bringing home items I didn’t truly enjoy, that I never even tried on. The #NoNewClothes movement confronts this idea by encouraging people to evolve past mindless shopping.

Unknowingly, I started participating in #NoNewClothes as a teen. I grew to love finding weird, unique pieces at our Goodwill store that allowed me to evolve and grow into myself and express my creative energies. This inspired my love for fashion design and art.

Fashion is still a safe space for me to understand myself. I’ve returned to the #NoNewClothes challenge in my adult life and have rekindled my love of thrifting. Once I found the #NoNewClothes community on Instagram, I knew that I wanted to stop purchasing new clothes all together. I’ve mostly succeeded in this for the last three years and am always working on improving.

Here are some tips for you to engage in the #NoNewClothes community:

• Thrifting is amazing! Lean into the joy and unexpectedness it provides you. I find really solid business ware pieces at Goodwill from brands like Zara, Land’s End and Anne Taylor Loft. I love to cater my style by combining really nice pieces like these with a casual pair of jeans, a funky skirt (and statement earrings, also thrifted!)

• Thrift shopping is far better for our environment and for your wallet than constantly buying new clothes from online retailers and big box stores! My favorite thrifted outfits are always dresses! I’ve found really fun printed dresses from thrift stores, usually donated right from Target with new tags!

• We live in the age of cool kids! Lucky us because cool kids have opened the gateway to sustainable fashion options! Because of their genius, it is nearly impossible to make it big with a Depop Boutique as a newbie these days, but there are so many boutiques offering thrifted, sustainably curated selections of upcycled and high-quality items that are wardrobe staples.

• Clothing Swaps are social havens for community connection! Host one at your community center. You can also find great things now online with Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist Free Stuff.

• H&M offers clothing recycling at most of their stores! There are more online boutiques offering this now, which is an exciting change for sustainability. Fabrics often take a long time to decompose, sometimes never truly breaking down if they’re synthetic. Look into recycling clothing when clothes are completely unwearable.

• If you MUST buy new (sometimes you MUST) try to invest in a long-lasting, durable item by researching it. Purchasing a brand-new item that you know will last is also an important and impactful decision in sustainable fashion. I ended up doing this with my raincoat and winter jacket and they’ve lasted the years because I made sure they were well-made, repairable, and worth the investment. Finding used gear shops like Feral in Denver has made a difference for me in purchasing outerwear, hiking boots, and gear for my (moderately) adventurous Colorado life!

Clothing is supposed to serve us as a vehicle for expression without drowning our planet in excess waste and pollutants.

Join the #NoNewClothes challenge today and make a tangible action for a more sustainable future! Have you joined the challenge yet?! Share your experience and thoughts in the comments below!