What Is #NoNewClothes?

Am I about to become a nudist?!
Noooo!
#NoNewClothes is a is a challenge just like pouring ice water over your head or eating a spoon of cinnamon except way less cold and dangerous!
Can I do it?!!
Can I go without buying ANY NEW TEXTILES for 90 days?!!
Let's go inside to find out!


Hey, I'm Miranda Black, the DeGrowth Diva and this summer I set out on the No New Clothes challenge - a 90-day commitment to abstain from buying new clothes. In this episode, I share my unexpected revelations, and the steps I took to get my family onboard with the challenge. Trust me, you'll want to hear about the hilarity that ensued during my kid's PJ emergency!

As an ambassador for Remake - a not-for-profit championing climate and wage justice in the fashion industry - I encourage you to try the No New Clothes challenges. This annual movement is a call to arms to change our relationship with what we wear.
 
Across the next five episodes, we'll delve into the origins and life stories of our garments. Whether you're itching to take up the challenge yourself, or simply wish to understand more about sustainable fashion, this episode takes you on a mindful journey into the world of clothes that might just change your shopping habits forever.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello all you D-growers out there.
My name is Miranda Black, andthis is what's this Place Behind
the Clicks and Mortar, where wetalk about degrowth in fashion
and retail, and today we'regoing to talk about an internet
challenge that I am doing calledno New Clothes.
So what is no New Clothes?

(00:20):
Is it going to turn me into anudist?
What's this place?
What's this place?
Okay, let's go inside and findout.
I am an ambassador for remake,which is a not-for-profit which
focuses on climate and wagejustice and the fashion industry
.
I know that sounds boring andnot very sexy, but hear me out,

(00:41):
okay.
So no New Clothes is achallenge just like any other,
like pouring ice water over yourhead or eating no meat on
Mondays or dry January, exceptit's about fashion and clothing.
You signed this pledge withremake that you're going to buy
no New Clothes for 90 days.
Now, last year, 2022, which iswhen I first heard about it I

(01:05):
did not plan on signing thepledge because I was already on
my own personal no New Clothesmission, because I had owned a
store and, as a result of beingin retail, I have even more
clothes than the average person.
I'm pretty sure I have awardrobe that could last me 10
lifetimes.
So I didn't think I needed tosign the pledge.

(01:26):
I was just going to do it overhere in the corner, quiet like.
But then I heard through remakethat only about 900 people had
signed up.
This was early January, sorry,early July 2022.
The challenge runs from June1st to September 1st, so it was
still early days, but it stillkind of shocked me, because 900

(01:50):
people out of all thefashionistas out there I mean,
fashion is about, or should beabout, creativity.
Creating something new andstylish from what you already
own should be in the wheelhouseof every single person who
claims to be fashionable.
People can and do make fashionout of tree branches and moss

(02:14):
and like seaweed.
So surely, with all theclothing already on this planet,
surely more than 900 people cango without buying new clothes
for 90 days.
I'm a big believer in strengthand numbers, so I immediately
signed up to add my name to thatpledge, even if it's just to
make it 901, just to keep themomentum going.

(02:35):
But the funny thing, what thatact of commitment did, just that
simple act of it going frombeing in my mind on my own in
the corner to writing it down oninternet paper, it shifted my
mindset by a degree, because nowI was accountable and I became

(02:56):
acutely aware of all the littlethings that may have slipped
through the cracks without mynew awareness and commitment the
concert t-shirt, the new hairties that are made from textiles
, the new tea towels thatscrolled by my feet and made me
just for a second believe that Iwould have a better kitchen, if
only for those tea towelsSigning their remake no New

(03:21):
Clothes Pledge.
Going public gave me more focusand it also made me feel part
of something bigger than just myown personal crusade, like when
I had to say no to something.
I had 900 people at my back andPS.
By the end of the challenge,over 1300 people had signed up,
and this year they've alreadysurpassed that.
So it's growing, and I alsostarted doing it with my kid, so

(03:44):
we did all our back to schoolshopping last year at a thrift
store, which they loved.
You know who has zeroresistance to thrift stores Kids
.
And then my partner wanted meto go with him to buy new jeans
and I said okay, if you want myhelp to buy a denim, can you
just first evaluate yourinventory, sort through it, to

(04:06):
help us better know what you'relooking for.
And once you go through whatyou already own, then we'll go
shopping.
And the crazy thing was that hecame back to me and said I am
so glad I did that because Irealized I already have enough
jeans.
I have like four pairs.
I totally forgot about this iswhat the no New Challenge looks
like.
So if you've ever done a sportschallenge or a diet challenge

(04:31):
no, let's not equate it to dietchallenge, because I don't like
diets, but, like you know, maybea TikTok dance challenge If
you've done those things, youcan do this.
And even after the no NewClothes pledge was over, our
whole family has shopped waymore consciously, more thrift,
more vintage, more hand-me-downthan we ever did before this

(04:51):
spring.
I'm going to tell you a littlestory here.
This spring, my kiddo needednew PJs like ASAP and I got
worried I was going to have toresort to one of the major kids
online stores because, let'sface it, it really is the
easiest and fastest thing toclick and receive PJs the next
day.
There was no way I was going tobe able to get to a kid's
thrift store in the limited timewe had.

(05:12):
It was a PJ emergency.
Let's just leave the nittygritty details out of it.
But before I clicked and let metell you I was on the site,
there were PJs in my cart and Ihad even been given a discount
code.
It couldn't have been easier todo the easiest thing.
But right before I clicked Itexted five friends with kids

(05:35):
all around the same age and Iasked do you have any extra
lightweight summer pajamas thatare headed for hand-me-downs?
And four of them got back rightaway and said no, no, we do not
.
But one of them texted me backand said we actually have two
drawers full of pajamas we neveruse.
Please take some off our hands.

(05:55):
And by that evening my kid hadthree new pairs of PJs with zero
carbon footprint, because thefriend even walked them over to
us.
They delivered to my door.
That was a good friend.
So that's no new clothes.
It's making a public commitmentand then finding alternatives
to buying new when theseemergencies pop up, because they

(06:18):
will.
But it's like a game.
You've got to find a way Now.
This year I signed up right away, started June 1st, but you can
still sign up and the fun aspectof being part of a group is
seeing other people sometimesstruggle and then win, like I
did with the PJs, but also sharestories from their wardrobe.

(06:41):
You know old Miranda I don'tlike those two words together,
but old Miranda used to like totell stories of how little I
paid for something, and this issuper common, but I think it
might just become dated in thenext few years.
I hear it now and I cringe athow many times I have said this
kind of thing in the past.
Well, I got this reallyexpensive sweater for this

(07:01):
really cheap amount.
I got these Dolce and Gopalnashoes brand new for $100.
But the truth is somebody madethose things and probably they
were not paid a living wage.
And that's how I got them forso cheap.
My joy was coming at the costof somebody's quality of life.
It really makes me cringe.

(07:24):
Now you know what happened topeople telling stories of how
something was made or how longyou've had something.
Well, the remake communityinspires stories like this and
created these many challengeswithin the bigger no New Clothes
challenge.
So for the next five episodes,I'm going to share these remake
mini clothing challenges thatyou can take part in wherever

(07:46):
you are and whatever time ofyear it is.
It doesn't have to be June 1stto September 1st you can sign
your own personal no New Clothespledge.
If you find this podcast inDecember or April, you can do it
solo and know that I have yourback when you need to say no,
and the 2,000 people who havesigned on to no New Clothes this
year, they also have your back.
So try it for a week or a day,if that's all you can do.

(08:10):
Maybe 90 days is overwhelming.
Just start really small.
I think there's a way into thismovement for wherever you are
right now in your fashiondegrowth journey.
But if you do want to take theremake pledge, you can find it
at remakeworld and you can alsofind that link in my podcast
notes.
If you decide not to do no NewClothes at all and just want to

(08:32):
come along for the ride, join mefor the next five episodes as I
do no New Clothes minichallenges.
I'm Miranda Black.
Stay tuned for the first minichallenge.
Let's go inside and find out.