So I am obsessed with denim. There I have said it out loud to you, so now you can hold me accountable the next time we go to a thrift store together and you find me b lining straight over to it and rummaging through it right away. I’m not sure where the obsession came from.
Maybe from the fact that I find so many pairs and they all seem to fit? It’s so strange but I do and yes, they fit.
My last find was a pair of brand new Levi’s frozen in a snowbank. I pried them out and gently placed them in a plastic bag (I always carry one) for the bus ride home. I examined them the best I could for anything that might be unsavoury and deemed them fit to come home. Sure enough, after a hang dry and a wash, they are perfect.
I spoke recently with an intuitive wardrobe coach and we had a few theories and in an attempt to quell my obsession I bought a pair of brand new Levi’s. On sale at Aritzia, something I have never done before. I walked in a whim and saw them there and decided to try them on. They fit like a glove, like a pair you have in your closet that you will wear, and wear and wear. They were part of the boxing day sale, a pair of rib cage straight leg Levi’s with a button fly and a nice dark wash. They were 60% off so I thought why not, this will be the only pair I purchase this year.
I am wearing them right now with a cotton button-down from Lee I found. I don’t think I am ever going to be able to stop looking in or picking up the bags of clothes people put out. The last bag I found was one that got me $100 at the consignment shop to spend their or pocket. I left it on my account, I like to let it build and then ask them for a cheque when they do their runs at the end of the month.
I’m writing this blog post so you can hold me accountable for that. The only exception I ask is that I can decide if I want to keep the ones I keep finding. I keep picking them up out of some strange feeling of responsibility and doing my part for the planet. The amount of clothing people throw away is incredible.
DONATE People, Please DONATE.
The landfill receives 10 million tonnes of clothing in the landfill every year. 95% of which can be donated.
I will never forget when I lived in the Caribbean for a while in the late ’90s. I was working as crew on a few different boats and one of them went on long hauls offshore for weeks at a time. During these hauls, we would explore deserted islands. These islands had so much garbage that had washed up it was incredible. I was also seeing the coral die as I dove with my team each week. I was a dive guide for a while and a kayak guide. I spent every day in the water and that water was seeing signs of pollution then. I can’t imagine what it looks like now.
I know I am just one person, but I will remain that person who tries her best to not contribute to that landfill. I recycle everything I can. I am not a pack rat, if you come to my apartment you will find it neat, clean and not full of clutter. You will find a food waste bin and recycling bin and a place where I keep paper bags because I use those for groceries.
And if picking up clothing and donating it makes me some kind of weirdo, then I want to be that weirdo because for me it’s my way of saying hey, this can be used instead of discarded. As I mumble about the person who casted it off under my breath.
Here are some photos of the jeans I bought, they are amazing and here’s to not buying anymore. At least for this year, let’s see how it goes after that.
