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Ever since I successfully evaded my parents’ questions about buying new clothes over five years ago, I haven’t bought new outfits just for the occasion.

“I have clothes to put on,” I told them simply.

Certainly, new clothes symbolize a fresh start for an auspicious new year. After all, the new year is about leaving behind the old and welcoming the new. But when it comes to clothes, I argue that mantra shouldn’t apply.

Instead, I wear what I already have because 1) no one would notice, and 2) even if it was, aren’t the clothes meant to be worn again?

The lure of fast fashion

I get it – there’s a certain joy in having new things. But then again, if you already have enough clothes, do you really need new ones?

On average, Singaporeans buy 34 new clothes each year and throw away 27, according to a survey by CNA.

This excess is fueled by the mass production of low-cost clothing, ie fast fashion.

Retailers have an incentive to produce garment after garment using shoddy materials and relying on sweatshop labor because consumers love the price.

Thinking of buying a top with tiger prints just because it’s the year of the tiger? Think again. Ever-changing fashion trends then encourage consumers to overbuy and wear the same clothes less often at the same time.

Basically, we’re buying more clothes than we need, but we’re not particularly happy with them.

Impulse purchases I’ve made over the past few years also fell apart quickly and I barely remember wearing them again.

We all know the pain of ending up with an item of clothing that you realize you will never wear again. It caught your eye while shopping, but its “newness” quickly faded and it buried itself in the back of your wardrobe.

What’s wrong with buying more clothes?

There are a lot of hidden costs behind these purchases that snowball into a much bigger problem than expected.

As consumers at the end of the long supply chain, it’s easy to underestimate the sheer amount of resources that go into making these garments – after all, all we have to do is click a few buttons or simply press our card to make the payment at the counter after selecting the clothes we want.

To help you better understand the problem, here is an example to illustrate how resource-intensive clothing manufacturing is:

According to UNEP, the manufacture of jeans requires 10,000 liters of water just to grow the 1 kg of cotton needed.

For comparison, it would take a person 10 years to drink 10,000 liters of water.

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, consuming more energy than aviation and shipping combined.

Based on current trends, emissions from the fashion industry are also expected to increase by more than 50% by 2030.

Rampant overconsumption has also created a huge problem for the disposal of donated textile waste and used clothing, which most often ends up in landfills.

Remember the mountains of clothes at the Salvation Army donation drop-off points last month?

Sustainable sources of “new” clothes

So if you already have a wardrobe full of clothes, you can just wear what you already have. Or you can explore wearing the clothes you already have in a different way this Chinese New Year. It even stretches your dollar, so you can get what you pay for with your clothes.

By extending the life of our clothes by nine months, it would reduce the carbon emissions, water and waste footprint of each garment by 20-30%, according to a research study.

If you’re looking to rock some new clothes while saving money and helping the environment, here’s what you can try to get rid of that itch:

Saving

Fast fashion has spawned a growing industry for used clothing, and saving for clothes can be a fun experience if you know where to look.

Thrift stores like SSVP Shop and the pop-up flea markets of *SCAPE and Lucky Plaza offer a wide range of clothing and accessories to suit all tastes.

I also like thrift stores more than retail shopping because it’s a chance to explore new styles and nab some unique pieces that I’ll treasure more, and you never know what you’ll find.

Exchange

Swapping or renting clothes is another option for a new look, at a fraction of the cost of owning one.

They greatly extend the life of each garment and you can be sure that the garments are well cared for at the store.

Stores such as The Fashion Pulpit and Swapholic are popular picks to swap out, while rental stores like Style Theory and Rentadella can serve as extensions to your wardrobe.

Turning the old into the new

Worn clothes can also find a second life, by repairing them at the tailor or the seamstress.

Instead of retail therapy, how about DIY therapy? Revamping your existing wardrobe in new ways can not only be refreshing, but also a lasting practice.

I cropped a slightly worn long sleeve shirt into a T-shirt I wear more often and asked a friend who owns a sewing machine to help me with the hems.

Initiatives like Repair Kopitiam provide sewing machines and teach people how to fix their own things.

When you’re emptying your closet for spring cleaning, consider visiting thrift stores or swapping your clothes that are still in good condition.

Reach out to friends or family who would appreciate pre-loved clothes to arrange a CNY clothes swap, or just donate them.

Otherwise, put them on resale platforms like Carousell so they can find a new home.

They are also convenient ways to get new clothes.

In the new year, becoming a more conscious consumer could be your fresh start.

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Best images by Becca McHaffie/Unsplash.