If you’re really struggling to carry around your reusable cup or stop buying so many things that just end up in the bin, take Ella Kim Marriott as your source of inspiration.
Ella, 20, is a university student and environmental activist. She’s also a bit of a master at living sustainably, having gone without buying new clothes for four years.
Ella also eats a plant-based diet, works at a packaging-free grocery store, and limits her flights to one a year to reduce her carbon footprint.
Basically she’s doing great at this whole protecting the earth thing, and we can all learn from her.
The student vowed to stop buying fast fashion after watching The True Cost, a documentary about the fashion industry, in 2015.
Ella, of Vancouver, Canada, said: ‘I was in grade 10 when I watched The True Cost which shows every aspect of the fast fashion industry, from working conditions in factories to the unsustainable fabrics used.
‘Billions of dollars worth of clothing end up in landfills. There are also a lot of issues around how factory workers are treated and the poor labour laws and conditions.
‘The transportation of the clothes mean that trucks and planes are used for just shipping over clothing. I wanted to stop supporting that industry.
‘I decided to take it on as a challenge for one year to see if I could go a full year without buying anything new.
‘But after that first year, I just decided to stop buying fast fashion altogether.’
Ella decided to spread word of her challenge to inspire others to get involved.
Some took part, but Ella still found herself in some awkward moments when her friends wanted to shop in Forever 21.
Rather than going to high street shops, Ella buys her clothes from second-hand stores, which she says has improved her personal style.
‘I actually grew up shopping in thrift stores as my family was low income,’ she explained. ‘The only thing that is inconvenient is if there’s one specific item that I want.
‘But the cool thing about thrift stores is that it improves your style. I think I look better now. You have to get creative. You end up with really unique pieces.
‘It completely elevates how you end up putting clothes together.’
The only clothes Ella buys new are underwear and socks, as they’re tricky to come by in thrift stores.
But even for these items, Ella makes sure to give her money to sustainable brands. Thankfully, that means they last for a long time.
She says: ‘In the four years I have been doing this, I haven’t bought a single pair of underwear.
‘People constantly think they need new things but it’s pretty hard to rip your underwear.
‘I bought period underwear so I wouldn’t have to buy feminine hygiene products anymore. I even buy swimsuits secondhand.’
If Ella is done wearing a particular item, she returns it to the thrift store for another person to enjoy, making sure to keep her clothes in good condition so they can continue to be worn.
Ella also returns clothes to thrift stores once she no longer needs them.
It’s not always easy – Ella finds it hard to resist buying artists’ merch at concerts – but the student hopes she can show other people that it’s worth trying to buy consciously.
She said: ‘Everyone has exceptions and nobody is perfect. We just have to do what we can manage.’
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