THIS PIECE CAN BE READ IN FULL ON MY SUBSTACK
Recently, I saw this post from Instagram user @thriftandthrivewithkayla was taken aback by three main things.
Firstly, Kayla is a great creator and you should absolutely support her content and her small business. But the reasons I was taken aback about this were that:
- I LOVE thrifting, it makes me feel good, so it caught my attention.
- I don’t like overconsumption. I agree that we have overproduced our entire economy and that consumerism is slowly killing us.
- That I actually found myself almost disagreeing to an extent.
One of those points is not like the other. I was surprised to find myself disagreeing.
But the more I reflect on life, I am learning that the process of creation is critical. I didn’t disagree with the message of the post, but I thought of the love and care and passion that went into every design of every product in that thrift store. That was someone’s purpose. Yes, fast fashion is awful, yes consumerism has torn lives apart, but someone taking on the process of creating is the most human experience possible, so we should be making more things, but making them sustainably, upcycling, and creating ethically.