On turning 50, and buying less stuff

It was my 50th birthday over the Christmas break. So here’s a picture of me when I was 21, wearing a shirt I really, really loved.

It was my 50th birthday over the Christmas break.

Age is just a number and all that but it does feel like a significant one.

Naturally I couldn’t help but look back.

To my 21st. To what feels like another world. Studying Spanish and French, plotting a year abroad somewhere or other in South America.

To say my career hasn’t been particularly linear is a bit of an understatement.

But I reckon we should talk about that shirt instead.

I’ve always loved second-hand — and the early 90s were certainly vintage years for vintage clothing.

And I really, really loved that shirt.

Charity shops at that time were full of good quality clothing, much of it British-made.

Bradford charity shops were particularly good for some reason. Maybe it was something to do with the city’s & wider region’s strong clothing manufacturing sector.

Many a Saturday was spent trawling the many charity shops in Bradford city centre.

I don’t shop quite so much at charity shops these days. But that love of buying second-hand has remained.

And I suppose it’s a reason I’ve ended up doing what I do.

When it comes to our work on sustainability, waste reduction and circular economy, there’s one theme I come back to time and time again.

We have to buy less stuff.

We have to buy fewer new things.

We have to find better ways to get access to the things we want and need.

Sharing stuff. Borrowing stuff. Renting stuff. Searching out second-hand rather than buying new. And asking ourselves whether we really need that thing in the first place.

The current consumption habits of those of us who are amongst the most affluent in the world are unsustainable. And whilst it’s by no means down to us alone to respond to the climate crisis — we need big system changes, led by governments and businesses too — we all have a role to play.

I’m no saint. But I do try my best. And I constantly reflect on what else I can do, and try to make changes over time to lessen the impacts I have.

And I’m certainly not the dapper dresser I was when I was 21. Second hand clothes are more likely to come from ebay than a charity shop these days — and my strategy is more about “fewer, better clothes that I’ll wear a lot”, more than second-hand.

But it’s a reminder that the road to leading a more sustainable life is a long one, with many twists and turns. Small steps forward, little bits of progress. Doing the best you can, and wherever you can, doing that with others.

A version of this post was originally shared on LinkedIn.