Clothing detox challenge | Praised by some, criticized by others

After a month without alcohol, a month without buying new clothes? The Quebec media Unpointcinq launches the clothing detox challenge which consists of not buying new clothes for the whole month of March. An initiative that attracts some criticism.

“We propose not to buy clothes in March, but the challenge is broader than that, we invite people to think about the way we consume clothes and [comment] reduce this consumption,” explains Rémi Leroux, deputy editor-in-chief of Unpointcinq, climate action media in Quebec.

“The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. There is the environmental impact, but also the whole dimension of human issues. It is an industry that pollutes throughout its life cycle, from the production of the synthetic fiber derived from oil to the end of life of the garment which ends up in landfill”, he specifies. The principle of the clothing detox challenge translates into the creation of a Facebook group.

Among the advice to remember: look at what we have in our wardrobe, because there are many clothes we don’t wear, repair and transform our clothes, as well as arrange them differently. And if you really want to get clothes, you can buy second-hand.

A matter of education

However, this challenge is not unanimous. For Mariouche Gagné, vice-president of development of Canadian Hat and Harricana, it is too radical and could harm the industry. “Retailers are suffering since the pandemic, the fashion industry here has been weakened, and now people are going to feel guilty about buying in March? she wonders.

“A fast-fashion detox, yes, of course! For a very long time, I have been saying that we must consume less, but better, but can we consume responsibly and intelligently without imposing this challenge on ourselves? Let’s buy local, yes, at all times, encourage our creators and our businesses here, but no longer buy clothes at all in March? It hurts the industry for nothing,” she said.

Isabelle Deslauriers, designer and president of Desloups, thinks that this challenge misses its target, because what is needed is education.

“I have friends who are addicted to clothes who will be proud not to buy anything in March, but in April they will double their consumption of clothes and it will be fast-fashion. She thinks that good consumer habits have not yet been acquired by the majority of the population. “Even I have to be careful, as I’m a local, eco-conscious designer who produces sustainable coats. This challenge is difficult to apply to families, growing children, seasonal changes, and the launch of spring-summer collections, it is not ideal,” believes Isabelle Deslauriers.

Promote local purchasing

For Rémi Leroux, the challenge is also to promote local purchasing, because he knows that many Quebec designers have this concern for the environment and offer quality clothing that will last. “We don’t want to shoot them in the foot, but the reality of the world we live in is that there are too many clothes. Quebec consumes nearly 343,000 tons of new textile products per year, or 40 kg per capita per year, which is colossal,” he insists. The figures come from a report by the MUTREC collective published in 2020.

Anne Lespérance, owner of the Belle+Rebelle boutique, welcomes the initiative of this clothing detox challenge. “Many people don’t realize how polluting the fashion industry is and the impact their consumer habits can have. I don’t think it will have an impact on my sales, but anyway, I prefer that people be aware, and favor local purchases, because I almost exclusively showcase Quebec designers,” she says.

“During the pandemic, the government really passed on the message of consuming local to help people live here and during these two years, I saw that people had this mission to encourage us, which did not last, because I feel it less today. So we have to continue to educate”, thinks Isabelle Deslauriers, designer of Desloups.