Everything has boiled down to basics… For seven weeks we haven’t been allowed to leave our house unless we’re exercising, buying food or for medical reasons. Since Sunday night’s announcement, we now have extra rations of fresh air but as shops won’t be opening until June (all being well) online retail is our only way to get a fashion fix. Unless you’ve taken up DIY dressmaking as your #covidcraft which, TBF, isn’t such a bad idea.
Instead of painting, scrolling and adding to cart has been my lockdown hobby of choice. Delivery drivers are key workers, so our buys can still make it to our door but there is so much shame around shopping during the Coronavirus crisis. Fashion is not essential. As well as the valid worries of putting lives at risk by ordering a tie-dye tracksuit, people’s livelihoods have been devastated. As we head towards a likely recession, shopping – and showing off new purchases – is beyond tone deaf. Yet retail is part of the British fashion industry’s £32billion contribution to the UK economy – which the government is trying to salvage through allowing the return to work. So if we can, surely we should shop without the stigma?
Since the pandemic hit, I’ve wrestled with my moral compass. I swing between severe guilt and unbridled optimism that a little treat will lift my mood. New clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery make me happy. While the financial markets are in free-dive, my justification is that buying new shoes will keep recession at bay. Have I gone bananas?
Not completely. The reason the government asked online retail to continue was because it’s essential for jobs and the economy. That’s enough reason for me to keep shopping… but we should all buy more carefully now AND keep our new habits when lockdown is over. C-19 is the biggest wake-up to the entire retail and fashion industries.
Bear in mind that up to now, 30% of all products made in the fashion industry are never sold. Shop with a conscience. Spend with companies who share your values. Choose to buy where you can make a difference. Pick fabrics that aren’t going to create more pollution in their creation. Choose brands that look after their workers – at every step of the supply chain. Buy less, choose well and make it last. And don’t beat yourself up about it.
Think sustainably but don’t ignore the high street. As the UK has pulled back from retail consumption, British brands have cancelled orders of £2.4billion worth of garments in Bangladesh alone. Some stores are covering some costs but many workers, particularly those in outsourced factories, are left without income.
With negligible employment rights, even when factories reopen, not all are offering working conditions that protect from C-19 infection. So ask how your favourite retailer is looking after their staff during Covid-19. For example, at their Yorkshire distribution centre, ASOS.com has introduced staggered shifts for packers, to limit contact, and funded extra bus services so staff can distance themselves on their way to work too.
People need jobs to keep the economy going – around the whole world – so if you can shop, don’t let guilt get you. After 911, President Bush urged New Yorkers to get back to shopping. As a boost to morale and the economy, retail is therapy for a reason. My guilt is gone. Yours should too.