Online shopping made buying so easy that every time I picked up my phone I was in danger of adding to my outfits – and shrinking my bank account
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’ve loved sustainable fashion since my early teens, always more interested in stealing my dad’s band T-shirts than anything remotely designer. Originally, it was a money-driven choice, but when I turned 15 I became acutely aware of the fashion industry’s damaging impact on the planet and the unethical labour conditions behind high-street brands. I decided that wasn’t something I wanted to be complicit in.
Charity shopping became my favourite weekend activity and cheap, mismatched clothes began pouring into my ready-to-explode wardrobe. My obsession for secondhand clothes continued to grow, partly fuelled by social media and new fashion trends.
When I moved to London earlier this year, I felt inspired by the big-city fashionistas around me. I was in a new place, with a new job and it was a new season to buy more clothes. I was addicted to Vinted. I scrolled at work, I scrolled in bed – sometimes it was the first thing I’d do after waking up. Shopping on Vinted became my favourite pastime and an easy dopamine hit at any time of the day.
