Sunday links

I'm a big fan of the older crowd - I am inspired by their stories and wisdom. Fabulous Fashionistas is a British documentary about six such inspiring women, with average age of 80.

Tim Minchin gave a great graduation address at his old (and my old!) university. You can read the transcript here or watch it here. I would tell you my favourite parts but it's all good. Fantastic advice for life.

Australians are the richest people on Earth! Based on median wealth, that is. However, most of the growth in income goes to wealthiest, not those who need it the most. There is an increasing body of evidence (admittedly, small psychology studies) showing that wealthier people tend to be less nice people.  The world's richest woman (and fellow Western Australian) Gina Rinehart is an exception, if her lawyer is to be believed. He recently told the NSW Supreme Court that she's "...so selfless that she could not retire or pour her billions into philanthropy." (Sydney Morning Herald "Rich people couldn't care less", "The biggest victim here is Gina, says her lawyer"; ABC Dr Karl's Great Moments in Science "Greed is not good")

Meanwhile, "Moneyless man finds happiness", about the guy who started Freeconomy and has lived without money for the past five years. The comments say it all. (ABC Environment)

And from the sublime to the ridiculous, a look inside a temperature-controlled warehouse that stores clothes and accessories for the ridiculously rich, including Ivanka Trump and Gwyneth Paltrow. (Mail Online)

More "fashion": scrunchies and perceived obsolescence. (Waste Not)

Also, in case you're wondering, Buy Nothing New Month has been very easy so far. I browsed a few op shops but didn't buy anything. Unlike last year, I am allowing myself to buy groceries but I am not buying any staples or bulk items, just fresh produce. I think I need to follow up with "Get Rid of Heaps of Shit" month. There's so much more to share but I have to go deal with a silverfish problem.

Sunday Links

I have been thinking about what I would do with all my stuff if I moved away for a year or two. I could rent my apartment fully-furnished but what would I do with all my clothes? Books? Magazines? Liquor? Art? Fancy pieces of frippery? I would take very little away with me, which would leave the options of storing it, giving it away, loaning it out or trying to sell it. Giving it away is the most appealing option in terms of cost, time and effort. It definitely discourages me from accumulating any new "stuff". I've written a few posts on this subject before and I always go back to The Story of Stuff for inspiration (I highly recommend watching the original video if you haven't seen it before).

I come across many minimalism blogs (mostly American). People are trying to embrace a minimalist lifestyle for various reasons (financial, environmental and mental health, to name a few) across many aspects of life. Here's some recent finds on this theme:

• Remember The New Joneses? They set up house in Melbourne's Fed Square during Buy Nothing New Month last year. For one week they had to find second-hand sources for life's necessities (and luxuries). The video explains it much better than I do.
• Ignoring the terrible grammar, I agree with most of the points in this article from Apartment Therapy.
• Erin from Design for Mankind questions her excessive (yet pretty normal for most women I know) wardrobe, illustrated by the beautiful sculptural fashion of Nadine Goepfert
• Wardrobe de-cluttering guides are pretty ubiquitous but I like this practical one from econest. (And if you do decide to buy some "new" threads, she follows up with this great guide to op-shopping from former Vogue Japan editor, Peppermint Magazine contributor and "Queen of Vintage" Leeyong Soo.)

 Here's some other reads for the week. Mainly clothing-related, for some reason.

• The uggly world of "Australian made" ugg boots - an interview with the only Australian-made ugg factory that tans its own sheep leather - ABC Rural, via my big sis
• Booming cashmere trade threatens snow leopards, wild yaks - of course, this article is plastered in pop-up ads for J. Crew, famous for their mass-produced cashmere - ecouterre
• Bangladesh Pollution, Told in Colors and Smells - New York Times
• Australians Are Getting Fatter - the New York Times perspective on our growing obesity.

Buy Nothing Day

Today was Buy Nothing Day. I bought nothing. I feel that I cheated a little, in that I didn't go near any retail or entertainment districts. However, yesterday I did brave the one day sale "event" of the big department store here in Perth. Whereas in previous years I would have fallen victim to heavy discounts on electronics, manchester, luggage, cosmetics and fashion, yesterday I just felt a bit ill about joining in the consumer frenzy and accumulating more stuff. I am finding it very easy to avoid buying new clothes, as I am currently reading To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? by Lucy Siegle, about the environmental and human costs of garment production - not only of cheap, "fast fashion" labels but also of luxury brands.  I thought I already had pretty strict criteria for new clothing and accessory purchases (ethically made in Australia, made in a developed country or fair trade) but reading about the cotton and leather industries has put me off completely. 

Even staying away from stores today, I was bombarded via my RSS feeder to SAVE SAVE SAVE in online Black Friday sales from the USA. Black Friday sales occur in the USA (and even Canada) on the day after American Thanksgiving - Friday 23rd November this year. (Buy Nothing Day coincides with Black Friday in North America, as opposed to other countries where it is held on Saturday.) This year, some big businesses commenced their Black Friday sales on Thursday (Thanksgiving). The Seattle Times interviewed some people who left their family celebrations early to line up for sales (probably to buy gifts for the same family members they've abandoned with the cold turkey). Consumers will have a little time to rest up over the weekend before the onslaught of Cyber Monday online sales (an event that Australia's big retailers tried, and failed, to emulate this week with "Click Frenzy" aka #ClickFail).

Buy Nothing Day is not the only protest against Black Friday. As I mentioned in my previous post, Occupy Christmas is a movement to encourage consumers to purchase from local, independent designers and retailers, instead of "big box" retailers and global brands. Small Business Saturday, the day following Black Friday, also encourages North American consumers to patronise their local businesses. (It was founded in 2010 by American Express - think what you will about that.)

Online lifestyle retailer Holstee are promoting the idea of Block Friday to replace Black Friday, encouraging consumers to be mindful of how they spend their money and "seizing an important chance to spend quality time with friends, loved ones, and ourselves". True to their word, Holstee take their store offline on Black Friday, to allow their staff to spend time with loved ones. (Discovered via Unconsumption.)

This year on Black Friday, there were multiple demonstrations outside Walmart stores, protesting for better wages and conditions for Walmart's employees. You can support them here via the Story of Stuff site. Time will tell whether pay and benefits for employees of America's big retailers, many of whom live under the poverty line, will improve.

As for me, I will be following up Buy Nothing Day by attending local handmade design markets tomorrow, followed by a community street festival. I don't think my wallet will stay closed for long but at least the purchases will be thoughtful.