Years ago when I learned the local yoga studio I was studying my 200 hour teacher training with had become B Corp certified, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass. It’s yoga, I thought, and it’s often embellished with a ton of philosophical “shenanigans”, and this had to be one of those.
A big reason I chose the studio, aside from its amazing, knowledgeable teaching team and a syllabus that complemented my Pilates training, was they were, in my view, relatively light on philosophical stuff and heavy on physical training. I could tolerate the sprinkling of yoga philosophy here and there, but my goal was to make shape and get sweaty. As a result, the notion of B Corp stayed on mind for as long as my ability to hold a half moon pose if that.
So onwards and upwards I went, teacher training hours, ticked. Final exam, done and dusted. With the new qualification under my belt, I began finding my instructor voice and was very much enjoying teaching, as well as, a generous instructor discount offered by a popular athleisure brand adored by most fitness junkies. I religiously browsed their new collection every Tuesday and was often unintentionally spotted head to toe in the brand.
Said brand started off with simple yoga tights (God bless them yoga tights, IKR!), then built an entire athleisure empire from there. With weekly new release and constant sales events that arrive earlier and earlier, I couldn’t help feeling my beloved brand was starting to drift away from its initial wholesome, holistic intention of simple, sustainable production to becoming another fast fashion machine churning out never ending new releases and sales cycle.
I was assigning meaning to new tights at the time, imagining donning a particular pair would somehow magically enable me to finally nail that handstand. I still couldn’t do a full handstand by the way, and my growing tights pile is starting to collect dust at back of the wardrobe.
Over time, buying was starting to lose its thrill. Having to get rid of clothes I hardly wore felt like a chore.
On top of personal inconvenience, the notion of cruelty to the environment started kicking in when I realised I was somewhat caught up in the same consumption cycle with lingerie. Actually, worse, as lingerie were almost always made of polyester, no natural recyclable material such as cotton.
Curating existing clothes and buying less naturally ensued. I still lament about the fact I’m enslaved more to lingerie than I am to active wear, the former, a necessity, the latter, choice. Despite this, by choosing smartly and leaning towards classic colours (black, white, nudes), I find myself needing less. The temptation hasn’t disappeared of course, and I wonder why sustainable lingerie brand is so far and few between. But by being aware, I find so much joy in hoarding less than consuming more.
I also sought out brands that use sustainable material and have smaller production and sales cycle. You probably know I’m a denim aficionado. It was around this time I discovered my new favourite sustainable denim brand shared the same B Corp certification as my yoga studio. I started noting what these businesses have in common. In a nutshell, they practice business in a conscious and responsible manner towards stakeholders – suppliers, employees and consumers. They are simply more aware of their footprint on this planet. They consume resources and produce goods and service in a slow, mindful way that feels endearing, refreshing and uplifting.
The denim brand for instance, publishes wages and working condition reports of their employees and supply chain workers. They constantly reflect on the material they use, from organic cotton as a main material to what kind of metal to use for zips and buttons. The mindfulness throughout their business process is astounding. With them, you won’t find regular new releases as their stuff are made to be loved and cared for for a long time. Sales event are seldom as a result because there aren’t stock piles of clothes waiting to be gotten rid of at a discount.
My yoga studio adopts a similar mindset. They take great care generating resources for heating up classes, encourage reusing and recycling of mats, and actually bought a piece of land for the purpose of planting trees and hosting retreats that have minimal impact on the environment.
From the desire to be free of the hassle of accumulating stuff and feeling the joy of buying and owning less, to giving a damn about how my choices as a consumer affects the environment, I can say with confidence that I’m almost a converted minimalist.
It’s easy – owning less frees up physical and mental space to notice what’s around you, to have a quieter mind that is free of constant temptation and choices thrown at you from left, right and centre, and to enjoy life more. At the same time you are doing the environment a huge favour by consuming less resources.
A last word on lingerie: until sustainable and delicious looking brands become a norm, I will be clinging to the spark of a startup idea while browsing online, albeit less frequently and (hopefully) strictly window shopping only ;-).