Titi Finlay's Take On Being Sustainable
If you follow our social media, you would have seen the amazing content creator, Titi Finlay do an awesome takeover of our social channels for the week to chat about all things fashion and sustainable living.
We wanted to give you a quick roundup of what she had to say, as well as some of her top tips on how you can live sustainably whilst still enjoying fashion;
Titi Finlay here! I’m an artist and content creator, and I work full-time in Social Media creating sneaker/sportswear content for a well-known fashion brand. Sneakers are my biggest passion, whether I’m wearing them, collecting them or painting them, my world kinda revolves around them.
As someone who works in the fashion industry and collects sneakers, it’s important that I do so as responsibly as I can. I use non-toxic products wherever possible - especially for cleaning my sneakers (shout out Liquiproof!) but that also applies to my skincare and cleaning products too. I feel lucky that my Instagram network is full of conscious creatives who are always sharing great tips on how to be eco-friendlier which really inspires me - my next challenge is to make my own body butter!
As a fashion consumer who also works in the industry, I’m extremely conscious of what effect fashion has on the environment - but I also see that so many brands are finally waking up and making big changes which I only hope keeps growing.
When it comes to shopping, I have 3 rules: try to buy second hand, always invest in good quality, and every new item you buy has to match at least 3 things you already own. There’s always that temptation to buy the cheap, easy clothes but if you just take a little more time to look for quality stuff you will cherish forever it’s so worth it!
As far as collecting sneakers go, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword in the sense that yes, you’re a massive part of the problem as a consumer, but at the same time, we sneakerheads buy kicks to collect and cherish forever. We take care of our sneakers so that their condition is 10/10 – in fact I feel like collecting sneakers is like collecting art, each one with a different story to tell. I think a bigger problem lies with, for example, people who buy multiple Air Force 1s and then throw them away as soon as they get too worn. I recently upcycled my old AF1s by cleaning them up and customising them with my own swoosh design which gave them a whole new lease of life rather than just tossing them in the trash.
My tips on being eco-friendlier in your daily life?
- Invest in quality and only buy things you’ll cherish forever
- Keep your clothes/sneakers clean and store them well so they last longer!
- Educate yourself on environmental issues and keep trying to do the most you can to help
- Recycle!