consciousbuying

The Conscious People Movement

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Fashion and beyond #formodernhumans


The conscious people movement, under the hashtag #formodernhumans brings together and inspires those who want to make a change. It starts with fashion, but goes beyond that—because style reflects who we are, and so does our lifestyle.

It’s about making a choice: one way or the other. Our thoughtless and short-sighted actions provoked climate change, and now extreme weather is a serious threat. Therefore, the idea that everything is fine and we can take whatever the industries try to sell is no longer valid- it’s dead. Fashion, food, technology, lifestyle, everything needs to be reevaluated.

In fact, outdated patterns, traditional economic models, and old ways of thinking and behaving are no longer sustainable. The systems that once served us are now contributing to the strain on our planet, and if we continue to follow these established paths, we risk further harm. It’s clear that change is necessary, and it must start with rethinking how we approach everything—from our daily choices to the global systems we depend on.

The choice: niche vs mass market


And so, the choice we face is clear: niche or mass market. Quality or quantity. Unique fashion and good design vs fast fashion. Timeless and reusable vs disposable. Conscious consumption vs overconsumption. Circularity vs waste. Also, ethical business vs exploitation and modern-day slavery. In other words, it’s Doughnut Economics—the groundbreaking work by economist Kate Raworth (a must-read!)—versus the outdated model of capitalism and the false promise of infinite growth.

The conscious people movement #formodernhumans


The Conscious People Movement #ForModernHumans fosters inspiration and drives meaningful change, championing niche over mass market. Conscious individuals make a bold and radical choice: less but better—that’s the starting point.

We care deeply about this cause, and we’ve made our choice.
Now it’s your turn.

It’s one way or the other!

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Luxury Brands & Young Audience

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A new perspective on luxury brands selling to the wrong audience


It is understandable for a business to market their products and services to a specific audience. Rationally, a business has a niche, and they sell to those who will respond to that niche.

It is an entirely different story if a luxury business is promoting to an audience who is undeniably not in the chapter of their lives where the concept of ‘luxury’ is available to them.

Is their strategy from an angle of manipulation?


As many know, during the late adolescent years when the frontal lobe of the brain has not finished developing, the youth are still heavily prone to absorbing information that’s restricted to them. The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for planning, organizing, initiating, self-awareness, and intensive decision making. 

As a result, all external stimuli easily influence adolescents. Because of this, many businesses, the luxury fashion industry being one of the most convincing, use their advertising, locations, storefront displays, and interior design to lure the young. 

They eventually purchase an overpriced item that fools them into believing they are a part of the glamor status in society. When in reality, they are living with their parents and trying to pass their statistics exams. 

Is their strategy from a logical perspective?


According to Eurostat Statistics Explained, young citizens living in the metropolitan cities of Western Europe get paid an average of 332-2257 euros per month. Considering the fact that a younger employee would typically get paid on the minimum scale, they barely make ends meet. Therefore, it would be irrational to assume that they have a surplus of funds to spend on luxury pieces every month since they are still concerned with food, transportation, and possible rent charges. 

These results provide one clear conclusion, one that is frankly not too surprising. Luxury labels don’t care how the youth purchase their products, as long as they make profits.

Why luxury brands target the young audience

The true reason . . . . 
Profit. Profit with the dismissal of its grand effect on those who have little power to reverse the actions they didn’t know any better but to make. Many know that the youth are one of the most easily influenced generations. Yet all categories of business make a habit of exploiting them from all angles. 

“You don’t have the money to buy this purse? Well here is a high interest rate credit card with no instruction on how to prioritize paying. Do you want an education? Here is a $50,000 Unsubsidized loan that will take over half your life to pay back. Wait, you want a loan to start a business and become successful independently? No we can’t do that for you, you’ll need a hefty credit score to receive that privilege”. 

As said, it’s understandable to sell your products to those attracted to that niche and who can afford it. But the new reality presents that the niche of these companies is predominantly to sell to those who are required to max out their high interest credit cards in order to purchase.
Sadly, this singular purchase is what makes them feel included and accepted into this glamorous facade that people call reality. So don’t allow yourself to sink into the sand of manipulative brands. Don’t let yourself be blinded by the sparkly logos. Shade your eyes with your hands, not your overpriced sunglasses. 

✍️ A piece written by an American student studying fashion in Milan and interning for suite123, Gavriel Ewart.

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The Freedom To Buy

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Is that real freedom?


Although we can’t cite the lawyer’s name who mentioned the ‘freedom to buy’ on a TV program, her insight remains with us. In fact, she touched on a point that influences every layer of our lives.


“If we don’t become active thinkers, the only freedom left to us is the freedom to buy — the freedom to consume.”

Take time to reflect
For our society, we hold value as consumers. That is the logic behind her statement: we are consumers, and we believe consuming is a freedom we’ve gained. As consumers, we are targeted by credit card companies, hospitals, hotels, retailers, and beyond—plus, web companies and social media.

This mechanism has been highlighted by the pandemic too. ‘Please, get well and go back to consuming.’ Otherwise, the world stops, because modern life revolves 90% around consumption.

Consumption, per se, is not wrong. What is wrong is the blind direction it has taken, the voracious appetite for devouring everything. That ignorant way consume each product or service without any evaluation. Just because it’s advertised, because the brand is popular. Because it’s new—out with the old and in with the next.  We hastily discard what we have to chase after the latest novelty, whatever it may be.

Overconsumption and the freedom to buy

We overconsume blindly, to the point of harming our planet. Which means that we, humans, aren’t really smart.
Brands, we believe we use them, but the opposite is true. They use us. Our freedom is limited to our consumption–the freedom to buy.

Active thinkers and thoughtful consumption
Active thinkers consider the long haul, so they consider their actions within a long-term vision. It’s fundamental to become conscious about what we consume and how. Unless we want to discover the consequences of our actions once the damage is a reality.

Now, more than ever, we need active thinkers—people who pause and think before consuming. Yes, think. That’s the greatest freedom we have.

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Product Placement vs Consumer Awareness

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Navigating the fine line between influence and informed choices


Among various methods corporations use to keep women hooked to their brands, product placement is on top. Yes, corporations. That’s what luxury conglomerates are. And it gives the pulse on their work.

During the 80s, Giorgio Armani was the first who started dressing Hollywood stars in order to sell to the American middle-class. In a perspective of massive overproduction and an ever-growing economy, perhaps that strategy made sense.
By the way, Armani, followed by all the other designers right away, started giving outfits for free to the stars, and women – part of the so-called middle class – promptly bought them.

Now the economy is not in good shape, and the middle class has been swiped away. Most importantly, we opened our eyes, so we are tired of being treated as fishing lures. Therefore we find some specific marketing techniques obsolete, if not meaningless.

The logic behind celebrities marketing


What’s the point of stars wearing luxury designer’s clothes on the red carpets when it’s known they don’t pay for the clothes?
Does it still make sense?

In fact, what makes it sound absurd is that celebrities can afford to pay, but they don’t. In other words, those who can afford clothes don’t buy them, while those who can’t are expected to.

There’s no logic in this anymore. What if celebrities purchase their outfits and designers donate the proceeds to charity?

However, we should also take a closer look at those captivated by ‘the rich Milanese’ flaunting her outfits on social media—women who promptly buy. Indeed, we die a little inside witnessing this lack of self-esteem. An evolution of product placement that exposes a complete absence of consumer awareness.

Since we weren’t all born with good taste, looking for guidance is the right way to avoid weird outfits. But asking for advice is different from imitating someone else’s style.

Marketing has always targeted women because, traditionally, they are considered fragile and easy to influence or manipulate. And the sad thing is that we allowed them to do so.

Let’s evolve now.

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Conscious Buying: A Sustainable Choice

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Investing in quality, not quantity


Conscious buying is how we refuse to go back to normal–it’s our sustainable choice.

Among crowds of people eager to go back to normal, some individuals are deeply perplexed by what that really means. Whatever ‘normal’ was for you, consider linking it with all the struggles we endured this past year.

For those who have connected the dots, the picture is clear. Going back to that normal is not a possibility. In fact, we are showing up every day with the intent of reaching a higher level of consciousness and helping others to do so.

The intention is not to stop purchasing items altogether. For instance, we could go a year without buying new clothes. But, even though it makes sense, the side effect could be tragic. Consider all the people that work in manufacturing to bring food to their tables. Certainly, we need to find balance.

Promoting conscious buying is a byproduct of our evolved attitude. “Shop now!” is far away from our new vision. Above all, there is an urgency to think before we buy. As modern humans, we realise that even our shopping habits need to change. And once you start connecting the dots, making a different choice becomes a natural decision.

Conscious buying in fashion


In fashion, what are the bullet points for conscious buying?
The premise is that consciousness involves being aware of both the environment as well as one’s self. “Well-being” encompasses respect for the planet and honouring ourselves as individuals. It is about feeling better and striving to be the best humans we can be.

These are the actions we can take when we buy clothes:

• choose a good design, it stands out forever.
• look for quality fabrics, they are made to last.
• invest in well-made items.
• choose fit over size, a size number will not define you.
• support honest productions that take social responsibilities.
• packaging must be minimal.
• less marketing, more critical thinking and thoughtful consumption.

Some of those concepts can be applied as general shopping rules, not just for fashion items. However, maintaining a critical approach is fundamental. For instance, do we need tons of paper for packaging? No!

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others”

we like this quote from Jonathan Swift.

In conclusion, we believe that going back to normal is dangerous. And we may look around perplexed but, in the end, we know that we are not alone.

Small communities can make change possible!

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