A few days ago while visiting friends in a nearby city I popped into their local op shop because this is sale time everywhere.

I bought 27 perfectly decent items of clothing for $38. These included dresses on sale for $2, ladies clothing half price, and fill-a-bag for $2.

Today I reflect on this collection. It includes six garments made of silk, four of linen, the others cotton. Together they weigh 6kg. Each was made from 1-2 metres of fabric, so let’s say they represent about 40m of fabric. All this valued at $38, maybe $1/metre.

What does this mountain of perfectly gorgeous cast-offs say about our society’s use of natural resources? Sure, some of these clothes belonged to people who are no longer with us. But many are cast-off by those caught up in clothing churn, moving on to the next fashion trend.

Through action, I am demonstrating a different way. Sew it Again 2 is made by cutting off the bottom of a long skirt and turning that off-cut into a frill collar on a top and trim for an old hat. Cut the neck out of the t-shirt and sew on the frill using zigzag stitch. I sewed the frill twice for extra strength. The hat frill was sewn by hand.

Why do we feel a need to buy new new? Why buy new fabric and sew from scratch? Think about making old new. It only takes a few simple skills with a small investment of your time and creativity.

In his book A New Earth: awakening to your life’s purpose, Eckhart Tolle says that when you are authentic and don’t play roles, it means there is no self (ego) in what you do. When there is no secondary agenda to protect or strengthen yourself, then your actions have far greater power – and therefore capacity to influence and create positive change.

 In a world of role-playing personalities, those few people who don’t project a mind-made image but function from the deeper core of their being, those who do not attempt to appear more than they are but are simply themselves, stand out as remarkable and are the only ones who truly make a difference in this world. 

The 6kg worth of silk, linen and cotton garments purchased for $38 at an Ipswich op shop.