I AM NOT HERE TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, but instead to give you some information that helped me make a life-changing change.
EXTERNALIZING COSTS
For some extra clarification here is the wikipedia version of externalization costs.
TOXICITY is NOT FASHIONABLE
ARTICLES:
General Info - Total Health
Formaldehyde
Greenpeace's FInding - Natural News
TRENDS SUCK.
Quality is Definitely Cooler...
Thrift Stories are More Fun
Being that there is no copyright in the fashion world no one can be punished for replicating another person's design. Big box retailers take trends that they see on runways in Milan and NYC and create cheaper versions in their Chinese and Indonesian factories.
Examples of how I manage to stay somewhat stylish while 80% of my wardrobe has previously lived in someone else's closet.
& once I started I couldn't stop READING...
An article in Grist
Ms. Magazine
Recovering Shopaholic
Global Post
Educating yourself is the key to making decisions that not only get you what you 'need' but also reinforce the goodness in your heart.
xoxox, kp