Besma Whayeb is a well-known sustainable fashion/living influencer on Instagram.
Her daily Instagram updates talk about the impacts of Fast Fashion on the planet as well as offer friendly advice on how to live more sustainably. She focuses on the positive impact that living sustainably has had on her lifestyle as well as sharing advice on how to change toxic habits into healthy ones. You can find her Instagram profile here, where she posts several daily updates about her day-to-day life.
When I asked how she made the initial change to live more sustainably, she explained that:
“When I moved to Paris as part of my university degree, I learned a lot about the food and culture out there, including the importance of provenance and seasonality.”
Meaning that locally sourced food produce is the normal way to ‘shop’ in Paris. She then went on to explain that:
“This then fed into the way I looked at any new items – food, fashion, beauty etc..”
Besma Whayeb
Besma is very open about the difficulties she faced when she decided to live more sustainably, as she highlights that “it was very difficult to adjust when I came back to the UK.” She then went on to explain, “sustainable choices are often more expensive and less convenient, making it less appealing to people.”
There is very little understanding of sustainable fashion, due to the assumption that it is all very unaffordable. There are many platforms that offer sustainable and second-hand clothing for very reasonable prices. Besma spoke to me about Thrift +, explaining,
“This one has to be my favourite, as you can find genuine designer items for really cheap.”.
There are also other platforms that offer the same service, for example: Vinted, Ebay or Depop.
Making sustainable changes can be difficult, especially when you are a student. It can be hard to find the time to research ways to be more sustainable. Besma explained that “you should start by reviewing your habits that you can easily change.” Interacting with platforms like Thrift+ can be a small adaptation you can introduce to make shopping habits more sustainable.
“Small, sustainable swaps practised often, result in a larger cumulative effect over time.”
Besma explained that she founded a community called “Ethical Influencers”. This is a community that is full of sustainable influencers who all come together to help make sustainable changed in the community. You can find their Instagram page here, where you can follow for advice on how to change your toxic habits into healthy ones.
Besma informed me about a ‘Weekly sustainable campaign list’ that ethical influencers offer. She explained that:
“this is one of my favourite posts each week as I am able to put together a list of sustainable brands that people learn to use and love – it Is very rewarding.”
The brands promoted in these posts typically offer a sustainable alternative to the ‘typical’ high-street option. You can see their most recent post here.
As a student it can be hard to find the motivation to make sustainable swaps. However, engaging with platforms such as Vinted or Ebay can help encourage you to make bigger sustainable swaps in your life. Besma put emphasis on the idea that:
“Making a few small clicks online to research sustainable habits will start becoming second nature leading to more sustainable habits being adapted month by month!”
Besma Whayeb
Very Educational – thanks for the tips Holly!