Saving for Your Vintage Chanel, Saving the Planet, or Both?

One of our vintage staples at Hawkeye has been our immense varieties in vintage Chanel bags (view our current selection here) At many of our pop ups, girls have come running up to the counter with all their saved earnings (sometimes being stored in a sock) and have exactly the amount to buy the vintage Chanel bag of their dreams! While we know that buying through us is absolutely a cheaper option to get your hands on some designer goods, we recognize that these items are still costly and require a bit of a plan in terms of saving.

Fortunately, we are finding that making environmentally friendly changes to your lifestyle, not only helps to have a healthy effect on the planet, but also your savings as the selection of alternative lifestyle options prove to help save money long term and allow you to put a little more aside each week for your dream vintage designer piece! Here are some environmentally friendly alternatives that we love to use to help us get that Chanel bag or any luxe vintage item, faster!

Recycled Clothing (Selling and Buying)

Our FAV way to save some cash and help the planet. As the awareness of the unsustainable outcomes of fast fashion becomes more predominant, Op shops are becoming increasingly better at stocking and buying great vintage and pre-owned items that will surely suit your fashion needs for a cheaper price and likely a higher quality.

What’s even  better is that by selling your unwanted clothes to op shops,you can make some extra cash for your savings and also not contribute to the landfills that are quickly filling due to waisted clothing.

Reusable Coffee Cups

While coffee cups are recyclable, the lids are often not compostable, making your daily cup of coffee a non-environmentally friendly choice. UNLESS you purchase a reusable coffee cup Keep Cup has some great ones, and you can choose your colour coordination!)

Many cafes around Melbourne will provide an incentive of discounting your coffee purchase if you use a reusable cup so the initial cost of the cup,itself can generally be paid back within a week or so!

Going Meatless

Yes, your food choices can also make a difference on whether that vintage Chanel bag comes in a matter of years or months! Not only are meatless options generally cheaper but the University of Oxford has said that those who choose to go meat and dairy free reduce their carbon footprint by 73%. Of course it’s a huge lifestyle change to give up these food options all together but going at least one day a week can play a huge effect on your wallet and our planet.

Cutting out Plastic Water Bottles

Buying water in plastic is truly the most annoying expense and really shouldn’t be an expense at all. After buying just one reusable water bottle as at the majority of places, the price of tap water is FREE. Even though plastic water bottles are made from recyclable materials, Business Insider released a study stating that 91% of water bottles end up in landfill. Considering that you’re average plastic water bottle is about 3.00, that’s some serious savings being added up towards your vintage designer purchase!

Environmentally Conscious Beauty Packaging

No matter how hard we try to be waste free, factors such as time, convenience, and of course money easily come into play.  Cosmetics and toiletries are often considered when we think about wasteful packaging. That’s why brands such as Mac and Lush are keeping their fan favourite status for keeping up with the trends by creating incentive for their products not to be thrown out after they’re empty. Both brands (and many more, if you do your research) will give you a discount if not an entire item for free if you bring back a certain amount of your empty containers from their brand. In doing this, you are saving a little on your next purchase and eliminating your carbon footprint.

Farmers Markets

Again, the issue of convenience is a huge factor weighing in on why we make the simpler decision that inherently is usually the less environmentally and cost friendly. Yes, stopping at your local grocery store on your way home seems much less time consuming than tracking down the best deals all around the city. However, a little research will go a long way as local markets such as the Prahran Market have Sunday deals in which you fill a box of fruit and veg for as little as 15 dollars. Participating in things like this creates huge savings for your vintage designer pieces and subsequently promotes supporting local farmers whose produce comes from around the corner rather than on a heavily fueled plane.

Of course everyday we are hearing of more things to avoid, products to use alternative and general ways of or daily life that need to change- it’s intimdating to say the least. However, with personal incentives such as financial gain or your dream of owning a vintage Chanel bag becomes more of a reality, it might become easier to slowly add some of these changes into your everyday lifestyle.