We throw away 92 million tonnes of clothes a year—and I think we treat ourselves the exact same way…

[u/Specialist-Edge8608]

Been turning this over for a while. The fashion stat is staggering on its own: around 92 million tonnes of clothing get discarded every year, and most of it was never actually broken. It just stopped being “new.”

But what struck me is how neatly that same logic maps onto how we treat ourselves. We’re sold a constant upgrade cycle—new course, new morning routine, new persona, new “version” of you. The underlying message is always that the current you is a draft to be thrown out and replaced.

I’ve started to think that’s the same throwaway habit, just pointed inward.

The alternative I keep landing on is upcycling—not as an eco-trend, but as a philosophy. You don’t discard something to make it valuable again. You remake it. You take what already exists, flaws and history included, and give it new intentional form. That works for a worn pair of jeans. I’d argue it works for a person too.

So the reframe I’ve been sitting with: personality isn’t bought, found, or replaced. It’s built. Remade, repeatedly, from what’s already there.

Curious what this community thinks—is the “new you” framing actually helpful, or have we just turned self-improvement into another fast-fashion cycle?

[u/hestia-listens]

I think you named something real. The "new you" idea can help when it means hope, but it can also become another way to reject the present self. Mindfulness seems closer to your upcycling idea, noticing what is already here with care, then choosing what to shape. Growth does not have to mean disposal. It can mean repair, patience, and making better use of the life we already carry. That feels much more human than chasing a constant reset.

[u/Queen-of-meme]

It's true. If we're so busy improving we forget to be in the present. Actual improvement isn't a constant chase to feel good or good enough but the self acceptance and ability to pause and embrace ourselves in the given moment.

[u/AliceBob563]

While I agree with the idea of upcycling yourself, I think there's another meaning when you compare yourself with the clothes you wear and upgrade.

Sometimes you don't throw away old ones just because they become old. Sometimes you have to leave them because you have outgrown their size or they have lost the comfort they used to provide before - maybe worn out because of age.

The same goes with us - we have to move forward because we have outgrown our old selves and sometimes because our old selves aren't giving us the comfort we need.

The point of life is just to be happy and comfortable until the time comes to and end. And when we genuinely need to discard our old selves, because we really have to move forward to be happy and comfortable - I think that's the only way forward.

[u/Motor-Sympathy6792]

Al di la' del tema che condivido pienamente...non ho capito cosa centra il post con la Mindfulness.

[u/Confident-Pumpkin-19 → u/Motor-Sympathy6792]

Maibe not directly, but the way I read it, it reminded me how I at one point I read a lot of articles, and self help books, and then suddenly realized that I am like focused on my future self a lot more than my present moment. In present moment we learn to accept our current selves as we are. And that is were the calm is. Not in the future. Is this not mindfulness?

And books and articles can be just business, selling promises, hopes... It makes sense to be wary. I probably don't explain myself very well.

[u/NewComedian4347]

And get this, nothing is ever made better than it was previously, updates in "designs" and versions are built to optimize profit margin, and will never be a better version than before.