AND JUST LIKE THAT… FROM TOP 1% SHOPPER TO ZERO-WASTE MINDSET
Hi, I’m Lukas. I’ve been at Press Factory for almost five years now, age classified.
There was a time when I ranked among the top 1% of customers at a well-known online retailer. For two years straight. Packages came, packages went, and I got pretty good at weaving online shopping into my daily life as a neat little dopamine hit.
Click, order, delivered, next round.
At some point, it even got a bit absurd: some deliveries came with handwritten notes tucked inside. A small token of appreciation for being one of those “top 1% customers.” Back then, it felt kind of special. Today, it feels more like a tiny symbol of a consumer culture I’ve come to view quite critically. Because now, two years later, I haven’t ordered anything from there.
Not because I suddenly decided to live a perfectly sustainable life. But because my perspective has completely shifted. The turning point came during my time at Press Factory. That’s where I started digging deeper into consumption, production chains, waste, and sustainability, and suddenly, I couldn’t unsee it anymore.
How much is produced. How much gets returned. How much gets thrown away. And how ridiculously fast fashion cycles spin. That behind-the-scenes view changed something in me.
And just like that I almost exclusively shop second-hand or in small local shops today. I love browsing through concept stores or wandering around the flea market at Boxi, finding things that already come with a story. Not out of sacrifice, but because my relationship with clothing has changed. I also swap clothes with friends all the time, which I love, because it means I get to keep a bit of my favorite people – my Berlin family – close to me.
Fast fashion has been a no-go for me for years now. I haven’t set foot in H&M or similar stores in ages. And fun fact: I’ve actually never been inside a Primark in my entire life.
When I do buy something new, it’s usually pieces I genuinely plan to wear for a long time. For pants, I often go for brands like Drykorn or Mavi, great fit, solid quality. Tops are mostly second-hand or from smaller concept stores like the Conscious Fashion Store at Potsdamer Platz. And when it comes to bags and accessories, I’m a big fan of MYL Berlin.
The funny thing is: I feel like my style is actually better today than it used to be, even though I buy way less.
Maybe because of that.
Today’s Zero Waste Day is a reminder that sustainability doesn’t always come in big, perfect gestures. I don’t believe in moral pressure when it comes to consumption, but I do believe that knowledge changes things. It definitely did for me.
From a top 1% shopper getting handwritten thank-you notes in every package to a second-hand treasure hunter at the Boxi flea market, that was definitely not on my bingo card.
But it feels damn right.
