Reuse Your Eid Dress And Reduce Consumerism

As I told my family, I'm going all out for a recycled Eid this year with minimum expenditure. Insha'Allah, God willing.

`Eid, literally meaning 'festival', is one of two giant exclamation-mark Muslim events. Eid-ul-adha occurs after the Hajj pilgrimage and Eid-ul-fitr celebrates 30 days of fasting in Ramadan, a time of social festivity. It's also my favourite time of the year because I get to be a part of everyone's joy and charity. Emphasis on charity, sadaqah starts at home people!
Muslims like to celebrate their festivals in any way you could imagine. There is no framework or standard tradition and moderation is the Islamic principle. We can have humble get-togethers, with outdoor prayers and exchanging eco-gifts for Eid, or end on firework displays and Ramadan sing-alongs. The general idea is to enjoy God's blessings by buying something new that's affordable, and giving a portion of these blessings to others.

Reuse old Eid clothing for new

So, I looked through my closet of mostly hand-me-downs and found a perfectly smart satin blue dinner dress which was bought for £20. I also came across an orange-red floral print dress in House of Fraser (posh British department store) for £10.

Both were bought in a sale and with a purpose. Shopping for the sake of thrills is a side-effect of consumerism I find quite dangerous. I'm following the mantra of: "If I don't need it, I do not need to buy it." What I do need, I can often make. This applies to food too.

Now that I have two dresses, I'm donating the new to others, and shall be collecting more new-to-fairly-new clothing to give away. I think it's a good follow-up from the zakat we gave (2.5% of surplus wealth). It keeps the spirit of generosity going.

I've made my own clutch bag to carry crafting essentials and had to use a glue-gun to reattach the sequins on a pair of black heels. I think I'll plan in advance next time too as I could have found an ethical dress and spent more time researching local donation banks. Many recycling gurus turn old materials into extraordinary new products like fashionable plastic bags and my attempt at upcycling a hijab came out fairly decent!

Along with re-using clothing, I've decided to give family members the ultimate gift - planting a tree for Eid. No more goody bags of obsolete presents that I'll find in the garbage within a week, not even recycled man! Encouraging little ones to maintain the environment and nurture plants is also important for their well-being. I really believe that.

So that's R- reusing Eid dresses, R- reducing new gift buying, R- recycling clothing, and a smidgen of R- rejecting consumerism. 

"Celebrations need not be material. Thus, this year I dub thee Ramadan 1432, the year of Recycling Eids. ~ The Eco Muslim on Facebook."

Image + TheEcoMuslim

Green Up Your Eidmas:
How to: Upcycle Eid Greeting Cards
The Ramadan Gingerbread Cookie Project
Greening Your Fasting, Being An Eco-Muslim In Ramadan
Recipe: Organic Gooey Chocolate Cookies
The Eco Muslim`Eid Card, A Sneak Preview