TANJA WESSELS
Less Cart, More Heart
Fashion psychology for a cooler future
We are paying more attention and money then we realise, on clothes we don’t really want, creating environmental problems we can’t afford.
About me
Hi, I’m Tanja, and it’s good to have you here!
I believe the way we buy clothing is largely a quest for connection – to others, and ourselves.
I’m here for the latter.
An encounter with an over packaged coconut in a supermarket in Hong Kong in 2017 led to my experience of eco-anxiety, a fear of environmental damage or ecological disaster. I became a devotee of the topic, giving public talks on mental health and the environment and collaborating on environmental art activism projects.
Before sustainability took over, I studied filmmaking and art in Lisbon and London and moved to Asia in 2006.
In 2024 I’m celebrating seven years of not buying new clothing, something that started as a one year personal challenge, but has since opened up a wealth of unexpected learning.
Today I’m based between Penang, Malaysia and Singapore and I’m working on my first book on fashion psychology.
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The Adventure Clean Up Challenge 2020: The Ocean Wins
From Stages to Shorelines, Oh The Places You Will Go! when sustainability leads the way From talking about microplastics on the TEDxTinHauWomen stage on October 17, to the shores of The Adventure Cleanup Challenge 2020 in Hong Kong this weekend, 24 to 26 October, the thread of environmentalism follows us everywhere we go. The Adventure […]
TEDx Countdown and putting secondhand first
TED is to public speaking what Mount Everest is to mountain climbers – even if you’ve never spoken in front of a crowd or put on a crampon, you still recognize the name. In August I was selected to be a speaker at TEDxTinHau Countdown, a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the […]
The kids are alright
Yes, children are the future, but if you are still here tomorrow, you are also part of the conversation We’ve heard it many times. Children are the future. And sure, that is something we can all get behind. However, it only tells part of a story when it comes to an environmentally elevated world. I […]
How going secondhand reignited my fashion mojo
It started off as a little personal “challenge”, but divorcing fast fashion has proven life changing