![How to be more sustainable this holiday season, according to expert Aja Barber](https://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/12/16/99e08c3d-0fe4-4be4-9690-43534105eeeb/thumbnail/1200x630/f17c661759c7629187469db57f0cfd46/gettyimages-1358315019.jpg)
How to be more sustainable this holiday season, according to expert Aja Barber
CBSN
Aja Barber hasn't always been sustainable. Before she became an expert on global consumerism and sustainability, she was buying tons of fast fashion just like everyone else.
"I was buying a lot of clothing. I was buying things I didn't need. I wasn't wearing a lot of things that were sitting in my closet. And ultimately all of that was pretty unhelpful," Barber told CBS News. "I needed that wake-up call so I would change my ways and stop participating in the system as same-old-same-old."
Now, the author is dedicated to educating consumers about how their purchases can have large consequences on the environment. In her book "Consumed," Barber details how the supply chain of textile manufacturing contributes to the global climate crisis, leading to an overabundance of waste. Barber argues that what, how and why we buy can help save us money and the planet.
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