The Consistency Project
BY JULIA LE
Natasha Halesworth
on the Evolution of The Consistency Project, Zero-Waste Living & Adjusting to Life as New Mom in the Midst of COVID-19
Digital Cover, April 2020
As the gravity of COVID-19 continues to weigh on New York City, the closures of local businesses, restaurants and schools have meant saying goodbye to many of our friends, family, and neighbors for now. With sparse neighborhoods and empty streets, we’re reminded that what makes New York what it is are its occupants and the communities they create.
Within Brooklyn’s sustainable fashion scene, The Consistency Project (TCP) exists as a community and curated shop built on the mission to “break the stigma of secondhand”. Founded in 2017 by Hawaii-native Natasha Halesworth, The Consistency Project has grown from its original online-only model, and recently opened up it’s physical location on 99 North 1st Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn last December. Gender-less and unapologetic in its bold collection of up-cycled, redesigned, dead stock and second hand pieces, the shop incorporates vintage classics and street style staples. With an emphasis on color, creativity, and experimentation, the brand relays comfort and versatility through an effortless cool in advocating for lowering our carbon footprint.
I first met Natasha at Package Free Shop during her pop-up there just a year before, in the first week of December, 2018. In the corner of the store, beside a clothing rack and small table of stacked vintage denim, she helped me pick out a pair of Levi’s 507’s, in a light blue wash I’ve been hunting down for years. I still own them, of course, and over the past couple of years, it’s been amazing to work with Natasha, and see how TCP has continued to grow into what it is today. Here, she shares her journey from second hand fashion to zero waste living, what defines The Consistency Project, and being a business woman and mom to an adorable five-month old baby Nelly in this current state of the world.
For readers who may not be familiar, how would you describe The Consistency Project?
Hi, hello! So you may know us as a shop that curates secondhand and reworked clothing. We focus on comfort, function and experimentation and pride ourselves in catering to the unconventional consumer who pushes the status quo through dressing creatively, regardless of trend or season, and more importantly, who cares about making an impact and thinks beyond themselves.
We also like to think of The Consistency Project as more than just a shop, especially since we opened our physical space this past December. This has allowed us to explore engaging our community beyond anything we’ve been able to do in the past, as we drive the conversation centered around breaking the many stigmas of secondhand.
We realize we are not the only voice in this world of second hand, but hope to fill a space that resonates with those that seek a realistic balance in the journey on sustainability and style.
Since the very very beginning the name stemmed from the thought that if you could shop secondhand or sustainably for your clothing and apparel, you could also do the same within other parts of your life—thus providing consistency for yourself. It was about building a consistent lifestyle and from personal experience, I felt fashion was the perfect entry-point for anyone trying to make a positive impact.
How has the Consistency Project evolved over the years? What was the transition like going from online-only to a physical store?
Oh, it has evolved a lot. What started as a blog in 2014 slowly transitioned to an online and pop-up shop in 2017. Within those three transitional years, a lot of it was creative exploration of what I had to offer to the current fashion and secondhand landscape, but also there was a lot of learning around what kind of impact I wanted to make from a social and environmental perspective. Pair all of that with a lot of saving money!
It was in 2017 that I left my full-time job to focus more on building what TCP could be and picked up freelance work in order to save and re-invest in the business.
In 2018, my family and I decided to move to New York from California. which was a pivotal moment that fast tracked everything. Not only was I building meaningful connections, I was blessed to have a range of amazing opportunities that pushed me to really think about the future of TCP.
I got pregnant in 2019, and honestly almost felt like all my momentum would be lost because of it. I think society puts this social pressure that being a mom meant sacrificing your career. Many people don’t realize that being in the business of secondhand and vintage is an extremely physical job. From the sourcing to the cleaning of the clothing to the photographing to the pop-ups to the… everything, I almost thought it wouldn’t be possible to physically keep up while pregnant. Fortunately I took things one day at a time and put myself in the mindset to operate as normally as I could. I still did pop-ups, sourcing trips, and more. I had proven to myself it was possible to be pregnant, work and eventually be a working mom, but what was next?
I had a studio space in Industry City where I operated out of after moving to New York which lease was up in November 2019. I was supposed to be due in October so I felt the pressure to make some big changes. Did I move out of my studio and into a storage space to focus on being a mom at least for the first six months, then pick back up on TCP? Did I resign my lease not knowing how often I’d even be at the studio? And if I was considering keeping my studio space, I might as well look at other spaces right?
I ended up finding an amazing retail space that could also host a studio area. The price was right. The location was right. I ran numbers on my savings and felt confident I could swing it. Now, the timing? Not quite right, but why not. I signed the lease on October 1st, and had baby Nelly October 14th. I was all in.
The journey was a slow ride in the beginning, but if you just commit yourself 1,000% and continually save money to invest in your own business, regardless of what circumstances are presented, there are ways to make it happen.
What was your journey into sustainable fashion, and how did you get to where you are today?
Like many others who enjoy exploring their personal style, I was also a victim of fast fashion as I was an uninformed consumer who trusted companies to be doing what they should be doing. A lot of my journey was becoming more informed and questioning the companies I once supported through my dollars. At this point, in 2014, this is when TCP was born and I started to realize there was this term, “sustainability.”
I never really knew that the whole “sustainable lifestyle” movement existed growing up or even just six years ago as things like reuse or even shopping secondhand was just a cultural thing I grew up with. At home it was common practice to not waste food or to save the plastic bags we got in order to reuse them. Or to save money by shopping secondhand or see showers as a functional thing to do, and [should therefore be] quick and efficient. But I quickly learned that there was this whole other world of “zero-waste” or “sustainability,” which provided a range of other perspectives to this way of life.
As I have personally made transitions and changes to my own lifestyle, while celebrating what my cultural background has already taught me, it has allowed me to provide yet another perspective: that we are always learning and trying to do our best with the different circumstances we have.
Fast forward to today, beyond being a shop, I’d like to think of TCP as a community and safe space for people to be inspired and make changes in their own pace all while keeping it real and celebrating all the diverse cultures that have shaped this way of life.
How does your consideration of the environmental ailments in the fashion industry inform other parts of your life?
TCP was founded on the thought that lifestyle changes related to the fashion industry, and how you dress yourself should impact your lifestyle changes in other parts of your life. So it is only right that I live by this thought as well!
After I started TCP and committed to a “secondhand first” mentality, I started to make changes at home when it came to reuse. So we slowly switched everything to re-usables and avoided anything that was disposable. We’re not 100% there but I believe we don’t have to throw away or get rid of anything that still works (i.e. reusable takeout containers, etc.)
Events are extremely wasteful, so when I got married two years ago, I made sure it incorporated elements that were as waste conscious as possible. I even wrote a whole blog series about my learnings. It was a proud moment for me personally.
When my husband and I recently had a baby, we thought about all the ways we could be as waste conscious as possible, considering the environmental impact having babies has on the planet. So we sourced as much as we could secondhand. We use cloth diapers and will continue to explore how we can make an impact there.
Food has been a huge area of change for us. I never really understood the impact of food waste until a year or so ago. Composting is something we 100% do at home, but also even when we’re traveling, etc. We try to reuse food scraps as much as possible. We also just recently transitioned to a plant based diet. We even switched our dogs' diets to be plant-based as well.
Which zero-waste or secondhand changes have been the easiest and hardest for you to put into place? Any tips?
The easiest changes are ones that you can make at home and that you can change right away if the timing is right. For example, doing the cloth diapers for baby Nelly was actually one of the easier things we’ve done because we committed and just did it from the beginning. It wasn’t like we did disposables for several months then made the change. It is so much easier to integrate something into your everyday life when you commit from the very beginning (if you can).
I’m also biased, but nowadays it is so easy to shop for secondhand clothing. There is no excuse not to integrate more secondhand into your wardrobe especially with all the shops and online platforms that exist.
Now for what has been the hardest… It is always harder to change things when you’ve been doing it one way your whole life. So maybe our diet? We actually made the change to being plant based a few years back for about a year or so, but when we moved to New York, we started eating animal products again. This time around, it has been so much easier to transition since we already know what to expect. I think we were just mentally ready and know this would be great for Nelly to see us as an example. But of course, food is such a special part of our lives. It is how we socialize and connect with others. We literally need it to survive so any change in this area feels heavy. Now for a lot of dishes I grew up with…. I’ve had a hard time thinking about what I have to sacrifice as many Asian dishes are animal product-heavy, but there are also a lot of plant based options. So I’m excited to explore that path.
Undeniably, Nelly has the best secondhand micro-fashion! What is it like being a mother now in New York in the realm of sustainability, and raising Nelly in this environmental and political climate?
Aww, thank you. She also says thank you.
I think every parent has the opportunity to lead by example. So my husband and I try to do what we can through TCP, but also in our personal everyday life. We just hope she’ll grow up observing the importance of action. Right now it is easier to feel like we got this since we control everything she does—meaning what she wears, the diapers she uses, the food she eats, haha. But, I think once she gets a bit older and is able to make decisions for herself, this is where we hope she’ll know—through us as an example—what’s important and be able to make the right decisions and contribute in a positive way.
All you can do is hope for the best for your child and expose them to the right experiences, then trust them to do what is best.
Since you’ve lived in a few different places across the US, how would you describe the conversation of sustainability in Hawaii vs San Francisco vs New York? Are there things each of the cities can learn from the others?
Any conversation has to be tailored to the local community. The communities in Hawaii, San Francisco, and New York are so different. The lifestyle is different. The culture make ups are different. I think the Bay Area has always been progressive when it comes to social and environmental conversations, [but] at the same time, New York has so many more people, which allows the impact to be exponential. With more people also comes many different perspectives which constantly pushes the limits. Back home in Hawaii, a lot is rooted in a common cultural lifestyle which is often harder to encourage change. At the same time, preserving the beauty of the island is part of the everyday mindset, whereas here in New York I feel like the beauty of nature and our planet sometimes gets lost in the concrete jungle. The way of life in each city is something that they can learn from each other in order to gain a broader perspective. We need this broad perspective to move forward together.
How does your cultural background as an Asian-American inform your outlook on sustainability?
Sometimes I think the voices and conversations within the sustainability space can feel one-sided. It [doesn’t always] take into account the cultural influences that this lifestyle has inherited—this concept of “zero-waste”. I think every Asian-American that had a strong cultural Asian influence in their home can agree that wasting anything was just not a thing. Of course, this may have stemmed from the intention of appreciating what you have and not taking things for granted versus the narrative of being good for our planet.
Plastic and packaging is notoriously a common practice for Asian goods. My mom owns a candy shop in Hawaii. She orders candy in bulk, but for sanitary reasons, she pre-bags the candy for customers to purchase. Yes, these bags are plastic. Since my own journey with TCP, she has been open to the conversation of exploring other options, but many of the options (and there were only a few!), were not cost-effective or accessible to a business of her size. She had a commitment to her customer to ensure the sanitary safety of her goods but also she couldn’t afford the alternatives. Secondly, she knew if she raised costs her customers would not be supportive of it.
I guess my point is my cultural background as well as my personal experience with my family, etc. definitely informs my outlook on sustainability, as well as how I communicate through TCP.
We’re currently in the midst of unprecedented times to say the least. How has COVID-19 affected things at The Consistency Project?
Honestly I felt like TCP had just climbed this uphill battle through opening the physical shop all while trying to raise a newborn baby. It was only this past month that we finally felt like we were getting into our groove so it goes without saying, it has been a hard reality to face. At the same time, we realize everyone has been affected in some way, shape, or form so we are getting through this alongside many others.
Like many other shops, we’ve shifted everything to be online in hopes of keeping the business afloat until we can open our doors again. With that, we’ve taken the time to start redesigning our website, update our online shop, and just build our digital presence even more through our blog and educational content. We’ve also started working on our in-house reworked collection for spring/ summer, which we’ve been meaning to do for a while.
I’ve been committed to keeping my team employed as long as I possibly can. Their livelihood means a lot to me and we’re grateful that the online shop can be a source of income to keep them paid.
These are difficult times, but we’re trying to stay hopeful and remember that a lot of things are out of our control.
And of course, how are you doing in the midst of all of this?
I’ve been taking things one day at a time. Being a new mom has already pushed me to live in this mindset. I’m trying not to let the stress take over and hinder this time that I could use productively—not only for the business but also to spend with my family. We are fortunate to be healthy, have a roof over our heads, and food on the table. We do not take this for granted and are counting our blessings.
In addition to focusing on my business and family, I’ve been looking for ways to contribute as a good citizen—going beyond what just benefits me and my family, but what can benefit others and my local community. One opportunity I’ll be dedicating time to will be addressing the huge need for masks and protective equipment. I’ve been inspired by others using their skills for good and will be flexing my sewing skills again this week.
Anything else you’d like readers to know?
I feel like I wrote a lot (oopsy) so I’ll just say—thank you for reading and your support with TCP. It means so much. <3
Photography by Julia Le