Taoism Alignment with our #HAUSSEPEOPLE Manifesto

Written by: Hana El-Sharabasy

The Taoism religion emerged in prehistoric China and has played an influential role in the country’s history. The religion has roots in environmental harmony, compassion and simplicity that align with our HAUSSEPEOPLE Manifesto here at ÀLA.HAUSSE.

Wu Wei, the State of Intent

Although there is no direct translation, the Taoism pillar of Wu Wei is a means of non-action, or action with intention. This philosophical belief helps its followers to define which of their actions are essential and which are not. Swiss sinologist, Jean François Billeter, has described wu wei as a “state of perfect knowledge of the reality of the situation, perfect efficaciousness and the realization of a perfect economy of energy”. This ideology was originally adopted by the people of the Confucianism religion, another philosophical chinese religion, but made its way into the Taoism’s Pillars.

Purchasing Intention

For the same reason as the Taoism doctrine, ÀLA.HAUSSE promotes purchasing intention. While this also helps to promote fashion creativity in the individual through the development of a unique style, it also leaves no space for futile purchases. Purchase intention helps us to move away from viewing fashion as a business opportunity, but rather as a creative outlet. Simultaneously, purchase intention helps us to limit our environmental footprint by reducing our fruitless purchases.

Ziran, Self Expression and Creativity

On the human level, Ziran is closely related to being a natural and free flowing spirit. This sector of the religion promotes one’s inner creativity, as it is untainted from outside perspectives. The religion strongly believes that within each individual is a creative source that needs to be tapped into. To be ‘Ziran’ in Taoism, is to be fully nourished by one’s own individuality.

As Taoism is a non-violent and non-self- serving religion, there is lots of emphasis on how achieving ziran is not succumbing to personal needs and wants, but rather following nature’s pull towards spontaneity.

Encouraging Creativity and Self-Expression

ÀLA.HAUSSE considers fashion to be a vessel for creativity. Mainstream fashion has created a narrow lens for creativity that limits both designers and wearers that subtracts all the benefits fashion has to offer. We encourage everyone to wear whatever they want, no matter how crazy. The best part about our outfits is they are temporary, and a risky outfit won’t define you forever.

The Three Treasures

Ci, Compassion

Compassion in Taoism means to be selfless and express generosity. The goal in Taoism is to always be generous, but maintain the right intentions. Insead of being a good person for selfish gain, the religion encourages others to look at the broader perspective of the world to only create positive impacts. Part of this doctrine is to identify the people doing “bad” and place them on the correct path through educating them.

Educating Others

Our company hosts a multitude of strong beliefs within fashion. We are passionate about sustainability, ethics, and creativity, but maintain an unbiased and worldly perspective at the same time. We hope to create a safe space for others to come and learn about what we promote, and to join in on our much needed discussions about change in the industry.

Jian, Moderation

To live in moderation means avoiding extremes. Tao’s strive to find a balance in their life that satisfies the many other pillars of the religion. Living in excess, while often thought to bring more happiness, just manifests itself as a necessity in our life, leaving us unhappy in its absence. To find the balance, they encourage focusing your energy on real life experience instead of superficial things.

Minimalism Vs Over-Consumption

Both minimalism and over-consumption have received lots of criticism. Over-consumption can lead to a reliance on shopping as a source of happiness. And, many minimalists believe the lifestyle contradicts itself, to the point where minimalists spend more time concerned with their material goods, instead of utilizing their time in more productive areas. This is counterintuitive considering minimalism promotes underconsumption as a means to spend more time focused on living life to the fullest. Sadly, many become infatuated with the lifestyle, that it becomes more of an aesthetic than a way of life. Somewhere in between minimalism and over consumption is the balance we believe in, a place where you feel comfortable and satisfied with your clothes.

Bugan Wei Tianxia Xian, Humility

Being humble ties in directly with Ci. As defined by Dr. Anna K. Schaffner, “Humility is an attitude of spiritual modesty that comes from understanding our place in the larger order of things”. This state of humility keeps our heightened emotions at a standstill. To have a great understanding of our place in the world provides a sense of security when we feel things like sadness, despair and guilt. Humility helps us to be our best selves and self regulate to ensure productivity.

Taking Your Individual Stance Seriously

There is a continuous debate, not just in fashion about how much or how little individuals can create an impact. Although large billion dollar corporations are the root of the environmental crisis we are looking at, the individuals hold a large portion of the control. Maintaining an intolerance for overconsumption unites you with the collective that shares the same value.

Even though sustainability has become a trendy term in recent years, the lifestyle has been around for hundreds of years, developing in separate cultures worldwide. The First Nations people of Canada adopted a low waste position, Jainists form their religion around a non-violence attitude that favours wildlife, and Shinto’s pride themselves on being peaceful in coexistence with nature, among many other religions. Slowly but surely their environmental attitude is being taught on social media and supported by brands to hopefully become mainstream in the fashion world, but this time mainstream is a good thing.

Via ÀLA.HAUSSE‘s Multi-functional and Multi-purposeful Fashion Ecosystem- BUY/SELL/RENT/LEND/ (swap BETA 2021) mobile application, INDIVIDUALS & brands (BETA 2021) are encouraged to REBUY, RESELL, REUSE and UP-CYCLE their personal “Closets” aka Clothing Assets, along with overstock inventory and samples. Through this consumerism habit shift we indirectly slow down the urgency on fashion’s carbon footprint, aiding sustainability as a whole.

BETA Early Access Application Now Opens SS21 iOS Android

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