Fionnuala Moran:

Broadcaster/Sustainability Influencer

It was my New Year’s resolution to quit fast fashion in 2019. Limiting yourself to second-hand stuff is actually really liberating. It’s been a holistic lifestyle shift. Sustainability has brought a lot of joy into my life. It’s simplified a lot of things, and it’s about reconnecting with nature, and turning down a lot of the chaos and noise of hyper consumerism, and hyper capitalism, that’s all around us.

One of the things I do is copy Santa, when he’s making a list and he’s checking it twice. I keep a little gifting document on my phone throughout the year. If anyone drops ideas, I have them there, so I know I’m buying things that people actually want. It’s really thoughtful gifting. We’ve opted out of any Kris Kindles with the friend group. We do charity donations instead, we’re just happy to spend the time to see each other.

With my partner one Christmas, we agreed to do vintage gifting. We got each other exclusively vintage pieces – so nothing was made new that year. My own wedding is coming up and I think the gals have all planned to wear each other’s dresses for that, which is a nod to my sustainability. Swap shops are brilliant, loads of fun and save money.

I was one of those people who was like, “I’ve been photographed in this before, I can’t be wearing that again publicly”. It’s a wild mindset, but we learn it really quickly, so I think we can unlearn it really quickly. The way I try to encourage people to lean into re-wear is with storytelling. There’s this one dress that was my mam’s, she wore it at a wedding that I was a flower girl for when I was three.

I got it back out and upcycled it a little bit for the 2019 VIP Style Awards, and I’ve worn it again to lots of lovely, big events since.

The Earth Day theme for 2025 is “It’s Our Power, it’s Our Planet”. Stepping into our own agency for the new year would be huge. Think second-hand first is my advice. We really need to consume so much less.

Listen to broadcaster, sustainability influencer and DJ Fionnuala Moran on RTÉ 2fm.

It’s time to Reverse the Trend. Recent research from the Environmental Protection Agency has revealed we should be doing more to make sustainable decisions when it comes to fashion.

With the ongoing climate crisis, it’s never been more important for us to think about our purchasing habits more consciously. It’s time to buy less, choose well, and look after our clothes - to get the most out of them.

Thinking sustainably presents us with the opportunity to be more inventive, more thoughtful, and more ethical in what we wear. Borrowing clothes from friends, going to swap shops, buying from charity shops, and renting clothes are just some of the innumerable ways in which we can rewrite the narrative when it comes to being on trend and looking fashionable, while also having fun and being creative!

We spoke to influencers, local musicians, designers and artists about sustainability - and what it means to them. Read the full feature in the Hot Press Annual 2025