By Caroline Shannon

Sally Bjornsen is on a diet.

It includes chocolate, potato chips, a nice glass of wine and carbohydrates galore. But, like any seemingly well-intentioned food fast, there’s a catch: Bjornsen will be enjoying those little delights in last season’s hottest clothing trends.

That’s because the Seattle-based mom and founder of her marketing agency, Sally Bjornsen Represents, has committed to The Great American Apparel Diet, her answer to shopping overload.

“Certainly I wanted to stop the waste,” Bjornsen said of her one-year plan to abstain from buying new clothing for a year. “We are here in this economic downturn for a reason and we need to figure out how we played a part in it.”

Bjornsen said she conjured the experiment after a conversation with her sister, in which they discussed the world’s tendency to overspend money on new items, specifically, clothing. Bjornsen lamented her own jam-packed closet which, for a woman who works from home in “jeans and a t-shirt on most days,” seemed downright, well, “gross,” as Bjornsen puts it.

“I was never a so-called shopaholic,” Bjornsen said of her purchasing habits. “But I realized I was still shopping for the days when I had to go to work in an office.”

That moment was when Bjornsen told her sister she could probably go through an entire year without purchasing a new piece of clothing. Her sister did what any good sister would do, and offered up a challenge: “I bet you can’t,” she said.

Bjornsen took the bait and immediately got started on creating the diet, which kicked off September 1st.

Of course, Bjornsen said she could have never foreseen the response she would get from other people who were also looking to trim their spending. Some dieters were looking for a greener approach to their lifestyles. Others were seeking a bit of self-reflection.

“I love clothes, and I love new things, but I think the idea of ‘need’ has become completely skewed,” said Seattle-based attorney and mother Kristin Hawes. “We are encouraged to buy and buy and buy, and that sort of behavior has an impact on the world around us, in addition to our pocketbooks.”

That impact Bjornsen said is what inspired the women to take on an obvious planet-friendly opportunity to exchange clothing with one another. It’s a win-win reuse situation: Not only are they saving the money they would have spent on new clothing, but they have an opportunity to freshen their wardrobe with secondhand splurges.

“[I have begun to wonder] how else can my purchase decisions help support my local community?” said marketing executive Kerrie Foss. “Should I focus on local small businesses? What impact does that have on my shopping experience as well as the environment and my local community? There are multiple aspects of this green portion [of the diet] to contemplate and consider. I’m intrigued by all the new ideas it has opened.”

Bjornsen said that excitement for change is better than any high she could get from purchasing a new pair of pants that will be worn once or twice (or never). In addition to her happy bank account and the feel-good Earth vibes she is getting from dieting, Bjornsen said the friendships she has developed as a result of the project have been one of the most valuable benefits of working with the approximately 25 members.

“Connecting with other smart, interesting women who are opening up their hearts, minds and shopping behaviors—and closets! —about a topic that we all think differently about [has been the most refreshing],” said Foss. “I’ve never participated in an online community of this sort. I think the sociological aspect of what our clothes mean to us and defines how we think of ourselves is fascinating.”

And that’s not to say they are absolved of new clothing urges, little voices that say, “Buy me! Choose me!” when they walk past store windows. Each of the women, while devoted to the clothing cleanse, has already went through moments of panic: “What will I do when I visit Paris, the shopping capital of the world?”

“What about when winter comes and I need a new black sweater?”

“How will I reward myself now?”

But for those times—they are learning to lean on one another… And their fatter pocketbooks.