Incorporating Sustainable Fashion Into My Wardrobe
If you have never heard of the phrase “sustainable fashion”, then don’t worry I will give you a quick rundown! First, we need to know what sustainable means.
Sustainable
able to be maintained at a certain rate or level
Clothing, in the past, used to be purchased at a much slower rate than today’s standards. Items were made to last and only purchased a few times a year. Just as the industrial revolution transformed many other industries, fashion was also affected. The invention of the sewing machine meant that clothes could be made at a faster and cheaper rate. Clothes are currently made at the fastest rate they have ever been, which you may recognize the term “fast fashion”. Fast fashion is one of the biggest contributors to harmful environmental impacts like polluted waters and global warming.
According to Wikipedia,
“Fast fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion retailers to express that designs move from catwalk quickly to capture current fashion trends. Fast fashion clothing collections are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at FashionWeek in both the spring and the autumn of every year.”
Fast Fashion greatly impacts the workers as well. If you type fast fashion into google, you will come across many articles that go more in-depth about it’s origin and the true cost of fashion. You can also find out which stores are the biggest offenders of fast fashion. Unfortunately, it’s some of your favorite stores to shop at like Forever 21, H&M, Zara, Fashion Nova. I remember when I first started shopping at Forever 21 in high school and how amazed I was at the prices. I believe when you first start shopping with your own money, you become accustomed to shopping at that price range. It’s easy to develop the mindset that it is a waste of your money to purchase anything over that range, but unless we make a mental shift in how we view clothing and its relationship to the environment and people, nothing is going to change. Below are a list of tips and a few resources that can be a starting point for you to incorporate sustainable fashion into your wardrobe.
Tips for being more sustainable in your Fashion:
Wear Your Items Until They Become Unwearable
It may seem like such a simple concept, but you would be surprised at how many people either only wear their clothes once or just for one season. Perhaps this is a slightly embarrassing, but I am still wearing clothes that I purchased in high school. I even have a couple of shorts that I got from middle school that I still wear around the house. Admittedly they are much tighter than they were 15 years, but they are still functional.
2. Research Brands That Offer The Styles You Like, But Don’t Compromise on Quality and Environmental Impact
This one takes some effort in the beginning, especially if you are not sure what items you should be looking for when it comes to researching brands. Thankfully, there are hundreds of people who have done a lot of this work. You can do a quick search on Google or Youtube for sustainable fashion. I downloaded this app called Good On You that is committed to providing users with information on purchasing ethical fashion. You can search brands and they will give you an overall rating for that particular brand based on labor, environmental impact, and animal use. Also, the app recommends brands for you that have good ratings and even lets you send a message directly to brands.
3. Get Caught On The Thrifting Trend and Invest in a Tailor
Now, I’m hesitant to call thrifting a trend, because that denotes that it will fade, but thrifting is much more popular now than it was several years ago. Check out my thrift haul video below! Thrifting is like shopping at Ross because it takes time to find things you like, and the stores usually look very cluttered. Donate your items to a friend or thrift store if you are no longer able to wear it (i.e. too small). If you find an item that you like but doesn’t fit, search around for a good tailor to alter those clothes.
4. Build Up Your Skills
It’s a common misconception that making your own clothes is cheaper than buying. This is true if you compare the prices of designer clothes, but not if you are comparing it to fast fashion. Buying the patterns, fabric yardage, and notions you need to make your clothes often turns out to be more expensive than if you bought it from the store. That is why the first step listed below in tips for purchasing long lasting clothing is so important in rethinking how much you should be spending on clothes. Even if you’re not wanting to learn how to make your own clothing, it is still important to learn how to mend basic things like holes so you get more uses out of that item.
5. Don’t Heavily Follow Trends
Now I just mentioned above that you should follow the thrifting trend, but I’m talking about seasonal fashion trends. I think it’s okay to follow trends, but we must not think we need to follow the all of the latests trends. It’s such a shame to me that people wear a look a few times or just for a season. Fashion to me is not just about putting together a look, it’s one of the ways that I express art. It takes creative effort to design looks and to have them only be consumed a few times is such a disservice to art. New trends can often be followed with your current clothes, but the addition of a few things can have you feeling excited to newly style your wardrobe.
Tips For purchasing long lasting clothing
Retrain Your Brain Into Thinking How Much You Should Spend On An Item. This will be the hardest step you have to do!
Just like when it comes to purchasing food, there is a benefit to buying higher quality items. It’s easy for us to know why we should eat healthier though that usually means we will spend more on food. Health has a direct impact on how we feel physically and mentally on a daily basis. Clothing doesn’t have that same daily impact on our lives. Most of us would feel the exact same if we purchased a $250 quality coat over a cheap $40 one. Purchasing cheap clothes is equivalent to buying cheap fast food. You’ll experience that same instant gratification, but ultimately you’re creating more harm than good.
2. Create A Clothing Budget
The majority of us can’t afford to purchase new clothes, which is how we maintain a sustainable wardrobe. However, when it does come time to shop budgets are such a good way of keeping track of spending. Once you have rethought how much you should be spending on clothes, look at items that you would like to add to your wardrobe and work out how much you need to save so you can purchase them.
Reasons Why You Should Purchase Better Quality Items
They Last Longer
The most obvious reason of course is that they last much longer. I have had a number of pants purchased from Forever 21 that have ripped around the inseam just after a few wears. Clothes that last longer mean that you will not have to purchase them as frequently, which means you can spend your money on other things or add it to your savings.
2. Simply Put, They Are Better Quality
Another obvious reason is that you will get better quality items. There is a term when you make clothes called pre-washing. Pre-washing, is where you either steam or run fabric through a wash and dry cycle prior to making your items because most fabrics shrink once they have dried. Like how you want to order a size up when getting a cotton t-shirt because you know it will shrink in the wash/dry. I have purchased several dresses from Forever 21 that have shrunk, already beyond their vanishing hem lengths, almost to the point of it being unwearable (of course I’m still wearing them though).
It is very advantageous for a company of such size to not pre-wash their fabrics prior to cutting and shipping them to the stores. They save millions of dollars doing this, but as a result the customer gets less use of their items, which then requires you to go back to that store to purchase more.
My favorite dress from F21 that I purchased two years ago. You can see the eyelet lace has shrunk past the lining a little and it is much worse now than in this picture.
3. We Become Better at Taking Care Of Our Things
Value and worth play a big part in our daily handling of items. We take care of things better if we have purchased them rather than if they belong to someone else. I definitely find myself more mentally aware of how I treat an item if I have spent more money on it. For instance, I purchased these incredible sandals last year (below), valued at $300 from Nordstrom Rack, on sale for $80. Aside from a running shoe, this is the most I’ve spent on a shoe so I’m very conscious of how often I wear them and what I do in them. For instance, I don’t toss them around like I do some $10 sandals I bought from Old Navy. I expect these sandals to last several years and they are more likely to because I am taking care of them.
My current favorite item in my wardrobe that I purchased last year. I’m always wearing them no matter what season.
I hope you enjoyed and found this quick post informative and I would love it if you shared some resources or your own thoughts and tips on being more sustainable!