Ways to be More Sustainable with Your Closet
By Serena Shim
I was always a big fan of any kind of sale, whether it was the Black Friday craze or the BOGO deals, but I was always wary of what happened behind the numbers. The fashion industry is considered to be the second highest polluting industry in the world, which is extremely concerning. Recently, I watched the documentary The True Cost, which confirmed my worries and revealed important issues like pesticide and river contamination, farming cotton, negative environmental consequences, and poor worker conditions. This documentary showed the day to day lives of factory workers in Bangladesh as well as how unethical clothing is made. After watching this documentary, I decided to be more conscious of my shopping habits and did some research on how I can be more sustainable with my own wardrobe. Here are some small but impactful changes you can make:
Thrift shopping: One of the best ways to shop ethically is purchasing second hand clothing. Thrift stores have so many unique and quality vintage staples for a fraction of the original cost. Whether you want to shop items of the latest trends or express your own style, thrift shopping allows you to get creative with your wardrobe. I always have so much fun exploring different vintage jeans and tops with my friends, especially since you never know what you might find!
Ethical clothing brands: If you want brand new clothes, check out different brands that produce clothing consciously such as Eileen Fisher and Patagonia. Do some research online and you will be sure to find an ethical clothing brand that suits your style and matches your budget!
Budget for high quality staples: If you look at how many fast fashion purchases you made in the past year, you could see that you could have probably invested in a worthwhile purchase that would last for years. Instead of buying more items of cheap fast-fashion, consider spending the same amount of money for clothes that will last longer, look better, and be worn more.
Consider ethical fast fashion brands: The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to get rid of shopping fast fashion completely. Some brands are actually putting in more effort to offer ethically-made clothing such as H&M, ASOS, and Urban Outfitters. Instead of buying aimlessly from these brands, consider looking into their conscious clothing sections. Urban Outfitters has a section called Urban Renewal, which is all clothing handcrafted in Philly out of recycled or vintage materials.
Before I finish this post, I want to point out that we should not intend to be perfect consumers! If you strive to be a perfect consumer, you will become really overwhelmed before you even get started. Start with small steps and support what you want more of in the future. It’s also a great idea to keep up with sustainable influencers and fashion activists so you can stay up-to-date and see more inspiration. Some fashion activists I follow on Instagram who have inspired and taught me more about being fashion conscious are Kathleen Elie (@consciousnchic), Carmen Jenny (@carmitive), Venetia La Manna (@venetiafalconer), and Aja Barber (@ajabarber).
