How Can I Make My Wardrobe More Eco-Friendly?
Have you ever thought about making your wardrobe more sustainable? Do you consider the environmental impact of purchases when shopping for clothes? Read on for 10 top tips to help you make your clothing collection more eco-friendly.
I had a fairly typical city upbringing, and shopping was a go-to weekend activity for my family. I found it boring and would usually bring a book and find a quiet corner to sit while my mother and sisters spent hours searching the rails and trying on clothes, or I would locate the haberdashery or book department and browse there instead.
Luckily, my dislike of shopping persisted into adulthood. There were always too many people. And generally I would go to a shop with a very particular idea in mind of what I wanted to find. Almost invariably, I was disappointed!
As I discussed in my post “How to Adopt a Minimalist Approach,” the evils of consumerism and the damaging effects of Western materialism has been a fairly recent revelation for me. Having carried out a significant declutter of our home, my husband and I identified that we had accumulated far more clothing than we need from various sources over time. And this was despite us being very intentional with our purchases and neither of us particularly enjoying shopping!
I have now completely decluttered my wardrobe and completely changed my approach to clothing.
I now follow a set of simple steps, outlined below, which have been trans-formative in keeping my wardrobe clutter-free and as ethical and sustainable as possible.
What is Wrong with the Fashion Industry, Anyway?
It is not that long ago that people generally either made their own clothes, or had items of clothing custom made for them. Therefore items of clothing were a costly investment, either in terms of time or money. As a result, the majority of people had a small number of garments, which they darned and repaired until the items were no longer serviceable.
What a different world we live in now! Clothing is so readily available and often very affordable. How is that possible?
Sadly, the main driver for all the big clothing brands if their profit margin. They spend vast sums of money every year on marketing and advertising, all aimed at convincing consumers that they NEED more clothes. And sadly, because cheap fabrics are often used in the production of fast fashion, it is perfectly possible that your favourite top now has holes in, or last year’s jeans are literally falling apart at the seams. It has been estimated that over half of fast fashion items are sent to landfill within a year of production.
That’s not the worst of it, though. In order to sell these clothes at appealing prices, costs have to be minimised at every stage of the production process. And devastatingly that often means that items are being churned out by workers in places such as Bangladesh and Taiwan, often children, earning a pittance and working in dreadful conditions.
And if the human cost of fast fashion is not enough to make you think twice before setting foot in Primark, the environmental fall-out is enormous and undeniable. Take a pair of denim jeans as an example. To grow the cotton requires a huge investment in terms of land and water, as well as the use of pesticides. The cotton is harvested, and then flown half-way around the world to be processed and woven into the garment, which is then dyed using harsh chemicals that go on to pollute waterways. One study estimated that to make 1kg of denim can generate 23kg of CO2. Astounding!
I’m afraid we’re still not quite at the end of the list yet. Despite best efforts with marketing and end-of-season sales, the big brands often have a lot of unsold stock left over. I am sure we could all think of responsible ways of managing this dilemma: donating the surplus to the homeless, or to women’s shelters; gifting it to charitable organisations for them to sell in their shops; recycling the fabrics or adjusting the designs for next season’s stock. Alas, none of these are mainstream practice. Instead, millions of articles of perfectly good clothing are either incinerated or buried every year. Obviously, this is not only hugely wasteful but also contributes significantly to the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Just outrageous.
Lastly, many of the dyes and flame retardants used in the production of fast fashion items can be readily absorbed through the skin and are known to be damaging to human health. Hence the advice to wash any new pieces before the first wear.
What is a Sustainable Wardrobe?
Surely there must be a better way for humans to clothe themselves, than relying on companies with poor practices as outlined above? Good news, there certainly is! It does require us to think in a very different way about clothes, but the rewards are worth it.
The first step is to take a look at the clothes already in your wardrobe. Make sure you have the basic “staple” pieces covered, ideally with some high-quality items that are made to last. That might be a couple of pairs of jeans that fit you well, some everyday tops and shirts, a few smarter pieces you can mix and match for work.
Then critically assess the remainder of the clothes in your wardrobe. When did you last wear these items? Do they still fit? Do they still suit your style? Are you likely to wear them again in the next three months? Keep what works for you, and follow my tips later on for moving on any unwanted items.
Making Do and Mending
Extending the life of the clothes you already have is the second step in minimising the environmental impact of your wardrobe.
Modern synthetic fabrics can take decades, if not longer, to break down. Rather than throwing away items that no longer fit or are damaged, consider whether there is anything you can do to alter or up-cycle these items, either to make them wearable for yourself or to re-purpose them within your home.
Many skills such as sewing on buttons and darning holes are becoming less common among the younger generations of today, perhaps because it is now so easy to discard damaged items and buy new ones. There are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube for anyone who wishes to learn! Or alternatively, you probably have a friend or family-member with the know-how to help you out. Failing that, you could find a local seamstress.
Shopping Second-Hand
When you do have to replace staple items within your wardrobe, look for second-hand options first. These might be via a vintage shop on your high street, a local charity shop or one of the various websites that enables people to advertise their unwanted clothes.
You can often find some excellent deals on barely-worn clothes. Not only will this save you money, but it also prevents items from ending up in landfill and reduces the consumption of new clothes. Win-win-win!
An off-shoot of this is to consider renting items such as formal wear or evening wear, especially if you’re not likely to get a lot of use out of these pieces in the long run.
Eco-Friendly Brands
Whilst it’s possible to get some good deals by looking second-hand, it’s not always easy to find exactly what you’re after. In the event that you do need to buy new, do some research about brands offering more eco-friendly, sustainable, ethical clothing. For UK-based folk, there are a number of companies that use natural fibres to manufacture clothing and sustainable processes to manufacture clothing here in the UK.
You will likely have to pay a bit more than you would at most high street shops, but see it as an investment. Ethical brands generally make high-quality items which stand the test of time, and also come without the human and environmental cost.
What Should I Do with Unwanted Clothes?
You may find that you have some (or many) items in your current clothing collection that no longer fit or do not suit your current style, and you choose not to alter for your own uses. Clean, wearable, good quality clothing can be donated to charity shops, homeless shelters or women’s shelters. Or you may want to advertise your old items for sale to make some money back!
More visibly worn items can be adapted for various alternative uses. They can be cut up for rags, cleaning cloths, reusable paper towels, or all kinds of crafting ideas. The possibilities really are endless! If you don’t have time or you’re not particularly into crafts, perhaps ask a local crafting group if they are taking donations of old clothes. Or alternatively many city centres and refuse sites have clothes recycling banks.
Sending unwanted clothes to landfill should ideally be a very last resort – best avoided if at all possible.
Top Tips
- Stay away from the shops! Going shopping for a weekend activity all-too-often results in the impulse purchase of unnecessary items.
- Keep your wardrobe minimal with some good-quality staples and a few options to mix-and-match. This will make getting dressed in the morning so much easier!
- Aim for a more timeless style that suits you well, rather than following rapidly changing trends in fashion.
- Try to extend the life of the items you already have as much as you can. Learn how to repair damaged items and alter ones that need freshening up a bit to match your style.
- When items do need to be replaced, look at the second-hand market first.
- If your search for second-hand items is unsuccessful, do your research and find a sustainable brand with good ethics to purchase new items from. This does come with an increased up-front cost, but their pieces will likely serve you well for many years.
- Go “shopping” in your wardrobe first if you have a big event coming up. Is there anything you already own that you could accessorise differently or alter/update to give it a different look?
- Alternatively, consider renting a suit or a dress for the gala ball or wedding you need to attend. This will likely work out cheaper per wear and saves you storing lots of formal wear pieces that are unlikely to see a lot of use.
- Sell or donate items you no longer want, as long as they are in good condition.
- Get creative when your items are looking rather worse for wear! See if you can re-purpose them or recycle them. Avoid sending unwanted clothing to landfill if possible.
