How To Make Your Wardrobe More Sustainable
Header and Thumbnail Image Source: https://chnge.com/blogs/news/fashion-industry-the-high-cost-of-low-prices
By Hannah Schmidt-Rees
In a world where climate change is a legitimate threat to our generation and will probably end life as we know it by 2050, why not feel a little better about your own lifestyle by making your wardrobe more sustainable? Ok, so I might've been a little too intense with that introduction, but am I wrong?
But in all honesty, making your wardrobe more sustainable is one of the best things you can do for the environment. The fashion industry is one of the worst industries for the environment, second behind the oil industry. With the rise of fast fashion; brands manufacturing and selling cheap, low-quality garments at a faster rate then ever before; the fast fashion is starting to have one of the worst impacts on the environment. Here's a few statistics just so you know how bad the fashion industry really is:
20% of global industrial water pollution comes from the treatment and dying of textiles.
It takes 2720 litres of water to make a t-shirt. That's how much we normally drink over three years.
The world now consumes an estimated 80 billion pieces of new clothing a year, which is 400% more than what we consumed 20 years ago.
By 2050, the fashion industry is set to consume a quarter of the world's carbon budget.
Top fashion CEOs earn a garment worker's entire lifetime pay in just four days. The people who are actually making the cheap clothing you wear are being paid the least. Some garment workers make only $900 a year, sometimes working 12 hour days without even having enough money to eat.
Making your wardrobe more sustainable seems like a big task to undertake, and you may not even know where to start. But it’s much easier than you think, so here's just a few way to make your wardrobe more sustainable:
1. Educate yourself.
It's very likely that your favourite brands will have a transparency section on their website; detailing their sustainable practices and where their garments are coming from and who are making them. If you can't find these answers easily, contact the brand or maybe the lack of transparency is an answer in itself. Look for the Fair Trade label, which is only earned if the manufacturers pay all their workers a living wage, their factories are safe and their production is eco friendly. There's also a documentary available on Netflix called True Cost, which looks at the impact the fashion industry is having on both the world and the people who make our clothes. It's incredibly eye opening and I highly encourage to watch it.
2. Get creative.
There's nothing better than experimenting with the wardrobe you already have. It’s one of the most sustainable options, you don’t buy anything new and you don't throw anything away. Think of new ways to style what you already own; look at social media for inspiration. Ask your friends about how they would style certain pieces. Experiment with your wardrobe and who knows, you could discover something completely new.
3. Go to the op shop, not the rubbish bin.
Three out of four garments will end up in landfills or be incinerated. Go through your wardrobe and pick out items that you haven't worn in a while, doesn't fit you anymore, or you just don't like as much anymore. Go through these items one at a time and have a think about how you could keep them in your wardrobe. Take as much time as you want with this step.
If it's too big, why not get it tailored to fit you perfectly?
If it has any damage or holes in it, try your hand at repairing it. With the amount of YouTube tutorials, no-one has an excuse not to repair their own clothing.
If you're feeling a little more creative, try out some DIY. Just have a look at Pinterest to be overwhelmed with all the possibilities.
If it's something that you just don't like or wear anymore, either give it to a friend, family member, or donate it to a vintage clothing store or op shop. (There's no guarantee that your donated clothes will find a new owner, but you've given them a chance and that's better than nothing. It’s way better than it just going to landfill.)
4. Make more conscious choices when shopping.
40% of all clothing bought are rarely or never worn. Forget about what's 'trendy' and buy what you actually need. Been wanting a black turtleneck for years now? Buy it, not the bright graphic shirt just because you've seen it all over Instagram. Your wardrobe needs to timeless, full of classic pieces that will always be on trend.
When shopping for clothes, here's a few questions you should think to yourself before going to the checkout:
With this piece pair well with the other pieces in my wardrobe? Is it versatile? (A good way to pitch this question is; will I wear this at least 20 times? If it's no, then seriously reconsider buying it.)
When and where will I actually wear this?
Does it fit?
Is it comfortable?
Is this brand sustainable or ethical? (If you're in your local H&M, ZARA or Forever 21, then this question is answered for you.)
Do I actually love it, or am I just convincing myself that I need it?
Is it made well or good quality? (If it feels or looks cheap, don't even think about buying it.)
And when asking and answering these questions, take your time. Avoid impulse buying. Feel free to walk away and come back when you've made up your mind. Filling your wardrobe with versatile pieces will extend the lifespan of your clothing, as wearing an item 50 times instead of 5 (the fast fashion average) will reduce carbon emissions by 400% per item, per year.
5. Shop ethically and sustainably.
You might not be aware, but there are way more ethical and sustainable brands than you think. Now I'm not saying that you should only buy from sustainable brands, because sustainable fashion is expensive. It's rightfully expensive because sustainable materials and ethical construction are more expensive to source, but sometimes the $150 price tag for a simple shirt can be a little too much. If you're a university student like me, sustainable brands are out of the question, but there are still ways to shop ethically and sustainably:
Prioritise vintage store and op shops over other 'new fashion' stores. You have a better chance of finding something one-of-a-kind, and isn't that better than a fast fashion item that everyone else has?
Use services like Good On You and Well Made Clothes to test out the sustainability of current brands and to find more sustainable brands with lower prices.
Use apps and websites like Depop and thredUP to find secondhand clothing.
Prioritise eco-friendly materials. Eco-friendly materials are natural, and therefore biodegradable and better for the environment. When out shopping, have a look for; organic cotton, linen, hemp, Tencel, bamboo and wool (although feel free to skip wool if you're vegan).
Simply save up your money to invest in higher quality, sustainable clothing, instead of spending it on low quality fast fashion garments.
Buy locally. You'll be supporting members of your community and you'll know exactly where your clothing came from, how it was made and what it's made from.
Even if you can't shop sustainably and ethically; just shop less. The elephant in the fast fashion room is our insane rate of consumption, so try to cap yourself to buying 10 new pieces a year.
But if you can afford ethical and sustainable clothing, here’s just a few to get you started; Veja Footwear, Vegan Style, D+K Activewear, Kowtow, Nobody Denim and Patagonia.
6. Take care of your current clothing.
You might not have considered this, but having a sustainable wardrobe also includes the way you care about the items you already have. 1/3 of the carbon footprint of clothes comes from the way we care for them and extending the life of an item of clothing by an extra 9 months (through repairing, repurposing or buying second hand) reduces that item's carbon, waste and water footprint by 20-30%.
Here are a few ways to be more sustainable with your current clothing:
Use a lower temperature when washing your clothing; it's less damaging on the fabric and reduces your footprint too.
Skip the dryer and air dry your clothing.
Wash your clothes in larger batches, or after at least 5 wears; which will reduce your water and electricity consumption.
Find an eco-friendly and biodegradable detergent, preferably phosphate-free and with plant-derived ingredients.
Was I a little too intense in this article? Probably. But fast fashion and the effects of the fashion industry is a real issue that we need to deal with before it's too late. In my own experience, having a more sustainable wardrobe is easier than you think, you just have to adapt it to your own lifestyle. Here's what I do to have a sustainable wardrobe:
Reduce consumption; I on average only buy around 10-12 new pieces of clothing per year, mostly from op shops or high-quality brands (mainly because I can't afford to buy new clothing all the time).
Experimentation with my current wardrobe; every week I spend a few hours trying on different outfits and experiment with different ways to wear pieces I already have.
Sustainable washing - I only hand wash my clothing once a week, to make sure that I don’t damage the fabric by using a washing a machine and to reduce my electricity usage. I also air dry all of my washing to further reduce my footprint.
Creating a style that's not trend-driven; when creating my personal style, whilst I look at social media for inspiration, I don't pay attention to the latest fast fashion trends so I don't impulse buy things that I won't wear ever again.
I've been doing these things for around six months, and it's made my wardrobe so much easier to deal with. And if I, a fashion marketing student, can do this, then I'm sure you can too. So maybe have a second thought before buying that $10 shirt from H&M, okay? It might be cute, but the environmental impacts and underpaid workers aren't worth it.