Four Ways to Practice Sustainable Fashion

Long gone are the days when sustainable fashion wasn’t actually fashionable. While the ethical fashion movement used to refer to Birkenstocks or granola clothes, a growing number of eco-conscious designers and clothing brands are making sustainable clothing fashionable. So if you’re a fan of Zara, now it’s time to think again, big. To save the earth, these easy tips will help you be more sustainable while still maintaining great style.

Stop Buying From Fast Fashion Brands

It’s simple. Stop buying fast fashion. As chronic consumers, every time we go to the checkout, we are voting with our wallets. When you purchase at fast fashion stores that don’t meet ethical or environmental standards to sell at low prices, you are signaling that profit is more important to you than sustainable supply chains. Consumers are getting smarter these days, but so are fast fashion brands. Most of the sustainable and recycling programs you see are nothing more than greenwashing marketing schemes to fool naive consumers. But not you, not anymore. 

Buy Less Clothing

As much as it hurts, buying less fashion is the best way to make it sustainable. While it may not seem ideal, it’s an important step. The fashion cycle can be slowed down, even just a little, to reduce the number of clothes produced and thrown away. Don’t buy trendy, cheap pieces that you will only wear once. Instead, invest in high-quality pieces that will last for many seasons. It is important to support sustainable fashion brands if you have the means to do so. If you don’t have the money to buy expensive and ethical brands, wear vintage clothing instead. Even if you don’t have the budget, you can still wear vintage and sustainable clothes 

Wear Clothes More Often Between Washes

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard the term microplastics a lot lately. We won’t go into details here. These pieces of plastic are bad news for the ocean. These pieces of plastic are like little Mitch McConnell’s with a length of 5 mm. Many of the most popular fabrics are made of plastic-based fibers that can contain a long list of toxic chemicals. If you’re wearing nylon, rayon, and spandex, you’re basically wearing plastic.  A single load of clothing can create up to 700,000 microfibers. Microfibers, mostly plastic, can leak out in a single load.

Multiply this figure by the number of loads of laundry you do per week. It is important to only wash a garment when it is absolutely necessary. Most clothes can be worn several times before they need to be washed. A Tide to Go pen or a bottle of Chanel #5 can make a big difference.

 Get Rid of Unwanted Clothes Properly

One thing to remember is that clothes don’t have to be thrown away. According to the Sustainable and Recycled Textiles Association, 95% of textiles can be recycled or reused. In a survey by Savers, 62% of people throw away items because they think they won’t be accepted by a donation center. This is a common mistake. You can reuse items like insulation or rags, even if they are not suitable for resale. Even your old linens can be used for a good cause.

Avoid fast fashion brands that offer in-store recycling. These companies don’t want to save the environment, they just want you to buy more, often with a coupon as a thank you, to purchase more.