Sustainable Wardrobe Choices – The Antidote to Fast Fashion

Now that more people are getting out and about again, you might be thinking about what to wear. Perhaps you feel that your wardrobe needs an update. Now that you are heading into a workplace again, or meeting up with friends or family that you have not seen in a long time, you might be thinking about what you need in this department.

Making sustainable wardrobe choices does not mean you can’t look good. But buying into fast fashion is never the right choice. Before you rush out to buy new clothes, here are some options to consider:

Find Ways To Love Your Own Old Clothes Again

Take some time to go through your existing wardrobe. You might find some old clothes there that could be given a new lease of life. You might be able to make some small repairs. You may also be able to alter clothes that are slightly too big or too small by letting out or taking in seams, or altering a hem line. You might even be able to turn old items of clothing into something entirely new.

Find Second Hand Clothes To Add to Your Wardrobe

Second hand most definitely does not have to be second rate. Find second hand clothes for free, from friends perhaps, or from free sites online. You can also buy second hand clothes – from charity shops, online, or from vintage stores, for example.

If you really love fashion – and want to stay up to date, consider renting clothes rather than buying them. But it is better to support sustainable fashion companies rather than supporting the damaging status quo.

When You Do Buy New, Buy Less and Buy Better

Creating a more sustainable fashion and textiles industry begins with examining the materials that are used to make them in the first place. Fortunately, there are materials that we can choose that are better for people and planet. 

Rather than choosing synthetic materials made from plastic, derived from fossil fuels, we can choose natural, sustainable materials. Ideally, we should choose fabrics like organic cotton, hemp, linen, nettle fabrics and perhaps sustainably produced wool.

We can also consider modern, semi-synthetic materials, like Tencel TM. Tencel is a soft, versatile fabric with great breathability, made from a pulp made from wood pulp or bamboo. Unlike plastics, and like fully natural materials, it will naturally biodegrade over time.

But it is important to remember that even the most eco-friendly and sustainable clothes out there still came at a cost, in terms of energy, land, water and other resources.

So it is important to create a pared-back, capsule wardrobe of items that will really last if you really want to be sustainable when it comes to what you wear.

If you need some help to create your own sustainable wardrobe, please do get in touch.