If you've seen the recent statistics about the fashion industry and the pollution levels it creates, you'll be as shocked as I am. But when you start to research into this topic, the advice can be confusing as it is still being heavily explored and there are a lot of complexities.
I'm new to this topic and wanted to share with you what I have found to be useful advice and changes I've been making to start the eco-friendly transition.
'Sustainable fashion is as a system in which supply, production, and consumption of fashion products have been designed in a way that ensures environmental, social and economic sustainability' RUEEN AMIRIARA
It is important in reducing the amount of water, chemicals, energy consumption when producing clothing and in turn, relieving the excessive overflow of landfills.
What we need to know is that us, as individuals, can play a part in changing the habits we've fallen into when it comes to clothing, buying and throwing away. The biggest problem is with the large scale companies themselves. But if enough people are changing and wanting change from these companies, that's when we will see a change.
1. The easiest thing you can start to do is to never throw any clothing into the bin.
The clothing that we throw away will ultimately end up in landfill. What we can do to prevent this is to reuse, sell or donate. If you are a sewist like me, look at your unwanted garments as just 'fabric' and think of something new you could make with it, a bag or a new clothing item maybe? You could even update a piece of clothing by altering it, add embroidery or iron - on's. I love the idea of creating clothing that is totally unique!
If this isn't an option, you could donate your clothing to charities instead. Selling second hand clothing is so popular at the moment, so anything that is still in good condition but you just don't wear it, try selling on places like ebay, depop etc..
- Find your nearest Salvation Army donation bank - http://www.satradingco.org/banks/finder
Salvation Army - "Everything you donate is re-sold, reused or recycled, helping us lessen our impact on the environment while raising money to support our projects throughout the UK."
- Find your nearest British Heart Foundation bank - https://www.bhf.org.uk/search/location-search
BHF - "More than ever before our charity shops need your preloved good quality clothes, bags, shoes, books, music, DVDs, toys and more. Use the handy drop points outside our shops to donate items today, or for your best quality donations use our freepost donation service. Your donations hep to fund life saving research. Thank you for your support."
These are just a few of the charities collection unwanted items but if you research 'donate clothing' you'll find so many companies providing this service.
( I like to make sure that I donate to charities that re-sell/recycle rather than companies that collection items because I trust that my clothing is going to good use and won't untimely end in landfill. )
2. Try to buy 'Organic'
The micro-fibres used when producing cotton for example aren't good for the environment and end up polluting the oceans and the water we use. The minuscule partials are nearly impossible to clean up but will have long term effects on the environment. 'Organic cotton' using no chemicals when growing the cotton and uses a LOT less water in production.
If you'd like more info on this, as it does go a lot deeper than I've just explained, this is good website to check out -http://aboutorganiccotton.org/
This might not be possible for everyone, organic clothing can be more expensive and not as accessible. But if we are educated in this topic, we might be more mindful in the future and buy less of the heavily manufactured clothing.
3. Buy long lasting items
We've all fallen into the fast fashion trap at some point I'm sure! The huge demand for new and constantly changing trends has had in impact on how we shop. The idea of buying a new outfit for less has become the new normal and with such affordable pricing, we tend to buy a lot more regularly than we need to without thinking long term. Hence the term 'fast fashion.'
The issue with this is that we are buying low quality pieces of clothing that won't last us as long. Therefore being thrown away and a new outfit being bought and that cycle goes on. If we invest in clothing we absolutely love, are long lasting and of a better quality (if possible) we are lowing the amount of waste we are creating and in the long term probably saving some money too!
This goes back to my point about educating ourselves on how clothing is produced. If we know more, we will probably be less likely to binge on cheaper clothing. But if your budget is tight, it's ok to buy cheap, as long as you get good use out of what you buy and don't over-shop! So if you're looking to get something new, make sure you absolutely love it and know you'll get a lot of use out of it. As Marie Kondo would advise - Does it spark joy?
4. Make your clothes last longer
Going on from the last point, if your clothing does become faulty in any way, try to fix it. There's a lot of videos and tutorials out there on mending holes in clothes etc.. so rather than discarding your clothing, mend it!
Wash you clothing less, and make sure you are washing correctly. I'm guilty of chucking everything in together and hoping for the best, but a lot of items get damaged or discoloured this way, shortening the life of the item.
For a more in depth look into sustainable fashion, this is a very informative read-
https://wtvox.com/sustainable-fashion/sustainable-fashion/
Let me know your thoughts and any tips you have when it comes to sustainable fashion!
Kym x
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