If you’re looking to build a sustainable wardrobe, the trick is to go easy on yourself. You cannot set impossible standards and expect to live up to them. You’re already taking the first, important step to make yourself and those around you more aware of the environment.
Every individual’s wardrobe choices can either benefit the environment or harm them. So, you can start by making small yet crucial changes to your wardrobe to create a wardrobe fit for the future.
Making a sustainable wardrobe plan can be fun, challenging, and above all- kind to our precious environment. Here are seven ways to get you started!
1. Tidy Your Wardrobe
Go ahead and give your wardrobe an eco-friendly makeover! You need to see what you have and what you haven’t worn in ages. When your wardrobe is messy, you don’t feel like digging around to find something to wear. This makes you averse to your existing clothes, making you feel like you have nothing to wear, and may make you shop for unnecessary pieces of new clothing.
However, once you have an organised wardrobe, you’ll be surprised about the items you’ll rediscover and the new outfits you can put together. A tidy wardrobe will mostly likely show you have plenty of clothes and don’t need to buy any more.
2. Don’t be Afraid to Repeat
No one will beat you up for wearing an outfit more than once. Repeating outfits or wearing them differently makes for a perfectly sustainable wardrobe. In fact, the more you can wear the same clothes, the more you help the environment.
We tend to set aside clothes just a year or two after purchasing them. However, every t-shirt or pair of trousers you buy has a lifespan much longer than that. It takes an average of 2700 litres of water to manufacture one single piece of clothing. Imagine the amount of water you waste with each new t-shirt or dress you purchase. So, wouldn’t you rather re-wear your clothes than unnecessarily waste so much water?
3. Choose Sustainable Labels
With the rise in consciousness around sustainability and environmental conservation recently, we’ve seen the emergence of a range of sustainable fashion labels. Brands like Celtic & Co make beautiful, sustainable clothing that not only lets you have a trendy wardrobe, but looks after the environment at the same time.
Sustainable fashion brands use materials and manufacturing processes that do not damage the environment. They usually also set up their transportation and supply chains in such a way to minimise their carbon footprint, and may take extra steps such as supporting projects that help the environment and local communities.
4. Upcycle
This is a great way to curate a sustainable yet stylish wardrobe. You can use DIY techniques to make new outfits from old garments. From tie-dye and sequins to fabric paint and 3D printing, there are endless possibilities to create fashion for yourself.
Upcycling piques your creative instincts and also helps you take an important step towards sustainability. When you upcycle your clothes, you generally use very few raw materials, thus reducing the hazardous effects of manufacturing.
5. Donate Old Items
You probably have dozens of items of clothing you never wear anymore. Rather than having these sitting in your wardrobe, donate them your local charity shop or organisation serving those in need.
This will either give someone who is less fortunate than you the chance to expand their limited wardrobe, or allow someone to buy a second-hand item rather than buying a piece of harmful fast fashion.
6. Rent Outfits
You don’t necessarily need to buy something new when a special event comes around. Furthermore, there are times when we buy an outfit for a single occasion, and then that item never again sees the light of day.
Renting is a great solution to not only help the environment but also save a lot of money. You can even choose to rent out accessories like shoes, handbags, jewellery, and more to make for the ideal sustainable wardrobe.
7. Care For Your Garments Responsibly
Not only is the production process water-intensive, but you waste more water when you wash and dry clothes more than necessary. When worn for shorter duration, you can simply air-dry your clothes instead of washing them after every use.
Over-washing clothes not only spoils the colour but also wears out clothes faster. We are not swaying away from hygiene here. All we’re saying is that clothes don’t always get dirty, smelly, or sweaty.
You can simply put them out in the sun, and they’ll be as good as new! Moreover, sustainable brands use natural fabrics that are porous and keep the clothes ventilated. This means that they don’t accumulate foul odours and you can wear them more than once before washing.
Summing Up
Sustainability isn’t just a trend or fad. It’s here for good – in more ways than one. Now is the perfect time to take a step towards helping the environment by being conscious in your fashion choices. It might seem like a small step, but trust us, it makes all the difference.
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