Take away the cigarettes and the natural blonde hair, and I’m turning into Carrie Bradshaw – meaning, I went shopping to cure my writer’s block. I had been sitting in front of the same screen, struggling to find the purpose behind my words.
And I really did find them in the Forever 21 dressing room, trying on a cherry-printed sundress. A cherry-printed sundress, that I almost bought by the way. Almost, because, I was quickly humbled by my boyfriend who said, “I like it but it looks like fast fashion”. I’ve taught him so well!
The hard truth is that Fashion is the third most polluting industry, just behind energy and transportation. And not only is the Fast Fashion industry polluting, wasting water (and still somehow letting people wear crocs), it’s contributing a whole 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions.
But, shopping is hard. How do we align our ethics with our favorite brands and where do we compromise?
For the last couple of years, I have committed to reducing my carbon footprint when it comes to fashion. And that’s not to say, that I don’t slip sometimes (especially when I’m in desperate need of a dress, it’s 8pm and Forever 21 is all I have left) but I have come up with shopping boundaries.
For starters, I will not shop at Shein, Romwe, Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing, or Missguided. Small “nevers” that may one day add up and make a difference because frankly, I shop a lot.
It is undoubtedly the moral culpability of these brands to stop forced labor and overproduction. We as consumers validate this unethical behavior every time we press “add to cart”. When we make a conscious decision to limit our clothing waste, we become a part of the solution instead.
Let’s start small with these 6 easy ways YOU can commit to reducing your closet’s carbon footprint!
- Share Hey look, a new way to guilt your sister into lending you that top!
If anybody knows that “sharing is caring” it’s a college girl on a Friday night. Because when bras are flying and Tanologist bottles are being cranked out, there are no boundaries between roomies. And I can’t even tell you how many times my whole entire weekend was saved by my roommate’s wardrobe.
Dressing up in clothes that make you feel comfortable is so important because our outfits are a part of our identities. Developing a personal style is fun and exciting so don’t start compromising your uniqueness to dress like a friend but if you can borrow a piece then all the better!
When you’re living with all your girlfriends, there’s no point in having three American Eagle denim skirts in the house. It’s not like you’d wear them at the same time anyway.
- Rewear Yes, even if you posted in it on Instagram…
Recent studies have focused on the fact that most young women consider an article of clothing to be old after just three wears. It is estimated that the average person wears something 7-10 times before they get rid of it.
This is one of the reasons why Shein is one of the worst companies for the environment. Not only do over 95% of their clothes contain new plastics, they profit on fads. They use cheap production to rapidly release the latest trending item and produce it in throwaways. Because, especially in the age of social media, “Outfit repeaters” get a bad rep. When really, buying high-quality staples will never go out of style.
- Know your wash rules Pee-yew!
Experts have set up recommendations for how often you should wash the following:
- Workout Gear – 1 wear
- Underwear, socks, undershirts – 1 wear
- Shirts – 1 to 2 wears
- Pajamas – 2 to 3 wears
- Most pants – 2 to 3 wears
- Bras – 4 wears
- Jeans – 4 to 5 wears
- Sweaters – up to 6 wears, dependent on undershirts
Of course, and this should go without saying, if clothes have smells or stains they should be washed as soon as possible. There’s mostly no need to wash your clothes every day but use your judgment. I ain’t condoning any BO-ridden shirts to be worn twice!
- Shop Sustainably watch out for greenwashing fools!
One of the coolest things about social media and the digital age is access to information at our fingertips. I don’t really expect everyone to do this but something that helps me decide where to shop is a quick google search on the ethics behind where I shop. This is one of the most difficult things to filter as a consumer because many think well, how are we supposed to know where our clothes come from? Which is silly because we should. We know where most of our resources come from, including food, so why not clothes. Many brands have begun to vow to a standard of ethics and sustainability so if your favorite brand is still not transparent about this 🚩
Clothing brands aren’t perfect and if we swear off every one of them we’ll be left, well…naked. So, vowing to be more conscious of how often you shop at a certain place or what an equally priced alternative might look like could be the start to a more sustainable wardrobe.
- Thrift & Gift wear those hand-me-downs!
I am not going to try and act like I am a thrift store connoisseur because I have never boughten anything directly from a thrift store. But, what I do is follow Instagram accounts that repurpose or resell clothing. My favorites are either @averageguythrifts or @covetboston on Instagram, especially for luxury vintage finds. Keeping clothes in the fashion circuit for longer, avoids greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and exploitation.
However, when gifting or donating items, it is our responsibility to understand where these may end up.
The following to links will be the most effective in teaching you how the fast fashion industry and its leftover ‘donations’ are deteriorating the planet.
- Try before you buy know the hazards of returns
Besides the obvious waste of packaging that returning a too mini mini-skirt, returns themselves can actually wind up in landfills. In fact, an estimated 5 billion pounds of returned goods end up in landfills each year. Few times do returned clothes actually end up on the rack, even if it’s clearance. Major companies, like Amazon, who frankly don’t care about the environment, will trash or carbonize returns because processing and reselling items costs more than destroying them.
It is important to understand that when you are ordering an article of clothing online, they are often made by the masses. Then, when a store does not sell as many units as expected or prints mistakes, these pieces are sent to landfills. That is why brands that utilize “pre-order” features or make pieces as their ordered are favorable. Companies like Nuuly, Stich Fix, and Rent the Runway keep pieces in the market without overordering.
Legally Beau Monde 