The Foundation of a Sustainable Wardrobe

Nowadays, following the latest trends has become so easy because of how affordable and accessible clothing has become. However, this fast fashion system has a price. The apparel industry has been producing various garments in bulk just to sell more, and very few of them have stopped to think about the impact they are leaving on the planet.

Dressing ethnically and sustainably for any occasion is what every single person should strive for. Believe it or not, clothes that are made of sustainable materials can look utterly sophisticated, and for that reason, and many others, you have no excuse not to alter and revive your wardrobe.

But where to start? These five methods are the best foundation to start a strong and sustainable wardrobe.

Shop Secondhand

Before you completely switch to sustainable apparel, you can start by combining the things that you already own with some reusable and sustainable clothes. Visit a nearby secondhand store, and see what is there for you. 

You might find a captivating black dress or a brown leather jacket or purse that will go meticulously with the coat you already own. Buying vintage clothes worn by others is a fantastic way to go green and think about the environment. Just because somebody else has thrown it out, doesn’t mean there is something wrong with it.

Consider Eco-friendly Materials

When it comes to the clothing industry, a huge environmental impact is determined by the production of hazardous chemicals. Therefore, when you do buy new, you should strive to choose natural, biodegradable, and reusable materials, like cotton, hemp, wool, linen, and even recycled plastic.

Nowadays, you can find a full outfit of green pieces including shoes, shirts, and trousers that are made from quality, recycled materials. In this way, not only are you helping to protect the planet, but you also have the chance to wear top-notch equipment with sustainable materials. A win-win option.

Shop Trans-seasonal Clothes

Waiting for the summer or winter season can be a tedious task, and very often, trends tend to shift in a blink of an eye. What happens is that you end up buying things that you are either never going to wear, or ones that very often go out of fashion.

One very useful way to upgrade your wardrobe into a more sustainable one is to buy clothes that you are going to wear at all times. Invest in buying a good pair of jeans, tees, blazers, or some everyday dresses.

Climate plays an important role when you are aiming to stay sustainable, so consider the seasonal weather change and buy what you can see yourself wearing for multiple seasons.

Do Thorough Research

Very often when we set our mind to buy a certain apparel piece, we don’t tend to check the label. In order to change your perspective to a more sustainable outlook, you might want to alter this habit. Before you head out to your favourite store, do thorough online research on the company to see what they are doing to improve the labour conditions of their garment workers. 

What is more, on a company’s webpage should be some information under a ‘Sustainability’ tab, where you can easily find out what their aim is to reduce harm to the planet, or go to third-party sites dedicated to fashion sustainability that focus on knowing the way clothes are produced.

Quality Over Quantity

Aside from ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, another important mantra to keep in mind when shopping and dressing sustainably is ‘buy well, mend, extend’. When we do need to buy a new piece, the trick is to invest well, shopping from brands that are equally led by fantastic design and style, and sustainable practices.

Following that, fixing those holes and rips, altering waistlines and hems to make sure things fit perfectly, and upcycling clothes into new favourites are all ways to curate a more sustainable wardrobe.

Lastly, fashion has become too disposable. Clothes don’t have to be bought new and thrown out when we don’t want them anymore; all we have to do is pick good quality clothing we truly love and that we know we’ll wear even when trends die out.

Revamping your wardrobe with sustainable clothes takes time and effort, but the end result is priceless. Curating a sustainable wardrobe is a journey that is full of fun and creativity and is all about finding your style, owning it, and loving what you wear while keeping in mind a lower footprint on the planet and more respect for the people who make our clothes.