How to have a more sustainable wardrobe.

How we choose to shop for our clothes can have a huge impact on the environment. Recently more brands have been open about where they get their clothing from and how it is made. While most ‘fast fashion’ brands generally get their clothing mass produced in large factories in countries where they can pay little wages, I have recently become aware of different ways I can add to my wardrobe. By becoming more aware of what’s out there we can all make more conscious decisions before purchasing new clothing.

Reduce.

I think the main aim to shopping sustainably is reducing our carbon footprint where possible. This can be done in a variety of ways including:

Hissy Fit Clothing logo. (Taken from Google images).

1. 1. Reduce your online shopping. This one is easier said than done for most of us as online shopping has become really popular over the past few years. When shopping online take note of where the clothes are from. While sites appear to be from Ireland or the UK, their clothing and accessories may have been flown there from countries further away like China or India. This means your clothes have already been transported from the factory to an airport, flown to the destined country, then flown to your country and delivered from the airport to your door. That’s a lot of fuel emission just to get an outfit delivered to your door. Alternatively, we can shop with places such as Hissy Fit (@hissyfitclothing on Instagram). This brand is pretty transparent when it comes to how they source materials. Recently on their story the owner said they source about 80% of their fabrics locally (meaning within England). They also do not mass produce and only have a really small amount of scrap material at the end of each month. By paying attention to where and how clothes are made we can make better decisions when it comes to shopping.
2. Reduce your ‘one time’ shopping. I know it can sometimes feel like the pressure is on when we have an important event or party coming up. This pressure often leads us to purchasing a ‘one time’ outfit. To avoid doing this we can simply swap out a ‘one time’ dress for a suit or co-ord. By purchasing something you can wear multiple times in different styles you are limiting your shopping without leaving yourself with nothing to wear.
3. Reduce your impact by choosing clothes made from primarily organic fabrics. This has a less diminishing effect on the environment.

Re-use.

Once we have gotten a wear out of our clothes we tend not to reach for them as much, or we are inclined to throwing them out. There is no need to throw out clothes just because they get old or are no longer in fashion. Instead, why don’t we re-use out clothes by turning them into something else?

Example of how you can re-vamp an old jacket. (Image taken from google images).

1. Denim jackets are a staple in most peoples wardrobe, and in fairness they never seem to fade completely out of fashion. If your sick of your old denim jacket or its accumulated some stains or rips over the years their is still hope it can be brought back to life. Buying some fabric paint and creating a unique design on the back of your jacket can give it a new lease of life, not to mention give you a completely one off piece for your wardrobe. I’ve recently been noticing these appear at festivals over a basic outfit to help spice it up. Similarly, if you like this idea and feel you’d be able to create some wonderful pieces why not purchase some vintage or old jackets and do them up and sell for a small profit? It could be a really cool way to make some cash.
2. Turning jeans into shorts is another really easy way we can re-use our clothes. Dying shorts with clothes dye or bleach can help to make your shorts feel more you and help you achieve an outfit you have in your head. Longer jeans seem to be really in this summer so cutting jeans just above the knee can help you have a more summer friendly wardrobe while minimising any waste.
3. A lot of bodycon dressed can easily be re-used. Why not cut your dress into a top or crop top? I’ve recently done this with some dressed I had with puffy sleeve detailing. The top half of the dresses were simply too nice to never wear again so I decided to cut off the bottom half and tuck them into jeans or skirts to make an extra outfit out of them.
4. Anyone good with a needle and thread can re-use any scrap material they have from clothes to get extra creative. Scrunchies are really easy to make with left over material and there are hundreds of tutorials on how to make them in YouTube. This is a really easy 5 minute task that can use up all your scraps. Other clothes that come with studs, sequence or patterns can also be used to create some really funky patch work on clothes. Sewing a cool pattern over the pocket of jeans or a denim jacket can make them look completely different and new.

Re-cycle.

Our left over material is often thrown in with regular rubbish and doesn’t end up where its supposed to be. Instead of leaving it to biodegrade somewhere for years we can put our clothes and fabrics where they belong.

An example of what to look for in store when you want to re-cycle clothes at H&M. (Image taken from google images).

1. Why not buy and sell your clothes on Depop? This will help reduce the demand for mass produced clothing and it can also help you get some coin back after buying a really expensive outfit.
2. Donate your clothes. Donating your clothes to a local charity will help get clothes directly to families in need or else they will be sold in a charity shop to help raise much needed funds. This will again mean that you are helping to reduce the demand for ‘fast fashion’ while giving your clothes a new life cycle with someone else.
3. Recycle your clothes. There are tonnes of websites online where you can send your clothes off to be re-cycled. If you live near a H&M you can also drop into their stores with a bag of clothes you wish to recycle and drop them off into one of their recycling bins. People that recycle can also benefit from 15% off their next purchase at H&M.

I know some of these tips on how to have a more sustainable wardrobe require some research but, if you are someone who is concerned with your carbon footprint it is definitely worth looking into to have some peace of mind. I understand sometime we don’t have the time to look into a brand before we place an online order but, if we all chose one thing to do from this list, whether it be donation, researching or recycling our clothes, we’d be one step closer to saving our planet. The small every day stuff can have the biggest impact, so lets start making small every day changes.