3 Forms of Sustainable Fashion

Shopping sustainably can seem intimidating, but there isn’t just one way to do it.

As the generation of environmentally conscious consumers continues to rise, people are trying to find various ways to help the planet without breaking the bank. If you are one of these people, look not further! Here are three ways to shop for sustainable fashion.

1. Second-hand/Vintage

In recent years, second-hand shopping has become the new normal amongst Gen Z and millennials. With that has come the consumer desire to buy “vintage” pieces. What started as local Goodwills and church sponsored thrift shops has expanded to consignment boutiques and online resale sites aimed at keeping a clothing’s life cycle alive. Shopping second-hand is not only “trendy” and often more affordable than buying from the original retailer, it also is an environmentally sustainable practice.

While retailers are now learning and, hopefully, actively trying to reduce textile waste, shopping second-hand allows consumers to do their part in keeping clothing out of garbage dumps and incinerators. By donating clothes when they are no longer useful to you, the clothes are given another chance to be worn and get the most use out of them as possible.

Buying pre-loved items limits the amount of new products needed to be made, thus reducing the overall emissions throughout various aspects of the fashion industry.

2. Upcycle

The most unique way to make your clothes last longer is by upcycling what you already have and make it into something new! Sustainability is all about ensuring that something will last a long time and so by upcycling your clothing, you are extending the item’s lifetime.

Some ways to upcycle your clothes are by cutting torn jeans into shorts or, if you are crafty enough, sewing together various pieces of clothing to make a new and one-of-a-kind shirt. If you’re lucky enough, you can have a win-win situation like my sister who bought an upcycled shirt from a second-hand store!

3. Buy Made to Last

Finally, if you’re not having the best luck finding what you need from second-hand shops and the clothes you have now just can’t be upcycled, buying new clothes from sustainable brands is great! Brands that make clothes with the intention for them to last a long time are better to support than the alternate fast fashion brands that don’t have the same environmental goals as the former. Brands such as Levi’s, Patagonia, and Everlane are committed to reducing their environmental footprint and deserve support when buying second-hand and upcycling is not an option!

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Works Cited:

Iva Jestratijevic, Nancy A Rudd. Six Forms of Sustainable Fashion. Trends in Textile & Fashion Designing 2(4)-2018. LTTFD.MS.ID.000145. DOI: 10.32474/LTTFD.2018.02.000145.