How to better embrace sustainable fashion
Climate change is real. Our environment has been degrading in front of our eyes for a while, a lot of it due to greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. I am sure many of you are familiar with the usual modes of environmental consciousness, whether that would be through recycling, saving energy, not using straws, taking public transportation, eating locally, etc. However, environmentalism is more intersectional than you think. If you really think about it, you can integrate environmental sustainability to almost every discipline whether that is healthcare, education, corporate sector, engineering, technology, social work, journalism, design, private and public sectors, etc. More specifically, I will be focusing on sustainability in the fashion industry, also important because if you buy and wear clothes, which is most of you, you are a customer of the fashion industry. Plus, my expertise lies in that too.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty details of sustainable fashion and how to embrace it, I would like to point out that much of sustainable fashion is elitist and classist. Then again, much of environmental sustainability is. When you are low income and trying to make ends meet, environmental sustainability is not usually the first thing you would think about. When you are grocery shopping and you are short on money, you would be more focused on what is going to keep you full for the cheapest price possible. We can go further into how many low-income areas are food deserts that lack grocery stores in nearby proximities. We can go further and talk additionally about how for many low-income individuals, junk food is an immediate luxury that they can afford because they tend to think more on the short-term, because maybe tomorrow they will not be able to have it so enjoy it now. I am coming at this from a privileged point of view as I am lucky to have never grown up hungry but I would like to believe I have adequate empathy to see their point-of-view and understand why environmentally sustainability is not a universally achievable concept.
With fashion, it is no exception as many low-income individuals tend to emphasize affordability over anything else when it comes to fashion. If the affordable fashion happens to look trendy, a plus! Many of them do shop at secondhand stores, which I will mention later that is a method in embracing sustainable fashion in a more affordable manner. However, much of sustainable fashion emphasize quality over everything else but the prices are usually out of this world. Then again, much of the fashion industry has a classist and elitist tone as many fashionistas scoff at people who cannot afford a certain trend or afford vital wardrobe pieces. Sustainable fashionistas may scoff at people who still shop at fast fashion retailers and can’t afford to pay more to have their fashion be more environmentally sustainable.
I think of fast fashion as like the fast food of the fashion industry: new styles come out almost every week, made under inhumane conditions, expedite each part of the supply chain, and get disposed relatively quickly because their durability is questionable as quality is compromised for an expedited supply chain and product life cycle. Fast food, you can also say the quality is majorly compromised for quick results. Since a lot of clothing materials are petroleum-based (i.e. polyester, acrylic), they are plastic in cloth form and take forever to degrade in the landfill like most plastics do. Fast fashion is horrible in so many ways but I am not about to shame people for shopping at those retailers because it is extremely difficult to avoid them. Just like converting to a vegetarian/vegan diet, you must gradually ease into the lifestyle change. With fast fashion being everywhere and a huge temptation for affordable fashionistas (myself included), take the first step in consuming less fast fashion items by shopping there less. Even with most types of clothes shopping (many brands have transitioned their supply chains and life cycles to that of fast fashion because it brings in more profit), a good first step is to shop less altogether. If you decide to only buy pieces you really, really like and know you will wear often, you are already on a good path toward being a sustainable fashionista. Many people do not wear everything they own in their wardrobe.
It is also more environmentally and financially sustainable to keep your clothes for as long as you can rather than throwing them out every season or buying new clothes frequently. However, if you do want to or need to clean out your wardrobe, sell your newer/trendier pieces to consignment stores (i.e. Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads, Plato’s Closet, etc.). If they do not take most of your pieces, then take them to thrift stores. Do your research on which thrift stores you want to donate to as some have questionable morals (i.e. Salvation Army, Goodwill), local ones are usually a good bet. You can also hold a clothing swap with your friends to exchange pieces, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”. You can look up local clothing swaps if none of your friends have any clothes to swap or you want more variety. The rule with most clothing swaps is that you can only take as many clothes as you bring to swap. If you do need to buy more or new clothes, there are plenty of options out there to do so. Do research on brands’ sustainability before you shop and it would be worth saving up some money to do so (i.e. if you need a new jacket, Patagonia is a good brand; Everlane has good wardrobe essentials, Reformation is a good example, DL1961). Good news is many outdoor brands are relatively good about sustainability because their business depends on preserving the outdoors and making durable goods to do so, a two-fold reason.
Just like veganism, do not try to preach sustainable fashion like it’s some religion everyone must follow. Be friendly about it and people will feel more welcome to go on their own sustainable fashion journey. Also remember the most sustainable way to approach fashion is to buy and wear less clothes but there are always options to refresh your wardrobe when you need to, whether it’d be buying secondhand or investing in a quality piece.
Story originally published on my blog at octaviasun.wordpress.com, edited for this platform.
