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Tips for Sustainable Clothing
When I hear someone say the word sustainable two things go through my mind.
1.) Yay for green practices!
2.) Wait a minute! How much is this going to cost me?
Now, I know having a green Earth should come before having a wallet full of green, but there has to be a way to do both.
One of the simplest ways you can save money and the environment is with your wardrobe. You can buy less clothing, buy used clothing, and really consider which fabrics you purchase to ensure that caring for the clothing doesn’t add pollution to the environment.
1.) Buy Used – The more often you can purchase used items, no matter what they’re made of, the more you can save the environment; not to mention money. Clothing manufacturing takes a lot from the environment, including water, and adds a lot of bad stuff back into the environment in the form of waste and chemicals.
Where can you buy used clothes?
Consignment stores – These stores act as middle men between people trying to sell clothes and people wanting to buy used clothes. They normally look closely at clothes to make sure that seams are good, zippers work, and that there are no stains.
Thrift Stores – Goodwill, Salvation Army, Rescue Missions, and so many more. These stores most often have items donated to them. Employees sort through the donations to put on the floor. They do try to put the best stuff on the floor, but things can sometimes slip by. Make sure that you check zippers, buttons, seams, pockets, and check for stains.
Facebook Marketplace & Craigslist – These can hold some gems and some duds. Get as much information about the garment as possible, as many pictures as you can. Be safe, meet in a public place.
Yard Sales – If you are willing to wake up early and drive a few places, this can be your best bet. Yard sales are great for clothing because they are normally marked even lower than the thrift stores.
Online Consignment – I have no experience with these, but I have heard good things.
2.) Consider Hemp – The great thing about hemp is how environmentally friendly it is. It doesn’t need pesticides to grow and it doesn’t need chemicals to process it into fabric for clothing. It’s also highly renewable.
The cost of hemp based anything used to be pretty expensive because being licensed to grow industrial hemp was expensive. More and more states are now being able to grow hemp and because supply and demand are in sync, the costs have been going down while the quality has been going up.
3.) Don’t Wash Your Clothes Each Time You Wear Them – Just because you wear something doesn’t mean it’s dirty. You can hang most things outside on a line to air out instead of washing them to allow body oils to evaporate and smells to dissolve.
If you live in an area where you don’t have access to an outdoor line, you can still do this inside. The trick to doing this inside is to make sure you are giving your clothes enough space. Don’t just hang it back in the closet. Let it breath. Hang it on the shower bar for the night. Hang it on an indoor rack. Something I like to do is hang it on the shower bar while I have my essential oil diffuser running.
4.) Line Dry for Longevity and a Great Smell – Dryers are hard on your laundry. Zippers can snag more delicate fabrics, knits develop those annoying little balls, printed t-shirts end up cracking, and those deep pocket sheets are now as deep as the pockets on a women’s pair of dress slacks. You can line dry many things and they’ll actually turn out a lot nicer. Sweaters, sheets, jeans, and many shirts actually smell better and feel better line dried if you know what you’re doing. The trick is to use less detergent to ensure that they’re rinsed well before hanging dry.
5.) Avoid Dry Cleaning – Dry cleaning is really just cleaning with dangerous chemicals instead of water. There are so many choices now that look wonderful, hold their shape, and are still business like, without buying dry clean only fabrics. Read all the labels in order to avoid these fabrics as often as possible.
If you have to purchase dry clean only clothing, instead of having them dry cleaned treat spots the minute they happen with either water (for water soluble stains) or a small amount of the cheap vodka to get rid of stains. You can also dry brush or steam to clean. Or, you can hand wash in a gentle detergent and hang dry.
So, avoiding dry cleaning nixes the nasty chemicals and keeps you from paying someone else to wash your clothes.
6.) Use Water Saving Washers – Front loading washers not only uses less water, but they’re actually gentler on the clothing fibers thus helping your clothing last longer. The fewer times you get your clothes wet the longer they’re going to last, the more water you save and the fewer new items you will need.
{{if you pay for your water, this means smaller water bill}}
7.) Look for Ethically Produced Clothing – Whether you buy vegan, artisan, locally produced, or organic materials, buy clothing that is produced in an ethical way as to avoid as much pollution as possible. Clothing produced ethically also means opportunity, fair wages, and better work environments. This will have a higher upfront cost, but it is worth it. Plus, buying well-made clothing will always last much longer.
8.) Be Careful with Cotton – Not all cotton is created equal. Be careful about buying cotton items. You want to only buy organic, ethically produced cotton that avoids pesticides and chemicals for processing.
These small thoughtful changes can make your clothing last longer, as well as help the environment by not consuming more than you need and adding too much pollution the environment. Don’t worry; you can still be fashionable without being wasteful.
On a side note, if you are the more daring type and want to cut down what clothes you have try the 333 challenge. It’s a minimalist approach to fashion. The people that practice it free up their closets and storage spaces and still look amazing.
