How to Be Sustainably Fashionable

October 28, 2019
Posted by Fatema Presswala
- 0 comments

How to be Fashionable Sustainably

Sustainable fashion has become one of the most debated topics in world forums and seminars. Many people are becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability to the environment and society. Young people especially, seem to be more open towards the idea of a sustainable fashion. As a result, companies are improving their products and moving towards this cause mainly to attract young people to get their products. But what is it actually? Sustainable fashion is a cause to drive and transform the fashion system towards a more integrated ecology and social justice. It is not only focusing on the production of fashion produce or textiles, but it consists of the fashion system itself as a whole.

1] Be Well-Informed

When I first started my journey for this cause a year back, I could barely think about how I can start with it. Almost every shop that I went to had very little to no consciousness about sustainable fashion. Initiating the first step to being sustainable in fashion is one of the most difficult steps to take. Most importantly, you need to figure out where to shop for sustainable garments that fit your needs. Nowadays, it is easier to find sustainable-focused brands compared to back then. We have various brands such as H&M, Bottletop, Reformation and many more which are certified and recommended by Eco-Age. Once you have done your research enough, you will have a lot of brands to choose from for your sustainable fashion journey.

Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/people-man-woman-couple-jacket-2603521/

2] Shop Vintage and Second Hand

Vintage and second-hand clothing are great options if you are starting on a sustainable fashion. According to Emma Watson on her Press Tour account, a new clothing has produced a large amount of carbon footprints during its production, but zero energy is released for vintage clothing. She also added that about 132m metrics tons of coal are used for dyeing, manufacturing new fibres as well as bleaching the garments needed for the clothing. Not only that, there are about 6-9 trillion litres of water is also used in the industry. This has proven that vintage and second-hand clothes play a major role in a sustainable fashion.

Worrying about what your squad would say about your outfit? Who cares? You’re on the journey to save the planet, if they are ashamed to walk with someone who wore second hands, then it’s their loss and they’d regret it later!

Source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/second-hand-lettering-dresses-2353682/

3] Seasonal Clothing

Another thing to note when it comes to sustainable fashion is whether or not you would wear the clothes you're buying all year-round. If you live in a hot country like UAE, don’t spend your money on winter clothes as if you’re living in a cold and rainy country! It would only suffocate you. Instead, go for standard clothing like T-shirt, jeans, coats and jackets which you know you would wear on a daily basis.

Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/person-woman-girl-young-female-768422/

4] Donate Your Unwanted Clothes

“Charity should begin at home but, should not stay there!” If you are triggered by this quote, then you really need to start taking action to become a better person. Donating old clothes is a good charity cause besides sustaining the active years of your clothes. Passing it to someone else would make others become more sustainable. Donating unwanted clothes may seem difficult at first, but there’s one way that could help to overcome the withdrawal syndrome. That is, the one-in one-out policy where you donate a cloth and buy a new one every time. That way, you’d feel less regret donating your clothes to people knowing that you’ll get a new, better quality one.

Source:https://freerangestock.com/photos/80444/give-dice-mean-contribute-donate-or-bestow.html

5] Taking Care of Your Clothes

During the early years of our life, we’d wear recycled clothes from our older cousins and wonder how they could be so well-kept. It seems simple and pretty standard, yet it is the most important aspect of sustainable fashion. Taking care of your clothes properly would result in you not having to buy more new clothes over time unless you need to. Furthermore, this does not only apply for more expensive clothing from the high-end brands, but also to every clothes that you own. This could save you a lot of money and make you appreciate your clothes more, bringing sentimental values to it. Furthermore, you would get to wear them longer too!

Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-love-sunset-shape-sign-3147976/

6] Learn How to Fix Your Own Clothes

I was going out with a friend of mine who can be considered as a fashionista when she said to me “Your outfit is superb! Where did you get those?” I replied, “I made them”. She went awestruck and couldn’t believe it because last time she saw my outfit, she was complaining about how outdate my outfit was all the time!

Ripped jeans or clothes does not necessarily mean that they have to be thrown away and can’t be worn anymore. There are many DIY videos on YouTube which you could learn from to fix your clothing. Follow those tips and guidelines, and you’ll see how your clothing would turn out looking anew, if not, better. Another good thing about it is that you might get to design your own clothing into a new one, without having to pay for a professional!

Source:https://pixabay.com/photos/leather-sewing-machine-clothing-768245/

7] Quality Over Quantity

Think about when choosing for people to be in your circle. Would you still back up your 10 friends who mostly backstab you, or would you choose a few who are truly kind to you? if you are a sane human being, you’d definitely choose the latter. That’s how it works for quality clothing - quality clothing from high-end brands would cost you a lot more and limits the clothes that you can buy. However, it is better that way as expensive clothes tends to last longer and comes with good quality too. Rather than buying 60 pieces of cheap clothing with a large carbon footprint, buy 30 pieces of high-quality clothing which are eco-friendly and barely cost you any carbon footprint at all!