How To Build A Conscious Wardrobe

A few tips…It’s natural to read the weekly news headlines and despair. Imagine everyone could get dressed in the morning and not have to worry our clothing caused environmental destruction? Yes, please! And we could champion local and sustainable brands. Knowing the people who produced the clothes were treated fairly and paid for their work. Fast fashion is not eco-friendly and is rife with greenwashing. Zara recently pledged to only use sustainable fabrics by 2025 and yet continue to mass-produce clothing at an unprecedented rate.  However, we can fight back with our wallets on an individual basis with these five tips for a more conscious wardrobe.

Tips For A Conscious Wardrobe

Invest in Better Quality

Note that better quality doesn’t always mean a higher price point. Generally speaking, the best way to check the quality of a garment is to go into the shop and have a good look. Check the seams and buttons and make sure they aren’t falling apart. How often have you had buttons fall off a garment within days of buying it? Garment workers these days usually have to make clothes with speed and haste. Does the material feel like it could last the test of time? A cotton dress made with densely woven threads will last much longer than one you can see through. Try on the garment and see how it fits and how it makes you feel. Does it drape well on your body? The better you feel while wearing clothes, the more you will wear them, and less waste ends up a landfill.

Buy from Ethical Brands

Most of us would prefer to buy from brands that are designing wisely and pay a fair wage to the people who make the fabrics and clothes. There are so many good ethical brands out there! They are doing great things from keeping traditional artisanal skills alive to designing new and improved eco fabrics and solutions. One person selling their handmade goods at a market or Etsy can be an ethical brand; it just means they are creating in the best way possible. Both for the environment and the people involved. Following ethical fashion websites like Slow Fashion World make it easier to find these brands. And sign up to email newsletters from any sustainable brands you like the look of, they often have sales at the end of the season, which makes it easier to afford.

Rent, Borrow or Swap

Are you going somewhere fancy and have nothing to wear? Rent your evening wear instead of buying new; rental websites and shops are popping up everywhere. Which means you can wear something beautiful and pass it on to the next person to use. But don’t forget your friends’ wardrobes too, borrowing with permission can open up a whole new wardrobe without shopping for new. Clothing swaps are brilliant, and they are becoming more popular also. Try searching on Facebook to see if there are any in your area, if not, organise your own!

Buy Vintage

Newsflash: The clothes of the past are very similar to the styles of today. Some of the most stylish have dressed in vintage for years. I remember a photo of Kate Moss wearing a dress from the 1930s in 2007, and she looked fantastic. Albeit not the best example, as the dress started deteriorating as she wore it! But I’ve often thought of it since and it almost became more beautiful because it was imperfect and didn’t last. Preloved clothing can be anything you want it to be. Whatever your style or budget, there is a secondhand option for you. Just watch out for eighty old silk pieces, they might not endure the night.

Use It What You Already Own

Can you remember everything that’s in your wardrobe? I’m obsessed with curating my small capsule wardrobe, and even I forget so don’t be fooled into thinking you have nothing to wear. Furthermore, take the time to try on your clothes and find new wearable outfits from what you already own. It sounds simple, but I’ve lost count of the times I’ve found a new outfit combo using clothes I previously owned. Marketing puts pressure on us every day to buy new clothes for every event in life, but the chances are you have something perfect already hanging in your wardrobe.

For more sustainable fashion info

100 Ways to Embrace Sustainable Fashion