Old Clothes. New Beginnings. Street Style.
By Mary Marino & Ali Slous
I’ve done a lot of things since my long career in the fashion industry. Each one lead me to the next. My latest is a commitment to being a conscious consumer. Changing habits. Changing mindset. Seeing fashion for what it is.
To keep consumers buying the fashion industry has created an unsustainable cycle that makes clothing disposable. And we’ve bought right into it! We buy five times more clothing now than we did in the 1980s, (The Atlantic). The average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing each year. Only 15% of this gets reused or recycled, the rest ends up in landfills giving textiles the poorest recycling rates of any reusable material. These were some uncomfortable facts to a lifelong clothes horse like me.
It’s a big buzzword in the fashion world – but what does sustainable really mean and how do we, as individuals, do it? It starts with us knowing more about what we’re buying. Sustainability is defined as a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged. Applied to the fashion industry, it means:
For businesses it’s a shift in the way textiles are manufactured, constructed, and marketed in a socially responsible and environmentally-conscious way. Throughout the lifecycle of production, strategies would be in place to mitigate negative human and environmental impacts.
For an individual it’s a greater commitment to positively influence the fashion industry by using our purchasing power for good. This includes practical changes to our clothing care, shopping, and reuse, as well as slowing down the accumulation of new items.
We cannot change the fashion industry all at once, we can affect personal changes through more thoughtful behaviors and spending habits. Here are a few ideas to get started:
Wash and dry clothes less.
Certain items (hello, underwear!) need to be washed after every wear, other items can be worn multiple times before laundering. This is a good clothing care strategy because washing and drying processes cause garments to wear out sooner; and frequent washes and dries necessitate the use of more detergent, water, and power.
A good rule of thumb as to whether an item needs washing is whether you used it for a strenuous activity or were in an environment where it might have absorbed smells or other toxins. If not, it can be put back in the closet for 2-3 more wears – or more – before washing.Mend and/or upcycle.
While it is tempting to discard an item because it is missing a button or has a tear or stain, you can extend the life of an item by making DIY repairs or taking it to a seamstress. I’ve embraced this strategy after reading MEND! by Kate Sekules and Mending Matters by Katrina Rodabaugh. Both are full of humor and good tips on how to creatively revive a beloved item of clothing. These are not your grannies mending techniques! I’ve had fun with this and will by sharing photos of what I’ve done.Do research before shopping.
Investigate your favorite brands, if they’re doing something sustainable it will front and center in their marketing and on their website. Prioritize designers who have zero-waste goals and initiatives to use fabrics that are recyclable. See how your favorite brand score here at ReMake.
Here are a few of my favorite sustainable sites:
Skirts & Jackets: Mary Marino Designs
T-shirts: Pact
I’m partial to the T’s but don’t stop there! Amour Vert