How to Create a Sustainable Wardrobe

Nowadays, fast fashion makes it incredibly difficult to be sustainable. The temptation to splurge on cheap clothing can seem almost overwhelming when we’re faced with racks and racks of affordably on-trend pieces. However, as anyone who has seen the news will know, our planet is facing a sustainability crisis. Lakes are being drained to feed cotton farms and we are throwing away too many usable items. So, what’s a person to do with so much disposable fashion at their fingertips?

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Practice mindful shopping
Ever bought a top, worn it once and let it fester in the back of your closet? Disposable fashion gives us ideas about the types of garments we wish we could wear, and then the reality is we lose interest or forget about them. However, the pull of new on-trend fashion pieces can often be too strong for us to resist. The best approach to this is to practice a little bit of short-term patience. If you see a fashion item that you can’t bear to be without, take a walk. Have a walk around other shops for an hour or so and come back to it later. You may find that your urge to buy it has miraculously disappeared.

Sustainable production methods
What makes modern fashion garments so unsustainable is the way they are manufactured. Cheap fabrics and immoral sweatshops are used to supply the demand we create. Therefore, in order to create a sustainable wardrobe, it’s time to go a bit old-school. For example, buying your cozy cashmere sweater from a company that works with local farms is a far more eco-friendly approach. Companies such as statecashmere.com work with this ethical practice every day to create well-made, sustainably produced items.

Learn how to repair your clothing
If you’ve ever been gutted to find a hole in your favorite pair of jeans or have a jacket that has more buttons missing than it actually has on it, you will know the frustration of having clothing that’s in disrepair. However, in order to not only have a sustainable wardrobe but also to save money, it is handy to know how to repair your clothing. This even applies to second-hand clothing – if you find a piece that you love but wish it would fit you better, get it tailored to fit you.

Look after your clothing
Whether you’ve bought your clothing in a charity shop or you’ve invested in a piece that will last, looking after your clothes is just as important when it comes to being sustainable. Remember to check labels before you chuck anything on a hot wash, and treat any spills or stains as soon as you can – try not to live with the mindset of ‘I can just buy another.’

Creating a sustainable wardrobe isn’t just about sifting through charity shops. It’s about buying clothing that you will actually wear, that is of a high quality. Of course, many of our favorite clothing items might not be from upmarket retailers, in which case, it is incredibly important to look after them to ensure we can enjoy them for as long as possible.