Allison Stroman - The fashion industry has long had issues with sustainability and continues to strive for improved conditions for the environment and garment workers. As consumers, we have the power to strategically spend our money and support brands whose values match our own. Beyond that, there are many concrete options we have to better the fashion industry.
Reduce Consumption
The first and best option is to reduce consumption. While this may seem pointless as fast fashion continues to grow, if we as consumers decrease the demand we are placing on fashion to produce and sell more, we can put the pressure on brands to stop overproducing as those items no longer sell as much. Additionally, buying less means less goes into the trash and gets shuffled through less than ideal pathways to eventual incineration and landfills.
“By changing the way we consume, voting with our dollar, and choosing better brands and practices, we can push the whole industry forward.” - Good On You
Overconsumption is a major issue and doing our part as consumers to slow down the damage is extremely important. Maybe you commit to not buying anything new or maybe you decide that the only new items you buy will come from secondhand or truly sustainable brands. Whatever it may be, slowing down the cycle of consumption is imperative. As a starting point, look at your existing wardrobe and see what you already have. If you already have it, you likely do not need another identical or near-identical piece.
This shopping trip can increase your connection to what you wear which can in turn help you feel more at home in your clothes which is proven to help with confidence and decrease stress.
Buy Secondhand or Pre-Loved
With the increased accessibility of secondhand shopping, it is an easy way to find pieces that are already in circulation rather than purchasing an entirely new item. As a lower cost way to have a more sustainable wardrobe, second hand fashion is highly attractive to those wanting unique pieces. That being said, it is not a complete solution alone. Since many secondhand stores rely on donations, high production levels means they get more stock to sell:
But, pairing second hand shopping with reducing consumption can help decrease the negative impacts of overproduction.
Research Who You Buy From
If you decide to buy new pieces, make sure to research who you are buying from so you can see if their practices align with your values and with the pillars of sustainability and circularity. The key to this is “if it's difficult to find its credentials, chances are they aren't as eco-friendly as they claim to be,” meaning that brands that hide their sustainability practices are less likely to actively be working towards a better industry, whereas brands that are honest and upfront tend to be more active. This research can also help you determine the quality of the items and if they are created to last. While this will likely cost more, one more expensive purchase that will last you significantly longer is better than a whole haul or cheap clothes that are essentially made to wear once before falling apart. To help get started with research, here are some questions to ask:
Rewear and Repeat Outfits
As obvious as this may seem, many people consider clothing a single-wear because they posted it on social media or wore it in front of people. This is not a good mindset for the majority of clothing we own as we need to focus on items that will last a long time and work with many outfits to decrease our consumption. Versatility and quality is key. If the majority of your closet is versatile, layerable pieces, then figuring out what to wear gets less overwhelming as you can have a smaller closet and you can decrease your consumption since the majority of your pieces go together.
Learn to Mend and Repurpose Clothes
To increase your clothing’s longevity, learn to mend and repair or repurpose your clothes. Two common categories in mending are patching and darning. Patching is a technique where you “sew another piece of fabric over or under a hole, rip or threadbare area” whereas darning is “more or less a patch you weave yourself, using thread or yarn”. The easiest stitch to start with is the running stitch which is the “classic dotted line made by just pushing the needle up and down in a straight line across the fabric”. The running stitch is easy to learn and gets better with practice. When starting out, perfection does not have to be the goal and imperfections can further personalize your garments. For both darning and patching, make sure to mend an area larger than whatever tear or break you are trying to fix. For more information on mending and advice from Miyu Shan, Upcycling Designer, check out our blog.
Recycle or Donate Old Clothing
Instead of throwing away your clothes, consider sending them off for recycling or donating them to give them a second life.
When looking for where to send or drop off your clothes, look for transparency first and then their services. Clear communication on statistics, outcomes, and practices will help you determine what will happen to your clothes. Another important consideration is knowing what the different services accept:
In New York, there are multiple options for clothing recycling.
“Gently used clothing is accepted by Wearable Collections staff and taken to a facility where they are sorted into different grades, with an effort to recover as much usable clothing as possible for distribution to second-hand markets. Material that is not suitable for reuse will go to recycling markets to be used as wiping rags or shredded for low grade fiber products such as insulation. “ - Clothing Collections | GrowNYC (drop-off locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens
Textile Reuse And Recycling - NYSDEC - General Resource on Textile Recycling in New York
Other options include the Trashie Take Back Bag:
“The Take Back Bag™ is our way of collecting unwanted clothing and textiles directly from people’s homes – it’s fun, easy, and rewarding. Our innovative sorting and grading system takes it from there, weeding out the trash and getting over 90% of the unwanted clothing we collect to the next right place….Our goal is to become everyone's default choice for clothing recycling. When we work together at scale, it’s a huge step forward for circularity, igniting the systems change we all want to see in the world.”
In terms of donation, transparency and understanding who you are donating to is key. In New York, there are countless donation organizations including Housing Works and Repurpose. The key to donating is knowing what different organizations take and what condition your items need to be in to get accepted:
Another consideration is whether a specialized organization, like Repurpose, is right for you. For instance, if you have a piece that is “particularly desirable,” then a specialized organization is likely right for you.
To learn more about donating to Repurpose, check out our donation page and graphics designed through extensive research by Isa Martins, Social Media and Marketing Trainee.
Stay Informed About the Industry
As the saying goes, knowledge is power. Keeping up to date on new innovations and what is happening in the fashion industry can help you be an informed and conscious consumer. There are many sources that are reputable and commonly referenced by consumers and professionals alike. Within those sources, a few stand out as having particular information on the intersection of fashion and sustainability.
The United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network is an online platform that “plays a key role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by connecting industry stakeholders, media, governments, and UN entities.” With an emphasis on reaching the SDGs by 2030, the Network provides news on how the fashion and lifestyle industries are progressing with tags for the different goals and the size of the entity. This provides another layer of transparency in their reporting.
Headquartered at the London College of Fashion and the University of Arts London, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion is a research center dedicated to subverting the “status quo in fashion”. A collaborator with “universities, businesses, and other organisations around the world”, their resources page has educational guides, research publications, and online courses to increase “knowledge of fashion and sustainability”. The Centre also has a blog with a range of articles on the intersection of fashion and sustainability.
A mainstay in the fashion news sphere, Vogue and Vogue Business have dedicated sustainability editors and dedicated pages full of articles. With a range of topics including environmental impacts and worker’s rights, Vogue and Vogue Business offer information backed by professionals and reported on by credible journalists.
Focusing on textiles and the supply chain, Ecotextile News is both an online source and a magazine published six times per year in print and online. Ecotextile News also partners with organizations to improve accessibility to climate information. Their articles range from covering government initiatives related to textiles to scientific advances.
In addition to the Fashion and Lifestyle Network, the United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion “works to support coordination between UN bodies working in fashion and promoting projects and policies that ensure that the fashion value chain contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals’ targets” with support from United States agencies and partner organizations. Their news page has articles on the different efforts they engage in to better the fashion industry.
The Ellen Macarthur Foundation has a wealth of resources around fashion within their content library. These sources range from articles, videos, and podcast episodes, providing multiple forms for interested people to learn new information.
For a comprehensive guide of fashion resources, The Library of Congress has a resource guide with sources for trade news, fashion history, and retail.