If there is one big ethical problem with the world of fashion, it’s that it is an industry that makes it’s money from excess spending and people having too many clothes. It is not merely that there happens to be a lot of waste in the industry, but that waste is very often the whole point, and therefore it is one of the most damaging industries for the planet in so many ways. If you are keen to be fashionable, and to look your best, but you also want to make sure you are doing it in as sustainable a way as possible, there are many ways in which you can do this, even if you need to update your wardrobe on a budget. Let’s take a look at how you might want to approach this.
Do a Wardrobe Overhaul
When you do a wardrobe overhaul, it’s important to focus on is what you are doing with the clothes that you no longer feel an affinity for. These clothes are hugely important, as the manner of their disposal says a lot about how much we are harming the planet. The best approach is to sell them on via a reselling platform, take them to a charity shop for someone to get for little money, or recycle the material in some way or another, perhaps by making the items into a new piece of clothing. Extending the life cycle of unwanted clothes will help to reduce the amount of waste produced by our frequent style changes.
Choose Sustainable Jewellery
We all love to accessorise an outfit with just the right piece of jewellery and this means that most fashion lovers have way more than they could realistically wear. With there being so much on offer on the high street for just a few Pounds, it encourages us to constantly switch things up. If you want to be more sustainable, now is the time to switch to just a few great quality, ethical pieces that you’ll wear again and again. Sustainable jewellery is simply jewellery which has been produced in as careful and non-harmful manner as possible. It’s also designed to be as long-lasting as possible, to avoid waste. A perfect example would be lab-created diamonds e.g. the brand Reve (www.revediamonds.com) – these are just as beautiful as natural diamonds, but are not clawed from the earth in damaging ways in oppressive regimes. It’s a much better way to source your diamonds and is the most fantastic technology for the planet. Also think about buying antique solid gold and silver jewellery to expand your collection. The Antique Jewellery Company (www.antiquejewellerycompany.com/) is a great place to look for quality pieces.
Support The Right Brands
It’s also important to take a big picture stance here, and to think about what you are saying when you buy clothes. If you think of purchasing something as casting a vote for what kind of world you want to be in, are you happy with how you have been voting so far? The fact is that there are brands which are more sustainable and then there are brands which are not so sustainable at all. Ideally, you should be aiming to support the former rather than the latter. That means thoroughly researching the companies that you are thinking of supporting, seeing what kinds of ethical policies they have, and deciding from there whether they are a good business model to support. This is one of the most important changes you can make to how you buy clothes.
If you can do those four simple things, you will have a much more sustainable approach to fashion in no time.
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