Dressing ethically yet stylishly..is this possible?
It is becoming increasingly important to consider where we are buying our clothing from and indeed, how much clothing we are actually buying, .especially when we read how many thousands of tons of clothing ends up in landfill and how over 20% of global water pollution is caused by textile waste from synthetic chemicals and dyes.
The UK high street, both physical and online, is awash with retailers. The choice that we have as consumers has never been wider but unfortunately this much choice comes at a cost. A cost to the planet that we should no longer be willing to pay if we don’t want future generations to be suffering from our actions today.
Historically, dressing ethically or being mindful of sustainability has a reputation for having to wear a hessian jacket or hemp trousers….not a very stylish look. However, with only a few tweaks we can all dress ethically yet stylishly. Here’s a few ideas!
- Unsubscribe from all the retailers email alerts of offers and discounts. It will only tempt you to buy clothing that you don’t need. Instead follow a couple of bloggers or influencers whose style resonates with you and get style inspo from them.
- Find blogs and insta pages of eco dressers who inspire you and follow them for additional inspiration. Some great style blogs can be found in this article on the one million women website.
- Buy clothing from vintage and charity shops. Investigate good second hand shops in your area and if you have time volunteer to help a few hours a week then you will be helping your community but also will get first dibs on all the clothing that gets donated.
- Scour ebay and other resell sites like Hewi for pre-loved items you like.
- Hold a swish (clothes swap) with your friends or attend a local one.
- When you do decide to purchase a brand new item of clothing ask your self if you will wear it at least 30 times?
- Have a clear idea of what colours and styles suit you irrespective of the latest trends. Style is the key not fashion.
- .Buy as good as you can afford. You will like it longer and it will last longer.
- Resist the urge to buy clothing from cheap and cheerful retailers like Primark. The clothing is cheap for a reason.
- Seek out eco retailers ie Veja who are both stylish and ethical and buy from them. Arguably, this is the best known ethical brand around at the moment – thanks in large part to celebrities such as Emma Watson and Meghan Markle wearing the brand. Some other ethical brands available in the UK are available here.
By no means is this an exhaustive list of how to dress ethically and just making the small changes listed above will not save the planet from the ravages of clothing production but if we all play our small part the impact could be huge.
Follow up
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