Whether you enjoy shopping or not, making ethical fashion choices can improve your quality of life. For instance, doing what’s best for the planet by avoiding fast fashion can help the environment, and you can save extra money. Consider a few fashion shopping tips for a better lifestyle.
Shop Secondhand
When you buy new clothing, you’re supporting the production of clothes that were highly likely to be produced unethically. This could be fast fashion, clothes made of materials that aren’t environmentally friendly, animal exploitation, workers’ right abuse, and other problems in the fashion industry. To avoid these problems, you can buy secondhand from thrift stores. You can find budget-friendly, stylish items and worry less about making harmful choices. Some online and local thrift stores include Goodwill, Salvation Army, thredUP, Swap, Patagonia Worn Wear, and eBay.
Donate Used Items
If you don’t want your old clothes anymore, you can donate them. This can be an easy way to rid yourself of old items and make room for newer fashion pieces. For one thing, donating your apparel can be a good deed because you’ll be giving someone else a chance to wear them. Moreover, you’ll be creating less waste in landfills. Many places accept gently used clothing donations. This can be a local church or homeless shelter. You can also give your items to organizations such as Big Brother Big Sister Foundation, Dress for Success, One Warm Coat, Green Drop, Planet Aid, The Arc, and more.
Avoid Excessive Purchases
Purchasing clothes can be a lot of fun at the moment until this habit becomes excessive. For example, excessive clothing items can get in the way, and this can lead to frustration. Instead, you can avoid excessive purchases by improving your habits. Before you make a purchase, you can ask yourself if you need to buy the clothes you’re considering. If not, it may be best to wait until the right time to shop for apparel.
Rent Your Clothes
Renting your clothes can be an affordable way to improve your wardrobe. Besides this, you won’t have to feel guilty for buying items you may not need. With renting, you have plenty of options to choose from. You’ll be able to experiment with style without taking a chance on buying something you might end up not liking. You can also shop sustainably and lower your carbon footprint. You might want to rent clothes for an event or for everyday casual wear. Rent the Runway, Tulerie, Switch, and Nuuly are a few places to rent clothes on a budget.
Mend Your Clothes Yourself
Learning basic mending skills can save you money. You won’t have to buy new clothes when it might not be necessary, and you won’t have to be wasteful either. You can follow free online tutorials or check out a sewing instruction book at the library. Once you learn how to mend your own clothes, you can get this chore done while you sit on the couch and watch a TV show you like in your free time.
Try Sustainable Brands
Sustainable fashion brands lower your carbon footprint and make clothes out of natural materials that use fewer resources. Using sustainable clothing brands saves animals’ lives, uses less water, and supports safe working conditions, among other things. Some fashion brands that are vegan and eco-friendly include Insecta Shoes, Native Shoes, SUSI Studio, WAMA Underwear, and Harvest & Mill.
Upcycle Old Fashion
Upcycling old clothes reduces waste in landfills. This can even give you an opportunity to get creative and maybe even have fun. For one, you can transform an old t-shirt into a skirt, bag, or halter top. You can also dye your jeans a new color or turn them into a tote bag. Another idea is to turn your old fabric into a dog t-shirt or dog toy. Further, you don’t always have to know how to sew to upcycle. One way to do this is to use fabric glue to embellish a sweater with felt flowers.
Have a Clothing Swap
Having a clothing swap can be a way to save money and minimize fashion waste. In addition, this can be a time for having fun with friends. You can put out snacks and refreshments so you and your friends can enjoy them. This can be an enjoyable way to view the types of clothes they have in their closets, and they can look at yours too. If you don’t want to host a clothes swap yourself, you can join a clothes swap group near you.
Only Buy What You Need and Like
Buying clothes you don’t particularly like or need can leave you feeling unsatisfied with your purchases. Not only this but you’ll have extra clothes lying around to trip over or otherwise inconvenience yourself and those around you. Alternatively, you can make smarter fashion choices by only buying items you need and like. This way, each time you go to your closet, you can feel satisfied with your wardrobe.
Educate Yourself
The more you know about how bad fashion harms the planet, the more you can do something about it. Similarly, you can educate yourself about clothes shopping on a budget by reading articles online to save money and gain peace of mind. Some books you might want to read are “How to Break Up With Fast Fashion” by Lauren Bravo, “To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World?” by Lucy Siegle, and “Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism” by Aja Barber. To save money, you can search for one or more of these books at your local library or visit a used book store.
Given these points, making smart fashion choices can be good for you and the environment. Plus, you can feel better about saving money, being less excessive, and doing what’s best to help protect the earth. So next time you want to make a fashion purchase, it’s important to consider how your actions will affect yourself, others, and the environment.