It’s Easy to Shop Sustainably

Use these tips while shopping to stay eco-friendly…

Be a Material Gir

When you’re buying new clothes – keep in mind where the materials the clothes, shoes, and accessories are made from. There’s some really exciting progress in sustainable and eco-friendly materials and fabrics these days that brands are creating using a plethora of innovative resources tipped to change the conversation. Think of Stella McCartney and her range of fashion made from animal-cruelty-free vegan materials. Bamboo fabric is another great sustainable choice, not only because it comes from renewable resources, but because of its hygiene benefits as well.

Buy Quality

Quality over quantity rings true all the time. Buying one quality piece is a much better investment because your high-quality piece was designed to last a lifetime.  By buying products that last longer (in the sense that they don’t break, fray, or rip, not because they are made of petroleum-based materials and don’t break down in the environment) means you will only have to pay for them once.  This doesn’t always mean buying from ‘luxury’ design houses, this could mean paying a higher price to a smaller brand name if it’s an ethical / sustainable fashion house – shopping this way will get you carefully designed pieces made from sustainably sourced materials, manufactured by people who are paid an ethical wage in decent working conditions.

Declutter

Removing the ‘clutter’ from your closet is a great way to purge your unwanted fashion mess, to better see what relevant pieces you own, and to streamline your physical and mental space.

To do this properly, it’s great to get in a professional, however, if you don’t have the budget for this, then apply these guidelines: take some time to take stock of what is already in your wardrobe. Go through each piece and see if there are any old, forgotten favorites that could have another day in the limelight. Having a more streamlined wardrobe helps you live a more streamlined life, it’s a simple step to feel more content and it certainly has therapeutic side-effects.

Make Do and Mend

Today, we live in a throwaway society, and we’re lead by consumerism. We desire that latest ‘it’ bag because we’ve seen a celebrity carrying it. What all this really means is that we’ve forgotten how to mend, how to fix, and how to creatively solve a shortage problem.

(Written by Sian Rowlands, CEO & Chief Storyteller at RETOLD)