Building an ethical closet is something most of us would love to be able to do, but always find big obstacles ahead. In the world of cheap, fast- fashion brands and living on a tight budget most of us simply can’t afford to shop exclusively from sustainable clothing brands, neither to replace their entire wardrobe with their pieces. However, buying from ethical fashion brands is not the only way to build an ethical closet and in fact, there are many ways you can turn your wardrobe a bit ‘greener’and minimize your personal contribution to the negative impact of fast-fashion industry on the environment and its workers.
- Care about the clothes you already own.
Help your clothes, shoes and bags last longer by taking good care of them. Repair the what can be repaired don’t just throw it away. Fold your winter sweaters instead of hanging them and handwash the delicate pieces you own. This way you won’t need to replace your existing pieces that often. and you will buy less.
- Shop wisely.
While shopping don’t fall into the trap of fast-fashion that wants you to buy trendy clothing without thinking about it too much and filling bags full of new pieces just because they are cheap. In the end, you will have a closet full of stuff that you don’t actually like to wear that much or that they don’t fit with anything you already have. Train yourself to choose carefully pieces that you love 100%, that fit you perfectly, can be combined with pieces you already own and you feel happy when you wear them. This way you will shop fewer pieces, but you will actually wear them for more than a season.
- Buy durable, high-quality clothes.
No matter the brand, go for high-quality stitching and durable fabrics. Use this guide if you need some help recognizing a high- quality piece of clothing. It will take you a bit more time to choose what to buy, but this way you will be sure to buy a piece for life.
- Shop second-hand or vintage clothes.
Recycling and re-purposing pre- worn clothes is a great and usually budget-friendly way to build a more sustainable wardrobe out of truly unique pieces.
- Shop from small ethical brands and support sustainable fashion.
Like InconnuLab, there are many ethical fashion brands you can find on Etsy, where small teams of people work on handmade sustainable clothing and accessories that won’t cost you a fortune.
