With the seasons changing from Summer to Autumn, and Fashion Weeks taking place all over the world, we decided to take a look into our wardrobes and share our top tips for curating your own ethical fashion collection.
Now is the time that most of us start shopping for different clothes – but do you really need to? If you’re going from hot to cold, or cold to hot, it might be worth upping your styling game rather than investing in fast fashion pieces that will only last you one season…
Here are a few ways you can get started and change the way you dress from our members…
Think About The Garment Workers
MONA OF FLEUR ETHIQUE
Consider The Chemical Cost of Clothing
LYNSEY OF MONSOON OF RANDOM
After switching to chemical free cosmetics, toiletries and household cleaning products, around 11 years ago, I became more aware of how harmful chemicals are used in so many areas of our lives.
Fashion, for example, is such a highly polluting industry – the production of non-organic fabrics, and the dyes washed into the water table, are just two examples. As I researched more into the ethics of these products, I found that the people who make our clothes are often poorly treated, badly paid and not given the basic access to human rights that every single person is entitled to.
My eyes were opened to the huge lack of ethics in the fashion industry, and it was one of the factors which contributed to the existence of Monsoon of Random, my ethical lifestyle blog.
It’s Easy to Buy Vintage
SHERI OF CONFESSIONS OF A REFASHIONISTA
- By shopping second-hand and reusing, I am not contributing a penny to the multi-billion dollar fashion industry nor am I unintentionally supporting an unethical brand.
- Wearing and refashioning pre-owned garments means they do not end up in landfills. North Americans send more than 10.5 million tons of wearable waste to landfills each year, not to mention the increased impact when you add in the rest of the world. In fact, only around 15% of used clothing gets recycled or donated, giving textiles one of the poorest recycling rates of any reusable material. That’s even more shocking when you realize around 95% of the textile waste sitting in our landfills today, is actually recyclable.
- Shopping preloved is economical. I simply cannot afford to purchase brand new ethically produced items from sustainable brands. Thrifting, upcycling and DIY-ing definitely help keep a tight budget under control yet still allow for new-to-me gear and the occasional thrifty spending spree!
Try Shopping Less + Wearing More
ELLY OF TAKE IT UP, WEAR IT OUT
Discover The Truths of Fast Fashion
BESMA OF CURIOUSLY CONSCIOUS
I started my foray into ethical fashion right at the beginning of my blog. I was deeply troubled to find that the clothes I had been buying caused poverty and pain for millions of fashion industry workers. It was one of those revolutionary moments, looking down at a dainty Zara dress and wondering how such a pretty thing can come from system of exploitation, poor working conditions, and even death.
I’ve found it’s a lot easier to switch – and stick – to ethical fashion when you know what most fast fashion houses rely on. I recommend watching The True Cost to see what lies behind cheap clothing, Riverblue to understand how polluting fashion can be, and this episode of Dispatches to see just how badly people in the UK are affected by online shopping with big fast fashion houses.
