It’s understandable to buy clothes for growing kids (exchanging clothes or partly exchanging, especially for babies, who grow out of everything in no time, is a much more sustainable solution). Still, for adults, it’s an entirely different story.
When I was crazy into re-inventing my wardrobe at least once, if not twice a year, the clothes I thought weren’t good enough or in fashion anymore always ended up in a charity shop.
Unfortunately, I had no idea then that charity shops are being overwhelmed by donations they can’t sell. Many clothing items, mainly from brands that promote fast fashion, cannot be sold anymore. Unfortunately, the quality of cheap fashion is really bad. As consumers, we’ve been shopping for so many non-essentials, falsely believing that donating to a charity will help a good cause and clear our consciousness if something doesn’t fit.
I’m afraid it doesn’t work this way anymore. All clothing items that charities are unable to sell will either be sent to your local landfill or to developing countries, where they will end up in landfills. I’m sure we have all seen heaps of clothing rubbish that cannot be resold.
If you are like me and millions of others, awakening to the reality of our beautiful Earth dying on our watch, cutting down on fast fashion should be your number one priority. In fact, cutting down on buying unnecessary clothing, we all need socks and underwear from time to time, should be at least seriously considered by everyone. When I open my wardrobe, I know that I already have more than enough for every occasion I can think of. Hence, I’ve been on the quest to buy no clothes for myself for the second year running.
I simply don’t want to contribute to the problem. I want to leave as little wasteful footprint behind as possible.
So, instead of overwhelming charity shops and pushing the responsibility of dealing with unwanted items/shopping mistakes and therapy sessions (retail therapy is such a myth), my suggestions below will hopefully help you make more informed decisions aligned with your new sustainable consciousness:
- Try delaying your purchase for a bit. If, at the end of the waiting period, you still really badly need that item, go for it. However, before you proceed with the transaction, shop around for sustainable alternatives. There are many Earth-friendly brands that use recycled, sustainable fabrics.
- Instead of buying a new outfit for a single party, try borrowing from friends or renting.
- Look for good quality, designer clothes in charity shops in more affluent parts of the city.
- If you collect clothes, as my mum does, check all those bags and boxes you have. You might be very surprised by your findings. I was astonished last year when I found four pairs of linen trousers, two of which still had a price tag attached and a dress I loved that I totally had forgotten I had.
- Repair your clothing items if you can (YouTube videos can be helpful during this process). It’s not only sustainable but also amazingly rewarding to know that you can repair your clothes. For me, it’s a wonderful meditative experience.
- Invest in good quality, timeless pieces. This way, you won’t have the need to replace your wardrobe every season. I have a winter jumper I bought when I was a student. I bought it from French Connection; it was on sale, and back then, I had to wait until the sale price dropped to £15 before I could afford it.
- Stop following trends. All those trends aim for one thing: pressuring people into buying more. That approach only adds to the heaps of pollution that can be easily avoided.
- I’m not going to suggest selling your clothes online because I feel it requires a full-time commitment. However, I have a friend who makes pretty good money at car boot sales. So maybe that could be an option of some sort.
- If you have extended collections of clothes you don’t need, don’t want to sell, or pass on to your friends or family members, maybe some of the websites below will help you clean your closet and your consciousness in the process:
10. Not spending money on clothing, which ends up polluting the whole planet, will also save you quite a bit of cash. If you were to spend $1,800 on clothes each year, putting that money into your investment portfolio over 20 years with an average return of 7% would grow to $74,179. Not bad, if you ask me, and all the while helping to save the planet.
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