The need for and approach to sustainable fashion

The term fast fashion is often found on social media and is a common term within the fashion world. Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced quickly to keep up with the new trends. Mass production causes the fashion industry to be the second largest polluter in the world. The main source of pollution is textiles.

Textiles are the type of fabric that makes up the clothing you wear. The dyes used for clothing often end up in the ocean, creating toxic water. Not to mention the burning of textiles that contributes to air pollution. Landfills are filling up with unwanted clothing causing land pollution as well. Most fabrics take about 200 years to decompose.

There are alternatives to fast fashion. In fact, just knowing where your clothes are from is the first step. The main example that I use in conversation is Lululemon leggings. The type of fabric used in the leggings is textiles with crude oil in the base.

A sustainable option around the same price is Girlfriend Collective, which uses plastic bottles to make their fabrics for leggings and other plant-based fabrics.

Knowing what is going into your clothes is often the first step. Try to look for natural fabrics, recycled fibers, plant-based fiber and semi-synthetic fabrics.

As great as it is to buy from sustainable brands, it can be expensive. A popular way to buy sustainable clothing is thrifting or buying handmade clothing.

While sitting down with Bella Brinkman, a junior at CSB, she mentioned some great places for thrifting,

“I’ve gone to…Savers, Treasure Chest or I’ve been going to Goodwill,” she said. “I’ve also bought some stuff off of Depop and Poshmark.”

Another common place for thrifting and finding homemade clothing online is Etsy. The local thrifting stores and online websites can provide a better ground to find clothing without playing too much into fast fashion.

Another factor that plays into the pollution of fashion is throwing out your old clothes. Those clothes, if not donated, land in landfills and cause more pollution for the planet.

Tips for your old clothes are often to repurpose them by making them into a different item of clothing, making a blanket, or as Brinkman does, donating Plato’s Closet, Goodwill or family friends.

Instead of tossing out an old shirt, think about giving it away.

At the end of the day, try to be conscious of the clothes you wear. When researching your favorite brands, you may be shocked to learn what they put into their clothing. A website I use to see if a place is ethical and sustainable is Good On You. Good On You will also recommend fashion brands that are similar in pricing and type of clothing as well.

Most websites will try to say that they are sustainable, but it’s always safe to double- check. Remember that when shopping not everything needs to be perfect.