If you want to do your bit to save the environment, then why not start with the way you shop for your clothes? Here are some excellent tips you can follow to get your hands on branded and quality clothing without costing the environment much in the process.
Buy from Local Companies
Buying clothes from foreign manufacturers would cost the environment much in terms of carbon footprints related to packaging and transportation (take for example the emission of gases and use of fossil fuels for shipping these clothes to various destinations across the world).
Buying locally can help thwart this condition and get you access to quality, branded clothing at affordable prices. Buying clothes from countries like the U.S would also be considered greener as these countries use cleaner energy to design the clothes, and keep their workers happy with high salaries and other professional perks. This would enhance the social responsibility of the workers and their companies (when compared to companies in third world countries) to produce more eco-friendly clothing.
Switch to Organic Fibers
Another way to save the environment while buying clothes would be to opt for organic fibers that meet several environmental friendly standards like pesticide control (pesticides are potentially dangerous for the environment). Recent trends have also shown several designers and clothing brands switching over to organic fibers like organic cotton in order to promote more environmental friendly clothing.
Opt for Used Clothing
A really useful tip for new parents is to avoid stocking up on baby supplies ranging over several years (for instance, stocking up an entire cupboard with clothes ranging from 1-10 years for your newborn baby). The truth is you wouldn’t use most of these clothes anyway, and would end upย buying newer clothes as your baby grows, thereby making the ones you already bought useless and a complete waste of environmental resources.
A better way to handle this situation is to opt for used clothes from boutique stores or hand me downs from friends/family members. In addition to saving environmental resources, you can actually get pretty good deals on branded clothes that have hardly been worn by others.
The same can be said for adults who can shop at online shops, vintage stores and secondhand stores for used or unworn clothes that are, surprisingly, in very good conditions. By doing so, you would be doing the environment a huge favor by lessening the demand for the production of new clothes. It may be a very small deed from your end. But it would have a listening impact on the environment for sure.
Opt for Quality rather than Quantity
Certain stores that offer great discounts usually feature clothes that are less branded or less sturdy when compared to clothes sold in branded stores. When subjected to wear and tear, these clothes would last less long than their counterparts. And this in turn, would increase the necessity to buy more clothes within a short span of time, thereby increasing the demand for the production of new clothes. And you can pretty much realize where that would lead!
Instead of buying more poor quality clothing at discounted prices, opt for a few pieces of quality clothing at the same price. You can wear these for longer periods without worrying about tearing or wearing the out. The long lasting clothes would also lessen your need to substitute them with new clothes down the lane, and would in turn, reduce the carbon footprints in terms of production and transportation.
Try DIY
Instead of hitting the stores for new clothes, try making your own clothes. You can buy the necessary materials for the dress and start stitching away. In addition to reducing the production and transportation costs incurred by the environment, you are at the liberty to choose your own design and colors for the dress. Certain vintage stores would have amazingly beautiful fabrics that you can get for really good prices. So try this option out before stepping into a store for new clothes.
