Ways to Contribute to the Sustainable Fashion Industry

Ever since the whole world accepted that we’re speeding towards a disastrous finish if we keep up at the same pace regarding deforestation and unethical production, sustainable products have been making a comeback.

Most recently, ethically produced clothing has been growing in popularity, and it may be due to an overall increase in social awareness and responsibility.

This allowed for an entirely new market to be created, one that would make use of these ethically produced clothes and prove that worker exploitation and irresponsible material use aren’t necessary to create high-quality products.

Companies, both large and small have taken action to revolutionize the process of clothing production, giving responsible buyers even more reasons to purchase their brand over another while also setting aside the irresponsible production processes that we employed in the past.

Plastic waste

As you already know, not all clothing is made from cotton, and a large amount of it is either completely or at least partially synthetic, produced from plastics and similar materials.

However, this means that when this clothing is tossed, it ends up polluting the environment, and with the impact of fast fashion being greater than ever before, sportswear and outerwear regularly end up polluting our water sources.

On top of this, the environmental implications of the production process itself are nothing to be sneezed at, and creating synthetic clothes requires high amounts of energy consumption while also producing a fair amount of carbon emissions.

Oil is a resource that will eventually run out, and by recycling certain plastics, we can make sure that new synthetic clothing doesn’t have as much of an impact as it would with unrecycled materials.

Recycled polyester creates 35% less waste than its less sustainable counterpart, and you’d be doing the planet a favor to make the switch to it.

Visit your local thrift shop

Fast fashion is one of the worst things that we could’ve normalized, and it’s what causes billions of pieces of clothing to be tossed aside while still being perfectly wearable.

However, that’s not all, as you may already know that buying second-hand clothing is also great for your wallet, and you could get some really interesting pieces for a fraction of the price.

On top of that, buying second-hand help reduce textile waste and even provides you with access to clothing that no one else will have.

At the time, the market for second-hand clothes is valued at $32 billion, although it’s expected to grow to at least $51 billion in the coming years.

Because of this, a lot of brands actually started promoting the practice rather than criticizing it, as it could be the thing we need to fix in the current state of the fashion industry.

Rentals

Car rentals have been a thing for decades, but clothing rental has only reached peak popularity in recent years, mainly due to it being a cheaper alternative to actually buying a piece of clothing.

This way, you can get access to a fairly expensive suit that you may need for a certain event without having to spend a lot of money on a garment you’ll wear once, or maybe twice.

This way, you can make sure that every piece you wear to a certain event won’t just waste away in your locker after it’s served its use.

Some people even rent out entire closets of clothing, wear them for an entire season and then return them when they no longer feel like wearing those clothes.

Businesses like this have blossomed all across the US and Europe, and they’re particularly popular with young adults and schoolchildren looking to rent out some formal clothing for prom nights, job interviews, or other formal events.

Final word

Being sustainable with fashion these days can be hard, but it’s not impossible, or nearly as difficult as it was some 20 years ago.

Imitations of certain materials are common in today’s market, and you shouldn’t be surprised to think some garment was made entirely from cotton only to learn it was produced with recycled plastics.

Fast fashion is a plague, and without a quick solution, we’ll only keep wasting away our planet’s resources while the pile of discarded clothing continues to grow.

Secondhand clothing is one way to circumvent this, but it’s not enough, and as long as companies are producing garments irresponsibly and with disregard for their environmental impact, we’ll have a problem on our hands.

Thankfully, the selection of brands is near-infinite, and you could easily find alternatives to the ones you’re accustomed to purchasing with just a quick Google search.

Buying ethically produced clothing is the way to go these days, and it’s what we should all be doing if we want this planet to remain as healthy as can be.