Going Green In Your Wardrobe..What Do You Think?
While browsing the news online this morning, this article caught my eye. Now I know that fashion is very much a throw away business, the number of hardly worn clothing in second hand shops is testament to this, but do we really need fancy fabrics to green up fashion. Isn't it just a matter of buying quality and not quantity and recycling or repurposing what we know longer need. In our grandparents day weren't most fabrics derived from compostable materials like wool and cotton?
I consider myself a green fashion follower. I am not a slave to fashion. Each year I replenish my wardrobe. 2011 this was mostly me made and hopefully 2012 it will be nearly all me made. Although on the outside making something oneself does not seem very green, I do wonder. I find it harder to part with items of clothing I have created and also because of the time taken to make something as opposed to buy something, I tend to accumulate less. I also find items I make fit better than rtw so I don't tire of them as quickly. Another thing I have noticed over the past year, is I tend to spend less time in the shops. Whether that is because of the earthquake or because I now make most of my own clothing, I no longer have the desire to window shop and therefore don't impulse buy. For some reason I don't impulse buy when I sew. I think that because of the effort required to sew something, I take more time in the planning. Does all of this make me more environmentally friendly....I think so.
I never throw wearable clothing items in the rubbish. I always recycle. Anything with value will get sold. Some of my children's clothing gets passed down to family, some gets re purposed and the remainder of the discarded clothing from my home goes in those clothing bins that are on street corners. I also make a point of buying quality. I learnt a long time ago with my kids, that buying cheap footwear especially is false economy. My kids could wear out a cheap pear of sneakers in a couple of weeks yet if I bought quality, I could get away with 4 pairs each a year. It is all about life cycle costing. I apply this theory to clothing for my boys as well. My youngest son is not particularly fond of wearing his older brothers cast offs but because I buy quality for my oldest son, most of those cast offs are in near new condition. Does all of this make me more environmentally friendly.....I think so!
I consider myself a green fashion follower. I am not a slave to fashion. Each year I replenish my wardrobe. 2011 this was mostly me made and hopefully 2012 it will be nearly all me made. Although on the outside making something oneself does not seem very green, I do wonder. I find it harder to part with items of clothing I have created and also because of the time taken to make something as opposed to buy something, I tend to accumulate less. I also find items I make fit better than rtw so I don't tire of them as quickly. Another thing I have noticed over the past year, is I tend to spend less time in the shops. Whether that is because of the earthquake or because I now make most of my own clothing, I no longer have the desire to window shop and therefore don't impulse buy. For some reason I don't impulse buy when I sew. I think that because of the effort required to sew something, I take more time in the planning. Does all of this make me more environmentally friendly....I think so.
I never throw wearable clothing items in the rubbish. I always recycle. Anything with value will get sold. Some of my children's clothing gets passed down to family, some gets re purposed and the remainder of the discarded clothing from my home goes in those clothing bins that are on street corners. I also make a point of buying quality. I learnt a long time ago with my kids, that buying cheap footwear especially is false economy. My kids could wear out a cheap pear of sneakers in a couple of weeks yet if I bought quality, I could get away with 4 pairs each a year. It is all about life cycle costing. I apply this theory to clothing for my boys as well. My youngest son is not particularly fond of wearing his older brothers cast offs but because I buy quality for my oldest son, most of those cast offs are in near new condition. Does all of this make me more environmentally friendly.....I think so!
You are absolutely spot on - quality, particularly with kidswear is important. Every year we do the 'Clarkes' shoe buying as opposed to the cheap and nasty school shoes. And the old Life Line bins get a good workout from us. But I do have a massive pile of 'disused' clothing that I just can't part with. Don't know why not, but with me it will stay - on the 'one day' pile...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure all of us who are into sewing share these same principles. Since we know firsthand the effort and care that go into making a garment we have a much higher appreciation of our clothing than a person that just goes and stocks up big on cheap "made in China" rubbish.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say - sewing does slow down the process of acquisition and also I think more about what I need not just what I want. I also try to use fabrics from the op shop and re-use buttons and zips etc.
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