Did you know that some 57% of clothing purchases end up in landfills each year? Once there, many garments – especially those made from plastics or chemically treated animal skins and fleece – take a scarily long time to break down. In contrast, natural plant wools like linen can be gone in as little as two weeks!
Here are five tips to help ensure your fashion choices don’t burden the planet.
1. Forget Fashion Fads
Trends come and go in the blink of an eye, at significant cost to the planet. Look to invest in timeless plant wool pieces that can be mixed and matched with those you already own to stay savvy and sustainable. Don’t forget to look out for the 100% Plant Wool logo and encourage your favourite brands to offer more hemp, soy cashmere, and other planet- and animal-friendly fashions.
2. Thrift Your Look
While many people are understandably reluctant to part with beautiful plant wool pieces, there’s still a world of low-cost, pre-loved, animal-free fashions for those willing to thrift. From cosy cotton sweaters and luxe linen loungewear to shoes made from plant leathers, some items on sites like Vinted are almost new. Plus, by becoming a champion of pre-loved animal-free fashions, you help to spread the word for truly sustainable fashions.
3. Choose Plant-Based Threads
Earth is in dire straits, and while most people know how much more sustainable an animal-free diet is for the planet, some don’t yet realise how extending this ethos to your wardrobe can help. As co-products of the meat industry, items made from sheep’s wool, animal skin, and feathers drive deforestation, emissions, water waste, and pollution. For example, producing one kilogram of sheep’s wool generates up to 89.1 kilograms of CO2 equivalent, while producing the same amount of organic cotton produces 1.15 kilograms of CO2 equivalent.
4. Give Generously
With a bit of give-and-take, we can all do our bit to make the fashion industry more circular. Instead of contributing to landfills, why not donate your unwanted animal-free fashions to charity shops so someone new can love your look? Passing on pieces you no longer wear, rather than discarding them, is a fantastic way to incorporate sustainability into your style. Plus, every used hemp jumper sold is one less sheep’s wool item bought, which reduces demand for these animals to be roughly and painfully sheared, leading to a greener future for all of us.
5. Become A Clever Little Sew and Sew
Mending your clothes is easier than you think, and an excellent way to save money and the planet. YouTube offers endless tutorials on everything from replacing a button to mending a tear. With just a small sewing kit and a little know-how, you can extend the life of your wardrobe, keeping pieces from landfill for longer.
Feeling Inspired?
Discover fantastic plant wools that are stylish and sustainable, and explore more tips on keeping your wardrobe kind to the planet:
