Living a sustainable lifestyle means trying to greatly lessen your impact on the environment. Instead of taking things from nature that cannot be adequately replaced, you only take things that can be efficiently replaced. It requires effort.
People may assume that living a sustainable lifestyle requires going without a lot of things people take for granted in modern society. This isn’t actually true. In fact, even fashion can be created in a sustainable way. Many eco-conscious and fashionable people and businesses have in fact found ways to sustainably source fashion products.
Avoid Harmful Fabrics
Certain kinds of fabric just aren’t sustainable. Polyester, for example, is made from oil, and so are many other kinds of synthetic fabrics. They’re quite tacky in general regardless. The creation of acrylic fabric creates toxic byproducts. Viscose rayon fabric causes plants to be cleared and creates pollution simultaneously. Avoid such fabrics if you want to wear sustainable clothing.
Choose Sustainable Fabrics
Other fabrics, on the other hand, are actually sustainable and environmentally friendly. Normally, the production process used to create leather is very harmful to the environment. However, leather tanned with vegetables does not include the use of harmful heavy metals in the tanning process like regular leather does.
Certain fabrics created from plants that are easy to grow are also very sustainable. This is the case for hemp and Tencel, which is made from eucalyptus trees. Even silk is rather sustainable since breeding more silk worms is rather easy.
Choose Businesses that Use Offsets
One way to achieve sustainability is to use an offset system. For something you do that puts some strain on the environment, you can offset it by taking an action that benefits the environment. Some companies plant a tree for every t-shirt they sell. The addition of a new tree, in a way, cancels out the harm created by manufacturing that t-shirt.
Buy Secondhand Clothing
Another way to achieve sustainability in your fashion is to buy secondhand products. Buying secondhand means the demand for new clothing will be diminished. Those secondhand items were already consumed by other people and will exist whether you buy them for not. You are also likely to find some incredible deals you would never find shopping at a firsthand store.
What people do can have a negative impact on the environment. This certainly holds true for the production processes for many kinds of clothing. However, many companies, such as Livermore Supply Co, provide locally produced and plant based clothing. If you put some more thought and strategy into your fashion choices, choosing sustainable clothing and accessories is easier than you may first assume.
Thank you for using the Fashion Industry Network. Have you helped another member today? Answer questions in the forum. It brings good luck.