Re-Use, Re-Furbish, Re-Cycle your Wardrobe

In October, Levi Strauss announced both a partnership with Goodwill and a program to tag their clothing with information on what consumers can do once they are done wearing the item they have purchased. The new care labels not only encourage a 'donation when no longer needed', they also encourage washing in cold water, washing less often, and air drying to prolong the life of the garment. All ways for the consumer to reduce the environmental impact of the purchase.

This particular strategy encourages a donation to Goodwill, but there are many organizations that will take clothing to re-sell in their shops including the Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul's, and many other regional organizations. Other alternatives include taking gently used clothing to a consignment shop. Consignment shops will take your items, merchandise them in the shop and split the proceeds with you once the garment sells. Or arranging a neighborhood clothing swap to freshen up the wardrobe. This is particularly useful when there are kids in the neighborhood, as they grow out of something, it can be passed along. Teens can update their look without breaking the bank and Adults can not only save money, but will probably find something for their closet as well. All of these methods are a way to have something new without the impact of manufacturing a brand new garment.

Encouraging the reuse and recycle of apparel is one way for individuals to have less of an impact on the environment. By consuming fewer brand new garments, consumers can help manufactures have less of an impact as well. Despite many garments being made from renewable materials like cotton and wool, the manufacturing process itself can have a big impact on the environment. Another popular apparel fabric is polyester, a petroleum based product that uses a large amount of resources to manufacture, which in turn creates emissions and other waste products that go directly into the environment. None of this takes into account the impact of growing the material, transporting the raw materials to the factory, transporting the finished garments to a retail outlet, or the consumer driving miles to a shopping mall. Obviously, this is less than ideal.

Realizing that we can reduce the environmental impact of the clothes we wear by purchasing classic, quality items that can be worn for more than one season is somewhat liberating. It gives us permission to spend a bit more, because the garment will be worn for years. The rise of fast fashion chains such as H&M, TopShop and Zara has meant that more items are being purchased and discarded as fashion trends come and go. By purchasing less, wearing items longer, and passing them on when they no longer fit or are needed we can keep unwanted clothing out of our landfills, reduce the impact on the environment, and probably all have more money in the bank.