When I was growing up, girls I went to school with loved hanging out at the mall. While I never understood this, fashion companies sure do. That’s why they pump out new styles every week. As quickly as possible and and with the biggest margins that they can manage.
While most people love $7 tops and $20 shoes, I’d rather compile a quality collection of sustainably-made (and non-toxic) clothing. That’s why I make every effort to be a conscious consumer, doing my research on the fashion industry and looking for alternatives to fast fashion.
What I found out was that the true cost of fast fashion is far greater than any bargain. For starters, if there’s a new “season” of clothes every week, you’re bound to be out-of-style before you’ve even worn your new find. To keep up you have to buy more and toss more – the average American throws out more than 68 pounds of textiles per year!
And that’s just the beginning of the environmental impact. In order to keep costs down, manufacturers don’t adhere to safety standards and some of your fave inexpensive accessories contain lead, in addition to all the other chemicals – pesticides, insecticides, formaldehyde, and flame-retardants – that are routinely used in mainstream fashion.
20% of all water pollution comes from the apparel industry. If we change the way we shop we can make a huge impact.
Perhaps the most tragic cost of all is the human cost, with up to 60 percent of fashion being produced by ‘informal’ workers, there’s no way to regulate their working conditions.
But you don’t have to participate in all this madness. You can step out of the fast fashion system, by following the below tips:
Shop vintage
The most reliable path to being a sustainable fashionista is to by buying vintage. While you can’t be sure the vintage piece was ethically made, by purchasing a vintage piece you’re breathing new life into something that might have been discarded into a landfill. Here’s my guide to getting great deals on eBay.
Look for natural materials
Did you know that polyester is actually toxic because it’s made from petroleum? Always avoid synthetic fabrics, as the processing chemicals and dyes used in these materials are particularly toxic. Instead, opt for (organic, if possible) cotton or linen.
After all my wool and cashmere sweaters got moth holes in them, I replaced them with with thick sweaters, denim, t-shirts, pants and more — all made from cotton or linen. If you can find it, hemp is another great choice.
Manufacturing practices and supply chain matters
For example, bamboo products are being marketed as green, but while bamboo itself is very sustainable, it is often processed with so many chemicals that it becomes toxic. And even if a brand uses “organic” cotton doesn’t mean they’re using non-toxic dyes.
There are some certifying companies such as OEKO_TEX or GOTS which cover parts of the supply chain, so you can also look out for those certifications. If you are buying non-organic clothing, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification will ensure that there are no toxic chemicals used in the textile dyeing and finishing process.
Think you can just wash away the toxins? Think again
Washing clothing does not thoroughly remove toxins, but it does spread the toxins to our local water.
Made in… where??
There is a lot of haziness in labelling law, since it’s a ‘standard’ rather than a rule. Companies take advantage of that and put a ‘Made in USA’ label when the component parts are not actually American made.
The good news is that fashion-conscious consumers don’t have to compromise. A simple rule that I’ve adopted is to build my wardrobe slowly by picking out sustainable pieces I love. I try to find brands that don’t use toxic dyes and chemicals or underpaid labor. That doesn’t have to translate into expensive clothing; check out a couple of my favorites brands: Wildlife Works (their profits save animals) and Thought, or search for “organic clothing”.
Being an ethical consumer is all about educating yourself then doing the best you can. After all, if you want to change the world, the best way is to vote with your dollars.
What’s your best fashion tip? Do you try to shop sustainably?
What about third world countries that mostly rely on cheap clothing just to be clothed and not just to be fashionable? I think these companies are being unfair. Does this mean that the cheaper the clothing, the more toxic it is??
I get your point, but I don’t think that’s always the case.
This worries me because I’m not very conscious about the materials my clothes are made. I usually just try and feel the fabric if it’s comfy or not or if the way it was sewn was okay, but I never really tried researching whether polyester was bad or not. I’m going to try my best to be a meticulous buyer from now on. I’m now wondering what could be the health concerns that I can be facing with all the dyes that are toxic? I haven’t found reliable sources over the internet aside from Urbanette.
I bet those companies that sell fast moving clothing are the ones that have toxic dyes…!
I’m sure if these clothing manufacturers know that it isn’t safe, they won’t let everybody in this world consume it. I heard that there’s a percentage that’s still safe for human consumption.
I hope this isn’t just a dire attempt to stop women from shopping.?
Shopping for vintage clothes is actually better most of the time. When you shop at Forever 21 and H&M nowadays, it’s like if you buy 1 pair of clothing, there will be thousands of the same design that will be worn by 5 out of 10 of the people that you will meet on the streets. If as a fashionista that doesn’t scare you, then I don’t know what will. If you buy vintage clothes, there’s a big chance that you’ll have that single pair all for yourself! I also get tons of compliments when I’m wearing my vintage clothes.
I totally agree. I hate seeing people wearing the same clothes as I am!
I really thought that you could wash away toxins. Mainly because anything that fails to come off on clothes (dyes) shouldn’t transfer to the skin anymore, right? I’m now so confused.
Oh no, I’m always into cheap clothes because I hate repeating clothes. I usually repeat clothes for only about 5 uses and I just get rid of it immediately after that. I always thought that clothes go somewhere that it’s always recycled… How do you even dispose clothes??
It’s not even worth the money to be purchasing cheap stuff that has colors that wash off in about 2-3 washes. Yes, it’s cheap and what were we even expecting from it? But we should think about how often we purchase cheap clothes that were made with toxic materials and compute it. It’s probably worth so much already that we can afford designer clothes! There’s no point in trying to impress people that your wardrobe is extensive when we’re harming our environment.
Other clothes don’t even have labels. If the “Made in USA” labels aren’t accurate, how can we make sure that even the materials listed are accurate?
This worries me a lot.