Sustainable living requires instilling a conscious effort in lifestyle changes that positively impact the environment. However, merely choosing green fabrics isn’t sufficient for reducing wastage and curbing environmental damage.
Rest assured various aspects of your life contribute to your carbon footprint. You can optimize your consumer choices in the following ways for ensuring greater sustainability.
- Smarter fashion purchases
Buy recyclable and reusable clothes, which are organic and will last longer than artificial and chemically processed fabrics. There are always less privileged people who can use your hand-me-downs.
You can repurpose non-organic fabrics instead of putting them in a landfill, where they will not degrade without causing environmental harm.
Given the high-water levels, labour, and manufacturing costs, you should invest in vintage clothing rather than buying new pieces.
- The 30 Wears Test
You can reduce consumption by purchasing trans-seasonal, multi-purpose clothing artifacts. Instead of buying multiple fashion or seasonal pieces, you should buy eco-friendly fabric made garments that can serve you multiple times a year.
As a standard rule, follow the ’30 Wears test’ where you purchase clothes you can wear at least 30 times. It is more prudent to invest your money for multiple limited-use clothes on quality organic fashion fit for prolonged use. Quality over quantity is the idea.
- Ethically sourced animal-derived fashion
It’s no secret that animals are still mass-bred for their fur, silk, leather, and wool. You must consider ethically sourced animal-derived fashion if you must consume it at all. Plus, you must join the global effort to boycott endangered species-derived fashion.
Opting for sustainable fabrics to substitute the use of animal-derived fashion is the best course forward. On the contrary, some brands repurpose animal remains for style after their natural demise.
- Investigate the source of your wardrobe
Dig deeper to discover how a label purchases and obtains its raw materials. Is it ethically sourced? Does the label follow green logistics processes? Is it a certified fair-trade organization?
As a buyer, you can help sustain quality fashion while conserving the environment. The fundamental practice is to boycott brands that don’t adhere to environmentally conscious trade practices while empowering sustainable clothing brands.
- Pay attention to labels
Pay close attention to your favourite clothing labels. Many brands, especially with the boom of eCommerce, capitalize on the eco-friendly tag. Find out which of them are sourcing their inventory sustainably.
A genuine, nature-friendly brand will have a GOTS certification or similar accreditation. VCI Exports is one such India-based brand that only deals in organic, green fabric products.