Did you know that the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry, second only to the oil industry?
Did you know that the chemicals used to produce many types of clothing are not only toxic to the earth, but also to those who produce and wear the clothes?
I’ve built a minimalist capsule wardrobe with a focus on pre-owned items and sustainability. It means that I can enjoy high-quality items at a fraction of the retail price, give more support to local businesses, and reduce clothing waste.
Watch this video for all my tips and favorite resources!
Resources and further reading mentioned in the video:
- ThredUp (that’s a referral link — thank you for your support!)
- The Real Real
- 5 Reasons To Use Natural Fiber Clothing
- Pre-order The Invisible Corset
Any brands that sell clothing from natural fibers that you recommend?
Pact and Patagonia have some great options. Other large clothing brands (Lululemon, Equipment, Nordstrom, etc.) have some natural fiber options, just make sure you check the label that shares the fabric composition to make sure you’re getting natural fibers.
I love the idea of shopping thrift stores so much so that when I found ThredUp a few years ago, I ordered multiple new, used core pieces for my wardrobe. Unfortunately, I had to send a lot of it back (some at my cost) because many of the clothes stunk of perfumes from the conventional laundry detergents that the previous owners had used to wash them in. Given I couldn’t get the smell to come out after multiple washes, apparently, clothes must really, really get saturated from the chemicals that make up those perfumes. This is a massive bummer, as I don’t want to buy new, and there are limited good, local thrift stores where I can go “sniff test” potential items. (Yes, that’s very weird.) Any suggestions for how to handle this?
I have noticed the same thing from ThredUp… I have had to return a handful of pieces due to being saturated with fragrance. But many of the pieces I got haven’t had any fragrance. One thing that helps is putting the dry clothes out in strong sunlight, which is one of the most powerful cleansing agents. You might check to prevent lightening of the clothing dye, but I’ve found this to be helpful.