Sustainable Fashion Resolutions
Every year – after we’ve stuffed ourselves full of mince pies and quality street – we roll up off our Christmas bellies and make grandiose promises to ourselves about the coming year: New Year Resolutions.
If you’re anything like me, you will tend to go extra big when it comes to resolutions. Every year, I swear that I will: exercise everyday; completely give up plastic; read every one of Shakespeare’s plays; renounce junk food ; only buy products from sustainable sources… and so on. Whilst these can be great and motivating, they are also incredibly pressurising and hard to accomplish with just a click of our fingers… or the clock’s tick from the 31st of December to the 1st of January. Most of the time, my resolutions have been abandoned by mid-January.
So this year, when it comes to sustainability, I’m going smaller to go bigger. At SFW, we encourage people to do the best they can, with the time, budget and energy that they have. Completely renouncing fast fashion and becoming the perfect sustainable fashion ambassador could be overwhelming, so we need to break it down. Instead of “I am never going to buy new clothes again” try “I am going to buy less than I did last year”. There are so many small sustainable fashion resolutions to adopt that will make a big difference, and here are just a few we recommend for 2021:
1. Dig deep into your wardrobe: Revisit the clothes you haven’t worn for months/years and you might just find yourself falling in love with them all over again - especially in combination with any new clothes you have acquired. Sometimes that new coat/jumper/pair of jeans you think you need to buy is in fact at the back of your wardrobe.
2. Browse second-hand first: If you do really need that new coat/jumper/pair of jeans, first have a browse in your local charity shops, or on online platforms such as Depop – you will probably find a cheaper deal there anyway.
3. Stay informed: Reading an article a week/month about the harsh reality of fast fashion will have a direct impact on your actions by helping you to make better choices regarding your clothes.
4. Create a sustainably-conscious social media feed: Unfollow the brands/influencers making you want to buy, buy, buy. These accounts have the subliminal effect of making us feel unfashionable and ‘behind’ on the style scene – leading to more consumption. Instead, follow more sustainable fashion accounts, such as : @ajabarbar, @cleanclothescampaign, @consciousfashion and @fash_rev.
5. Talk about it: Talking with friends and families about fast fashion and sustainability is an amazing way to become a @SFWPioneer. It will encourage yourself and others to want to do more, and will build your own little community of activists.
6. Swap and share clothes: Style is no longer about ownership, but about sharing and really giving clothes the love they deserve. If you need an outfit for a particular event, ask around and see if anyone can lend you something. If you don’t want to completely give up that old - but beloved - coat you haven’t worn in a while, see if a friend would like to swap it for something else. You might be surprised how much this will prevent you from having to buy more clothes.
7. Look after your clothes: Read that again. There are so many easy ways to make our clothes last longer: wash them less often and according to their instructions; fold clothes along the seams; let clothes air dry to help maintain the elastic’s shape; before washing, empty pockets, close zippers and loosely tie any strings together to prevent snagging; and avoid using the dryer.
8. Learn to sew: Along the same vein, trying learning some basic sewing skills to prevent your clothes from ending up in landfill after only a year or two. You don’t need to be the next Great British Sewing Bee to darn your socks, or sew up that rip in your jeans’ crotch (why do they always tear there?!). There are plenty of videos and Instagram accounts which can show you easy ways to repair your clothes, such as @repair_what_you_wear. If sewing is beyond you, you can pay to get items mended or recruit a more crafty friend to help you.
9. Buy sustainable: When buying something new – if you have the money – buy it from a sustainable source, or choose an item you know is going to last. The website Good On You will help you rate how sustainable a brand is, whilst Buy Me Once is a great site for finding out what products will actually stand the test of time.
10. Don’t be so hard on yourself: In the quest to becoming an eco-warrior, none of us are perfect. If you fail, remember that that is okay and it’s all part of the process. By continuing to learn and try, you are already an empowering and admirable #SFWPioneer.
Whether you pick one or all ten of these resolutions, you’re starting to make a change - and that is exactly what we need to see in 2021.
Want to read more? Check out…
https://twothirds.com/blogs/posts/10-tips-to-take-care-of-your-clothes