How to have an Eco-Friendly Wardrobe that You’ll Love

It’s easy to walk past a cute top or a dress at a store and ooh and ahh over it. It’s easy to whip out your credit card and purchase it. It’s more difficult, however, to stop and think about all of the things that went into making that specific outfit, including the chemicals and pesticides that were used to make it. If you’re someone who is interested in the earth and its well-being, as well as how you look, then you may want to think about how to create an eco-friendly wardrobe for yourself.

Buying Eco-Friendly Clothing

One thing that you can do is to purchase eco-friendly clothing. You can find organic clothing and eco-friendly clothing in a variety of places. One place that you can look for eco-friendly clothing is online. There are a number of online websites that sell eco-friendly clothing that is not only great to look at, but affordable.  If you’re lucky, you may happen to have a store in your area that sells eco-friendly clothing as well.  What if you don’t want to buy a lot of new clothing, or if you’re on a budget? As it turns out, there are a few ways that you can make your closet be a bit more eco-friendly even if you are on a budget.

Sort Out What You Have

Go through your closet and all of the clothing that you have now. Dedicate a whole day to it (it’s a great rainy Saturday project) and pull out everything that you own. Take everything out, lay it on the bed or on the couch, and go through everything piece by piece. Figure out if it’s something that you’re going to use again or if you’ll never wear it again. If it’s something that you’ll wear again, put it aside, but if it’s something you’ve only worn once or twice, you can throw it aside to donate. Also, get rid of anything that doesn’t fit you. If you’ve held onto something for a long time because you know that you’re going to “eventually” fit into it again, it’s time to toss it aside.

Once you’ve pulled everything out of your closet and have sorted everything out, you can then go through everything again. The reason for this is because it can be hard to get rid of clothing that has sentimental value. Bring a friend over to help if you need to or take pictures of yourself in each outfit. Figure out what you really want and what you don’t. Figure out what your style truly is and what just doesn’t suit you. Remember to keep pieces that can be used with multiple outfits, like skirts or tops that can be paired in a variety of different ways. Look for things that have broken buttons or zippers. If you honestly think that you’re going to use them again, get them fixed or, better yet, fix them yourself. If not, you can turn them into something else. How amazing would it be to make a quilt out of your old clothing?  If you’re not crafty, you can always make them into rags that you can use to clean your house, which are reusable and also eco-friendly. Once you’ve taken out everything that you don’t need or want, send them to the thrift store or donate them.

Buying Used

Another way to make sure that your wardrobe is eco-friendly is to buy used clothing. Some people have a stigma against used clothing because they believe that it is just “gross” to wear someone else’s clothing. The truth is, however, that wearing used clothing is not only a way to save money, but is also a great way to save the environment. Used clothing can be found in a variety of places, from visiting thrift stores to stopping by garage sales. Often you can find some great things in thrift stores that look amazing and that are very cheap, and because they’re being reused, they’re definitely eco-friendly.

There are many ways that you can make your wardrobe eco-friendly, but don’t forget about your accessories! Instead of purchasing accessories that are brand new and decidedly not eco-friendly, try buying accessories that are made out of sustainable materials and ones that are definitely eco-friendly. You can, for instance, purchase wooden accessories or ones that are remade from old things. Scrabble tiles are very popular accessories right now, as people can put photos on them and can transform them into amazing bracelets or necklaces. The point is that you can make your wardrobe eco-friendly very easily; all it takes is a little bit of time, some deep thinking, and some sorting out.  The more careful you are with all of your future clothing purchases, the more eco-friendly your wardrobe will become over time.