I've recently discussed how to create an eco-friendly kitchen in your home, and I've also discussed how to make your bathroom as sustainable as possible. I think there are so many simple and affordable ways to be a little more eco-friendly in your home- and today I'm tackling the wardrobe!
In this post, you'll find 6 tips to create an eco-friendly wardrobe, including where to buy your clothes and how to make the most of the clothes you already have.
1. Buy from Depop
I love Depop, and it's a great way to find a pre-loved item. Instead of buying new clothes and accessories, find something that someone wants to give away- at a fraction of the price!
Depop launched in 2011 and is now one of the biggest fashion (mostly) re-selling sites around.
Their revenue and gross merchandise sales more than doubled in 2020 to $70 and $650 million respectively.
Over 30 million people have signed up to Depop and it has 4 million active buyers and 2 million active sellers.
I always find something I love on Depop- and buying pre-loved clothes is a great way to ensure you are not contributing to fast fashion, and your wardrobe is eco-friendly.
2. Give to charity shops
Did you know that over 350,000 tonnes (£140 million worth) of used but still wearable clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year?
This equates to about 30% of unwanted clothing going to landfill.
Instead of putting your old clothes in the bin, give them away to your local charity shop. As well as creating a more eco-friendly wardrobe, this will also give a deserving charity the chance to make a bit of money off your unwanted clothes.
Some of my best clothes have come from a charity shop- and you never know whether your old clothes are going to become someone else's favourite outfit!
3. Make do and mend
Sometimes our clothes can get torn, ripped, or just not fit us properly anymore.
Instead of instantly thinking that you need to replace it (thus contributing to landfill) you could instead invest a few pounds (probably the same as a new item, or maybe a little more depending on the amount of work needed) in taking it to a tailor to get it fixed, hemmed up, taken in, let out....
Any number of alterations can be made to an outfit that you once thought unwearable!
4. Use wooden coat hangers
If you choose to hang up your clothes, using wooden coat hangers is the best way to reduce your plastic use. If you can't find wooden coat hangers, try to make sure you use your coat hangers again and again.
Sometimes being eco-friendly is just about re-using the products you have as much as possible.
As always, throwing something away should be your last resort- so take your coat hangers from home to home and get some real use out of them!
5. Wear Your Wardrobe
Sounds simple right? But how many of us actually DO wear all the clothes in our wardrobes? We can easily get stuck in a cycle of wearing the same clothes day in day out without even really thinking about it.
You could challenge yourself to wear a new outfit every day to work (if your work allows this, of course) or even if you're working from home, you could share it on social media.
You could surprise yourself and find some new outfit combinations you hadn’t thought of before, or even find a much loved clothing piece at the back of your wardrobe!
6. Swap With Friends.
What could be better than getting together with your friends and swapping out clothes you don’t wear anymore, for ones you would love to? Sometimes we forget that our friends have clothes and perhaps they’re also looking to thin out their own wardrobes too?
This could be a great way to find that perfect item you’ve been searching for to complete an outfit!
Who knows what else you could find?!
This is also much more eco-friendly than two people buying the same item of clothing- share it!
Do you have any tips to create an eco-friendly wardrobe? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!
Love, Sarah xoxoxo
