How to build a sustainable wardrobe in 2024?
Update 31 Aug, 2024
·4 min read
In the past two decades, the fast fashion industry has become one of the largest contributors to landfill waste worldwide, causing serious environmental problems. The growth of eCommerce websites has made this issue worse by increasing the amount of disposable clothing being produced and discarded.
Some disturbing numbers -
100 bn new garments are produced annually around the world
92 mn tonnes of textile waste is generated every year
20% of worldwide industrial wastewater pollution is from the fashion industry
All of these numbers are disturbing & their impact on the environment is even worse. We regularly see extreme monsoons, mountains of garbage in cities and dead coral bodies around the world. People have noticed these ill effects which has led to a strong urge to look for more sustainable alternatives in their wardrobe.
What is a sustainable wardrobe?
To define this we must understand that there is a sufficiency mindset involved in making a wardrobe. Where an individual starts to buy fewer garments or purchases higher-quality garments that can be used for a longer time. Through minimalism & decluttering one can build a sufficiency lifestyle.
A wardrobe made out of sustainable clothing items which has versatility & longevity along with minimum negative impact on the climate can be defined as a sustainable wardrobe.
Before you get started, do this…
Start with auditing your current wardrobe. Here are few important questions that you can ask yourself:
- How many clothing items do I have currently ?
- Why do I have so many items?
- Do I really need to buy more?
- Do I wish to lead this lifestyle?
By answering these questions you can take stock of your buying habits. There is no reason to be ashamed of surplus things. We all have items that we never wear and still keep on buying more. Here is one inspiring message by Mr Ashish Agarwal, who is a Minimalism Expert that encourages us to start small but start right.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3PsakyLn1rc
5 steps to build a sustainable wardrobe:
At Made For Planet we are strong advocates of building sustainable lifestyles. We have identified frameworks around it which helps you, motivates you and makes it easier to adopt sustainable living. We have researched regional & international user behaviour reports and implemented a lot of them within our team to come up with the following 5 important & effective steps to build a sustainable wardrobe.
Reducing Purchase of New Clothes
While it might be obvious, still many of us fail to resist the temptation. The trigger can be anything from a festive occasion to a late night impulse. We usually fail to stop ourselves. It is important to understand that reducing purchasing of new clothes saves 2-3 times more emissions than all other options together at 100% implementation rate.
An estimate suggests that we can reduce average 214 kgs of Co2 emissions per person per year by reducing purchasing of new clothes .
Repairing & Increasing life cycle
By fixing, altering and repairing clothes we increase the lifecycle of clothes thus reducing the carbon footprint. It also helps to buy clothes which have longer life & higher durability in them.
Indian households generally have local tailors for alterations and fixing. But as we move to nuclear families this practice of giving new life to damaged clothes is reducing. Be it your local tailor or an online portal it is important to give new life to clothes by fixing & repurposing them.
There are some interesting startups around this space which we came across. Here is one of them which you can check.
Reducing Washing & Drying
Clothing items like jeans, corduroys and some others can be washed less. Here we don't advocate unhygienic conditions but there are some materials which need not be washed on every usage. When washed, use warm water. Dry clothes in open areas instead of using a dryer.
According to research available, it takes approximately 110 to 170 litres of water for each cycle of washing machine. By reducing wash cycles we can save water wastage as well as extend the life of clothes.
Checking Labels Before Buying
If you must buy new clothes then pay attention to the labels. Is the material biodegradable, is it sourced from clean origins are some of the things that should be considered. Here is a list of companies you can check when you are purchasing next time. Our mission behind Made For Planet is to create a platform for sustainable products with clean labels. Here is a detailed guide on how to get creative while checking & creating labels.
https://khatabook.com/blog/types-of-garment-labels-and-their-information/
Buying from Second Hand or Pre-loved groups
There are Zero shopping groups and ecommerce websites which offer good quality pre used clothes, accessories etc. You can make a habit to check if there is a real need to buy new or is there a possibility to buy pre used or rented items. This also means that before you discard your clothes you can alter, repair and share them on these groups for someone else to buy.
Everytime a garment is resold -
6X The Products weight in CO2 is eliminated
82% Of the garments footprint is reduced
3000+ Litres of water is saved
Source - Relove.in
We encourage you to check these companies who offer pre owned products.
A peer to peer model where they offer both brands and its users to resale their products. This way they ensure verified products with great quality and also reduce dead stock wastage for the brands. https://www.relove.in/shop
This female founded startup was built to make the benefits of resale accessible to everyone -- not just the shoppers. They believe if resale becomes as easier as buying new items, many will buy resale products only. https://www.joinbeni.com/
Thrift + offers quality assured, hassle free and good for planet wardrobe articles. They partner with major brands to end fashion waste by making it easier to buy preloved clothes. https://thrift.plus/
Every Rimagined product is crafted with care and attention to detail by skilled artisans. They offer unique designs to day to day products and give second life while also reduce wastage thus having positive environmental effect. https://rimagined.com/
More Ideas for conscious fashion & accessories :
There are many other ways and learnings to apply while building a sustainable wardrobe. Like did you know the choice of material of cloth also impacts Co2 emissions. A report by Hot or Cool Institute surveys & shares findings around more lifestyle options that individuals can adopt. Read in more detail here.
It’s always important to make yearly audits on progress and improve year on year. Remember to be gentle on yourselves when you falter.
Here is one important diagram to keep in mind whenever you think of sustainable products
Conclusion
According to a report, out of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. Unless we mend our ways fast fashion waste is expected to soar up to 134 million tonnes a year by the end of the decade. Building a sustainable wardrobe and adopting a sustainable lifestyle can make a lot of difference in global carbon footprints.
