How to Minimize Clothing Waste and Build a More Sustainable Wardrobe 

Written By Emma Calder

Written by Zoë Lichtwer, Sustainability Committee member 

The fashion industry is always changing, and with the increase in “fast fashion” and “Micro trends,” we are consuming about 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year. Because of this, it probably comes as no surprise that the fashion industry is not very sustainable, but it’s even worse than we think. The fashion industry produces almost ten percent of global carbon emissions, which is more than what aviation and shipping produces combined. Additionally, around 25% of garments made every year are never sold, and only 1% of clothes are actually ever recycled. To help combat this problem, we can all implement small changes to how we shop, care for, and discard our clothing to help reduce clothing waste. Here are 5 tips on how to minimize clothing waste and build a more sustainable wardrobe for our planet. 

1 – Choose Quality of Quantity 

Fast fashion and microtrends promote buying cheap and trendy clothing items that tend to wear out and go out of fashion quickly. Instead, invest in fewer items of higher quality that will last longer and reduce the need for constant replacement. 

2 – Second Hand Shopping and Hand-me-downs 

Instead of buying brand new items, think of thrifting, cosigning old clothes, and buying secondhand, as this helps to make use of perfectly good garments already in circulation. Additionally, see if friends and family are getting rid of clothes you may want and can use. 

3 – Repair, Don’t Replace 

Got a shirt with a little hole, or a pair of pants that are a little too big? Instead of discarding them and replacing them, see if they can be stitched up. If you can’t do it yourself, consider bringing items into the seamstress to be fixed. If items are too far gone and no longer wearable, consider giving clothes another use, such as turning them into rags for cleaning.    

4 – Support Sustainable Brands 

If and when buying new clothing items, be sure to support brands with sustainability at the forefront of their mission. Sustainable practices include organic materials, ethical production, plastic-free packaging, recycling programs, etc. Although not all practices will be implemented everywhere, it's a good start and good to look out for in the brands you are shopping at. Sustainable clothing brands based in Canada include, but are not limited to, KOTN, Frank and Oak, tentree, and Uncle Studios. Other more sustainable brands include Everlane, Reformation, Parks Project, and Subset. 

As consumers, we are often aware of big fast fashion brands such as Shein and Forever 21, but often we don’t think of other big brands that are also big contributors to clothing waste. Brands such as Nike, Adidas, Lululemon, and even Aritzia are big fast fashion companies that you should consider staying away from. 

5 – Build a Capsule Wardrobe

Micro trends refers to the phenomenon that trending clothing items are only “in” for a very short period of time, and buying into these micro trends means you might only get a few wears out of an item or you may not even like the item at all and not wear it. About 40% of items bought are never actually worn.  To combat this, build a capsule wardrobe with less but more versatile items. Thoughtfully picked out items can be mixed and matched to create limitless outfits. 

Sources

Emma Calder
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