Hey you, yes you! Saving the earth looks good on you!
In recent years, awareness of climate change drastically increased. With so many ways to help our planet, some feel impractical. Since many people love fashion, here are ten practical ways you can contribute to the planet in style!
UThrift
UThrift is a University of Miami exclusive. Every Wednesday, students can donate gently used clothing and material items. In return, you can choose something to take home.
Fast fashion is as bad for the environment as fast food is for your arteries — an ugly sight, but you get the point. By donating unwanted clothes to UThrift, you will receive a free item and you will prevent old clothing from ending up in landfills.
Upcycling
Houses are not the only thing you can flip. You can also flip couture; it just has a more chic name: upcycling. Upcycling involves getting a piece of clothing (perhaps from UThrift) that has potential and repurposing — adding to it or making it new to you.
Right now, patchwork is trendy and makes upcycling easier than ever. Say you saw a jean jacket at UThrift last week, but you realized it had a hole so you decided not to get it. You can order scraps of fabric and scatter them around the jean jacket for a unique and sustainable look. There are no limits to what you can buy — just “flip” it!
Consignment Stores
If you want to spruce up your wardrobe for brunch, check out consignment stores. Many of the items sold are in mint condition and vintage. Regina George can say whatever she wants about vintage — it’s all the rage right now.
The Consignment Corner in Pinecrest has been around for over forty years and they’re not limited to a corner; they have a website. From sleek Dolce and Gabbana tops to vintage Chanel rings, the Consignment Corner’s website has everything under the sun.
Vegan Leather
Vegan leather is better for the environment for many reasons, but there are two main reasons you should consider buying a vegan tote instead of leather. First, vegan leather is better for animals, as none are killed in the process. Second, vegan leather does not require large amounts of water like animal leather.
Since this is 2022, there are many vegan leather bag options. The Vegan Warehouse offers bags in a variety of styles and brands. It’s overwhelming!
Know how to shop for Sustainable Apparel
It’s a good sign when brands highlight sustainability in their company and we should do our best to support these brands. How can we support these brands if we have limited knowledge of sustainable apparel, you ask? By reading the tags and finding out what material was used.
Organic or recycled cotton, hemp and linen are great because they do not impact the environment as negatively as other materials, such as polyester. Look for the Fair Trade seal, it means that the flattering linen top you can’t wait to wear was produced sustainably.
Minimalism is Key
While shopping ’til you drop sounds fun, it doesn’t excite our planet. Rather than buying tops because they look so amazing, buy two. We forget what we have in our closets and end up buying more than we’ll ever need. By constantly buying clothes, we’ve highlighted how much of a threat consumerism is to our planet—a big one.
Vegan Makeup
For those of us awaiting Legally Blonde 3, at least we have the first two films. In the sequel, Elle Woods fought against animal-tested makeup products, as her beloved chihuahua’s mom was used to test makeup. Unlike the film’s ending, animal testing is still going on, but there are vegan alternatives.
Vegan makeup is made from plants and doesn’t use as many chemicals, thus releasing fewer toxins into the environment. Many makeup brands are vegan and more should be. If you’re already obsessed with their Balm Dotcom lip balm, I have an excuse for you to take the metro (we are lessening our carbon footprint!) and head over to Glossier’s pop-up shop, as they are both cruelty-free and vegan!
Shampoo Bar
The amount of plastic that shampoo and conditioner bottles use is pretty large. Unfortunately, not all plastic bottles are biodegradable, but there are alternatives.
Shampoo bars use little water, last for a good amount of time and don’t use plastic.
The One Way Procrastination is Beneficial: Laundry
It takes up a lot of energy and water to do laundry. Do you know what will quell this problem? Procrastination.
While procrastination may not be the best method to achieving success, it is more than okay when doing laundry. Instead of doing small loads of laundry throughout the week, do larger loads. If there is an outfit you’re dying to wear and it’s dirty, set the water level accordingly.
Eco-Friendly detergent
Many ingredients in laundry detergents are harmful to the environment, like phosphates, which can kill off fish and is linked to cardiovascular disease. When using detergent, make sure you know what’s in it; it may not only be harmful to the environment but you.
It may be cliché to say that everything adds up, but it truly does. Even if you adopt one of these habits, you will be doing more than you know. Let’s treat planet earth like it’s our runway because it is!