How I’m Trying to go Sustainable in my Wardrobe

Over the past year, I’ve become increasingly aware of my shopping habits and how they could actually be damaging the earth. Here are some fabrics I want to wear versus some I don’t want to buy anymore. In the end, I list some stores that sell sustainable clothing!

Disclaimer: It’s difficult to avoid certain fabrics when shopping, so I’m limiting myself to only buying non-biodegradable fabrics when the item will last me for a long time. Regardless, I want to eventually eliminate clothing made out of synthetic fabrics because each time I wash them, they shed microfibers that contaminate water and pollute the earth. For more information, please visit https://anuprerna.com/blog/why-should-you-choose-biodegradable-fabrics

Fabrics I’m Using V.S. Fabrics I’m Avoiding in my Closet

Fabrics I will try to use instead:

Organic Cotton or Recycled Cotton Fabric instead of typically cotton

Benefits:

• Neither are farmed using extreme pesticides or fertilizers and use much less water. 
• Regular cotton may use up to 700 gallons of water to make one shirt. 
• Recycled cotton is recycled cotton fabric turned back into cotton fibers and used to make new clothing. 

Cons:

• Cotton can only be recycled once before becoming too weak. 
• More expensive

Organic Hemp Fabric

Benefits:

• Hemp fabric is made out, you guessed it, hemp! Hemp fabric is 100% biodegradable and durable.
• If properly cared for, it can last over 20 years and will soften over time. 

Cons:

• Rougher texture
• Expensive

Organic-Linen Fabric

Benefits:

• Linen is made from flax. When it is not dyed or bleached, it’s 100% biodegradable. 

Cons:

• Expensive
• Not easily accessible

Fabrics I Will Try to Avoid

Polyester

Cons:

• Is not biodegradable and can take up to 300 years to fully decompose. It releases microfibers when washed. 

Nylon

Cons:

• Is made from oil and is non-biodegradable. It sheds microplastics when it’s washed. 

Acrylic

Cons:

• Is nonbiodegradable and will never decompose because it’s plastic. 

Rayon

Cons:

• Can biodegrade but it depends on its chemicals. 

• Majority cotton (Lots of water)

Favorite stores for eco-friendly clothing 

ONLINE:

• https://www.tentree.com/ 
• https://boody.com/ 

INSTORE:

• Girlfriend Collective @ Nordstrom 
• Patagonia

If you want to continue wearing your synthetic fabrics, try a washing bag that traps microfibers!

https://guppyfriend.us/