Earth Day Fashion Tips

With Earth Day right around the corner (Monday, April 22nd to be precise), this week the IFB Project asked the question "what does sustainable style mean to you?". Now the obvious definition of sustainable style is fashion consisting of pieces that were either made with minimal impact on the earth and the environment or pieces that influence the consumer to minimize their impact on the environment. This would include investing in organic/ fair trade clothing, making your own clothing, investing in durable classic pieces, thrift store shopping and borrowing/trading clothing with your mom/grandma/sibling/best friend.

When it comes to finding organic/fair trade clothing options you have a number of options.  The etsy shop, SoulRole sells organic clothing for men, women, children and maternity made in Hawaii (see image below). Gaia Conceptions on etsy features eco chic fashions for women and children  made from locally grown and milled fabrics (see below). And the online shop, People Tree, specializes in sustainable/ fair trade fashions.

SoulRole

Gaia Conceptions

If you're crafty like me, maybe you'd like to join the DIY movement and create your own fashions. I get a lot of inspiration from crafty sewing bloggers such as Tilly and the Buttons, Gerie's New Blog for Better Sewing, Adventures in Dressmaking, LLADYBIRD, Green Apples, and Grosgrain, and DIYers like A Beautiful Mess, Lula Louise, Ruffles and Stuff, Chic Steals and the YouTube Series, Threadbanger just to name a few. When looking for fabric, consider shopping at a thrift store or upcycling a pre-existing garment. But if you must use new fabric, keep in mind that natural fibers use less energy to create than man-made fibers such as acrylic, nylon and polyester.

Another, albeit perhaps more difficult way to participate in sustainable fashion, is to pair down your wardrobe and invest in classic, durable and long-lasting fashions that can sustain the test of time. This can be difficult because you have to reduce the urge to pounce on all of the latest trends in order to save up for those investment pieces, and also because our bodies sometimes like to fluxuate in size from time-to-time. I'm trying to do this myself and currently have my eyes on a great fitting leather jacket and a good pair of jeans.

For the more budget concious, you can always hit up your local thrift shop or trade clothes with a friend or relative. Below is an old photo of me sporting some thrift store finds from this post (the coat came from a thrift shop in St.Louis and the skirt is from Wild Man Vintage in Lawrence, KS).

You can also check out this old post where I did some shopping in my grandma's closet.

 How do you participate in sustainable fashion? Let me know in the comments below.