To me, sustainability in fashion also means spending less. While I love the look and feel of new sustainable materials that "green" companies are using, as a grad school student and a nonprofit employee living from paycheck to paycheck, I usually just can’t afford those items.
Here’s another thing that concerns me - according to the EPA office of solid waste, we each throw about 68 pounds of clothing per year. This seems to sum up the ultimate dilemma when you put the words “fashion” and “sustainability” together. Traditionally, fashion as a culture is a temporary thing as the industry relies on constant change in order to sustain itself. Unfortunately that means a lot of clothing is only worn for about six months before it is discarded.
Luckily, as the youngest of a big extended family that hates to throw things away, I’m used to wearing hand me downs, so I’m right at home in a thrift store. And I just love the satisfaction of finding those second-hand pieces of clothing that suit me my personality so well and cost so little.
Here is an entirely second-hand outfit that I put together on etsy.com. These pieces are very “me” – even in the spring I am attracted to darker colors, simple elegance, and warmth.
The best part? This entire outfit cost me exactly $100. Normally I would try to spend only half of that, but these items seem like they will last me a long time, so it’s worth it.
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