The term “sustainable fashion” need not be a limited reference to garments and accessories produced and/or acquired by ecologically/socially responsible methods. Wearing what’s already in your closet as well as shopping secondhand and participating in clothing swaps are a few of the ways to rethink how you might go about reducing the demand for newly produced clothing.
Whether it’s a dusted-off treasure from years past, or an item that was bought from a thrift store, or perhaps a well-worn favorite that’s been given new life, that fashion find is covered under the Reclaim-Recycle-Reuse theme. The sustainable fashion movement is viewed as a backlash against the rapid rise of fast fashion and the negative impacts it has brought about like the modern-day slavery of factories, the toxic pollution it creates, and the excessive carbon emissions that are affecting our climates.
The concepts of sustainable fashion are relatively new to me even though I’d begun to embrace secondhand shopping about 6 years ago. Up to that point, I’d become disillusioned by the then-current fashion offerings. Perhaps you’ve also felt much the same way. Between the decline in the quality and craftsmanship in clothing and the realization that most fashion is targeted for a much younger demographic, retail shopping had become an exercise in frustration and had lost the appeal it had once held for me.
I soon found that the thrill of a bargain could be achieved with secondhand shopping. Jeans for under $6, a winter coat for less than $10, special “color” day items for $1. Vintage finds sure, but who hasn’t been delighted to find a “new with tag” item in a thrift store? Poshmark has a special tag for such items. One on hand, with such a tag you can get a better measure of the amount of your savings from the original retail price. On the other hand, though, I question whether acquiring lots of NWT items for the purpose of listing them on resell sites is not truly a practice in sustainability.
That point may be a topic for a future post. For now, I’ll stick to providing the details of sustainable fashion that make up the look in today’s photos. The thrift store finds include the jacket, the boots, and the multi-chain necklace. The jacket was a recent purchase, and with its metallic sheen, is a good lightweight topper for early Fall. It’s a little too large for me so it’ll soon be listed on Poshmark. While I adore these boots, I don’t find them comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time but I keep them as part of my “photoshoot” footwear collection. They make an appearance about once year, like in Fresh Focus: Buffalo Plaid from last October.
The fringy purse was a Poshmark purchase I made 3 years ago. My daughter borrowed it for a while and then returned about a year ago. Originally it had a chain strap that added a bit of weight to the purse and I found it a tad uncomfortable across my shoulder. I swapped it out for a plain strap that I’d saved from another purse that had fallen apart. The exterior finish on this purse is started to disintegrate so I’ll soon be looking for a replacement.
The dark floral print of my dress may be recognizable to those of you who are frequent Old Navy shoppers. I bought the dress new about two years ago and likely wore it once or twice for work that Fall/Winter before I retired. The last time I truly recall wearing it was in December of 2019 for a bat mitzvah. I was pleasantly surprised that it seemed to fit less snuggly than I remembered and then I checked my weekly weigh-in notes. I weigh about 15 pounds less now than I did at the end of 2019 so it wasn’t my imagination.
There is much debate as to whether retail purchases sully the reputation of those purporting to be in support of sustainable fashion. As if it’s an all-or-nothing proposition. Globally, there is no doubt that change to fashion products and the fashion system is needed in order to achieve greater ecological integrity and social justice. Concerns related to sustainable fashion are far more than just addressing textiles or products. Making deliberative choices on clothing that fits your lifestyle and then the proper care of that clothing also has its place in sustainable fashion.
Secondhand shopping is another way to embrace the values of the sustainable fashion movement. While it may only be a small part, it can be one of the most easily achievable practices. Shopping at local thrift stores reduces energy consumption and air pollution, diverts used clothing from landfills, and raises money for charity organizations. However, this too is not without its controversies.
The opinion of some is that the reselling of thrift items for higher prices is unethical because it diverts those donated items away from the less fortunate. They argue that the gentrification of thrift stores causes prices to increase, making access to affordable clothing and items much more difficult for lower-income communities. On the other hand, stories abound about thrift stores having too much inventory and sales of the donated goods are still raising funds for the charities. It’s an interesting debate, don’t you think?
Let’s Wrap This Up
Now, onto the Fine-Whatever link-up. My featured blogger from last week is Donna, a blogger with a passion for fashion with a love for retro, cosplay, and food. Her post, Getting The Most Out Of A Pleated Floral Skirt, shows just how creative her style is.
Have you considered the impact your clothing purchases make on the environment and how you could change that? What steps are you taking to have a more sustainable relationship with fashion? How have you reclaimed, recycled, and/or reused items in your wardrobe? I would love to know how you feel about sustainable fashion.
Stay well and let’s keep in touch! Subscribe, tweet, follow, friend, pin … all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Note: This is an unsponsored post; however, some or all of the links to clothing items are associated with an affiliate program where I earned a few cents for each click.
Photos: MMPerez
21 Comments
Big believer in sustainable fashion. I don’t have enough time right now to sort through thrift shops (we call them charity shops here) but when I’m retired, plan to do it a lot. In the meantime I choose carefully which retailers I buy from – only those with sustainable and ethical policies. I don’t buy fast fashion and I prefer to spend more on quality rather than quantity, so that things will last a long time.
Rena, your dress looks great styled this way! I’m a second hand shopper for sure – grew up that way and it’s in my blood! I am sad to see many thrift shops in my area closing but we have Goodwill and I love Poshmark!
Thank you for the link up!
xo,
Kellyann
Love florals mixed with a biker. Mixed feelings about sustainable fashion. I try to do my best but followers are still crying out for bargain buys/high street stuff. Have a lovely weekend xx
Love your taste Rena- those pieces are all so good! Fashion sustainability is what I teach on the daily…this topic is gi-normous with all that it entails. Suffice it to say that secondhand shopping is definitely one of the strong ways to go- even when reselling (but yes there’s an ethical dilemma there too)- but in terms of circularity f the item’s lifecycle, it’s great! The downfall is the over-purchasing can also lead to too much stuff that risks ending up at the same landfill as the other discarded new and fast fashion items. It’s a constant work in progress! Love this post!!! Food for thought!!!
I know you hear this a lot, but your look and your hair: so cool.
Heading to Poshmark — thanks for putting listings out.
Wendy TheInspiredEater
I’m in total agreement about sustainable fashion. Thrifts are the way to go because you don’t have to spend a fortune and save your money for one special piece from a sustainable brand (for me, it’s American Giant). I’m going to link a Instagram photo because we were thinking along the same lines today. I bought a bunch of left over fabric from a place called Fab Scrap and put together a top from some of the pieces. I think attitudes are changing but don’t know if they are changing fast enough.
Sustainable fashion is always a debatable subject! The people that can afford to cast off quality clothes will never listen to the call so the rest of us that are happy to zoom in on their cast offs can be virtuous and appreciate the bargains available at the same time.
Love your look and thoughtful post on sustainable fashion! It is a very important and complex topic. I am buying less, higher quality items these days, and restyling what I already own. I don’t have much luck in the few thrift and consignment shops in my area, but Etsy is one of my online favorites. Hope you have a good weekend and thanks for the link up!
I 100% agree with reuse recycle reclaim. I do this year in, year out. But this year I’m really feeling the need to ring some changes with my clothes just to make things not so “same old”.
Sustainable fashion is so important. And I love that it is being discussed more and more. And that a lot of brands are starting to go this route. Your style looks so gorgeous and I love the way you styled this look. Hope your having a fabulous weekend.
http://www.bauchlefashion.com/2021/09/6-looks-thatll-make-you-convert-to-high.html
http://www.instagram.com/heathernoire89
That dress is beautiful on you and I love the darker leather pieces with it to toughen it up 🙂
I definitely think shopping less is the key to being more sustainable – and if we do shop, shopping second hand first.
It’s definitely a struggle for opshops (what we call thrift shops) here. You can pickup a tee brand new from a major retailer on sale for $2. Or you can pick it up worn in an opshop for $7, often more than what it retailed for originally. It’s a fine line I think with the opshops needing to have things fairly priced to fund all the charity work they do and yet also competing with the cost of fast fashion.
It’s good we have options but I confess I tend to look for accessories in the more overpriced stores and clothing in the little opshops that aren’t affiliated with major charities. There’s one here that has all clothing for $1. It also directly supports local families so a lot of people donate there. They let those in need “shop” the store without paying, and the low prices mean those struggling but not qualifying for full support can get what they need. As well as ensuring that they aren’t overwhelmed with stock as it goes quickly! I’ve participated in more than a few “fill a bag for $5” sales there!
Thank you for the link up!
Hope you are having a great weekend 🙂 We had a fun day out yesterday with family 🙂
I try to purchase quality over quantity and won’t buy something unless I know I can style it 3 or more ways. I love the thrill of a good thrift store find too! Your boots are gorgeous!
Jill – Doused in Pink
It seems that I have a harder time finding something I love in the high end shops. And finding real treasures in the pre loved shops.
I am trying to shop more 2nd hand and that is going to be a goal of mine this coming year as well as shop more smaller shops and less on Amazon and big chain stores. Not sure how successful at it I will be but trying to do a little shift.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
You know how much I love thrift shopping! I get so excited when I can create an entire outfit from second hand pieces. I love this outfit on you. This dress looks so great with those boots!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
I love thrifting too. Was thinking about taking my daughter out this afternoon! And that purse is giving me feels!
I think you probably know that most of my shopping is second-hand. I aim for secondhand first, then locally-made, then locally designed. I buy retail once in a while (underwear, that sort of thing), and sometimes things from Dots (they resell clothing samples). I only shop in person – never online.
I give away my used clothes, first to my friends, then to coworkers, and everything left is donated to local charities. I’ve heard that argument against the gentrification of thrift stores (Value Village here has ridiculously high prices), but I don’t see many low income women wearing dresses and gowns, or fancy skirts, or frankly, any of the stuff I buy in thrift stores!
Thanks for the link-party, Rena! I love your outfit here – that metallic jacket is so fun. The boots are cool, but I hear ya on comfort. I love the fringed bag, but can’t have them around Vizzini the Kitty Who Eats Everything.
Oh, Rena! I definitely recognize that dress! I have one just like it hanging in my closet! I am not a thrifter (shhh!!). My husband grew up in a very poor home and was traumatized by schoolkids making fun of him wearing their clothing. As such, he sees it as I don’t know, I guess honorable that I buy good clothing. It’s a little strange, I know. But, as much as I’ve tried to change him over the years…I just can’t. I do have clothing that is several decades old. It still looks like new probably because many of the fabrics are natural and wear like iron. Shoes and boots are what I hang on to forever. I have a problematic foot so finding comfortable and supportive footwear is important to me. The boots I linked have been well loved and need a good polishing as well as new soles. I wear them with everything! I donate a lot of clothing to a local clothing pantry run by the local school system. When I was teaching, I would take bags into the school for the younger teachers who were raising young families to go through. They loved it, and I loved seeing them giving my clothes a different spin!
Thanks so much for the link up!
I feel guilty if I buy something really cheap from China, for example. I’ve done it a couple of times to buy dresses for my photography. If we had better thrift stores here, I’d buy from them a lot more. Having said that, I did actually find quite a good one a few months ago. I must go back!
You look fabulous—it’s a shame the boots aren’t comfortable though because they are so cool! Same with the jacket being a bit big.
Hugs
Suzy x
I adore this look, Rena!
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Hi Rena
This is such a great look on you! These pieces go harmoniously together! I am with you, I don’t often shop at the stores, but prefer to shop online and for the past several years, I do alot of it on Poshmark. I enjoy scoping for some deals and often find “treasures”. I do think it is important to shop secondhand as there is so much clothing waste.
thanks for linking!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com