Change the World by Changing Your Shopping Habits

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With the rise of fast fashion came the rise of fashion pollution. World garment production is expected to increase 60% by 2030 and the issue of fashion waste is becoming increasingly dire. To raise awareness, industry leaders attending the Copenhagen Fashion Summit have written “A Call To Action For a Circular Fashion System.” They have secured titans like H&M, and Kering (owners of Gucci, Balenciaga, and a dozen other brands) to sign their sustainability commitment, which includes promises to make more durable clothing and use more recycled fabric.

But what is circular fashion? The simple answer is what’s called textile recycling. Unwanted clothing that gets donated is usually sold in bulk to a sorting facility. They divvy up the clothing to be resold in the developing world to textile recyclers or to be incinerated. Clothing that is thrown away instead of donated usually ends up in a landfill. While there is a massive initiative to recycle glass and plastic, there is little existing infrastructure to recycle fabric.

In an ideal circular fashion system, all unwanted textile would be recycled into new garments, being reused many times before eventually landing in the city dump. But a fully sustainable fashion system is a long way off. In the meantime, there are some chic ways to minimize textile waste in your own wardrobe, besides buying from sustainable brands.

Thrifting is one way to be more sustainable. And with retro fashion on the rise, it’s a less expensive way to stay on trend. Another path towards A circular wardrobe is by getting creative repairing and repurposing of your old clothes. Turn your old button downs into fun patches, bleach a pair of worn jeans to give them new life, sew up the holes in your pants instead of throwing them out or, better yet, embrace the distressed look.

With looming environmental problems facing the fashion system (and the world), the industry may want to start getting familiar with the circular approach.

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