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If you haven't heard yet, green is the new black! But we
don't expect you to throw out all your clothes and buy a whole new green
wardrobe, that would not be very eco or wallet-friendly. All you
need to start saving the earth in style is to adopt some basic
eco-friendly habits when you do shop and care for your clothes.
Shopping bags are usually a hybrid of paper and plastic and are RARELY recyclable. The U.S. currently uses 100 billion plastic bags alone per year.
Growing cotton is the most pesticide-intensive farming process in the world! One-third of a pound of pesticides are sprayed on each pound of cotton, not to mention the chemical fertilizers that are used to grow it.
A well-constructed garment made long ago costs nothing to the environment today. And since there is nothing new in fashion and it's all been done before, you can be green AND stylish. It also can be easier on the wallet than buying new.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency requires that any garment or fabric made overseas must be heated to 130 degrees for thirty minutes or sprayed with methyl bromide, a Class 1 ozone-depleting substance that is toxic to humans. Because the heat treatment is expensive and time-consuming, the manufacturer usually chooses methyl bromide. And don't forget the packing and energy expended to get the product across the world!
The U.S. throws away 9 billion pounds of used textiles each year. If you buy things that are classically stylish and made well (yes, sometimes this translates into expensive), you will be less likely to throw it away someday and second-hand stores won't resell most fast fashion.
While cotton may be the fabric of our life, there are plenty of other wonderful fabrics. High-quality cashmere is one of the most sustainable fibers around. Silk is renewable AND biodegradable. Linen is made from flax, which requires very little pesticide and chemical treatment.
Over seventeen billion paper catalogs are mailed to U.S. Households each YEAR and only 7 percent of those are printed on even partially recycled paper (call the catalogue and ask them to put you on their email list instead of their mailing list!)
Laundering makes up over 40% of your wardrobe's carbon dioxide footprint! So take good care of your clothes and don't wash too frequently just because you like that freshly laundered smell. When you do wash your clothes, remember to use warm instead of hot to save 30% electricity.
There's nothing 'dry' about it. It's called that because it doesn't use water. Instead, they dump your designer clothes in a vat of chemicals, usually PERC, a chlorinated hydrocarbon. According to the National Cancer Institute, PERC is a possible carcinogen. According to the EPA, a hazardous pollutant. Not to mention the fact that you get a wire hanger and plastic bag with each item! If you have to, use an eco-friendly dry-cleaner and request no plastic bag. |