If you choose to adopt environmentally friendly habits, you will reduce the harm done to the environment. Here are 5 eco-conscious consumer habits to help get you started.
1- Buy Recycled Polyester
Many products in today’s consumer landscape are made of recycled materials. While recycled paper and cardboard products might seem intuitively obvious, recycled products can be found in counter-intuitive industries.
A case in point is polyester, a petroleum-based synthetic fiber. In many ways, polyester embodies the worst of the 20th-century industrial consumer economy – except for recycled polyester staple fiber (PSF). Some of this polyester is leftover from other manufacturing runs. Another source is reclaimed post-consumer waste – plastic items, including salvaged ocean plastic, that can be turned into polyester and thus into clothing and apparel.
2- Buy Biodegradable
Another environmentally friendly approach to fashion is that provided by viscose and lyocell. The fabric viscose is a type of rayon made from wood pulp. One advantage of this fabric is that it is biodegradable.
Environmentally conscious viscose rayon manufacturers source their wood from sustainably managed plantations of fast-maturing trees, notably eucalyptus. They also use highly efficient manufacturing processes that recycle most chemicals and water.
Lyocell is a similar biodegradable fabric, also made from wood pulp or sometimes from bamboo. As with viscose, environmentally conscious manufacturers have taken great strides to ensure that this fabric is green and sustainable. This approach is spreading to faux fur as well. Synthetic Koba fur is 37% plant-based, using a corn byproduct, and the polyester it uses can be recycled.
3- Buy Upcycled
Another trend that has arisen in fashion is an environmentally-conscious movement against deadstock – left-over unused material – and other forms of waste. The company Re/Done, for example, takes vintage blue Levi’s and reconstructs them. This prevents the material from being wasted.
This is part of a broader trend of “upcycling”, reusing material that would otherwise have been wasted. The company Patagonia, for example, recently launched the ReCrafted line. The line includes jackets, sweaters, and accessories that have been upcycled from older Patagonia garments.
4- Buy Used or Resold
Buying used or vintage clothing from a discount or thrift retailer is an excellent way to reduce one’s consumption. If you buy fewer clothes, you will contribute less to the demand for new clothing and the pollution that comes with it.
This also ties in with the previous item: upcycling is a way of repurposing used clothing, after all. If you can find used clothing that is still perfectly wearable, you can get it cheaper than you would buying it new, and contribute to helping the environment.
A related option here is to buy from a company like Parker Lane Group, which takes excess inventory and return merchandise and sells it in other markets.
5- Buy Less
Finally, ask yourself if all of your purchases are strictly necessary. How many of us accumulate clothing that we seldom wear? If you can avoid making a purchase altogether, you can cut back on your overall consumption and only buy clothing when you really need it.
This minimalist philosophy is perhaps the ultimate expression of compassion and care for the environment.
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From Food to Fashion: Applying Sustainability Lessons Across Industries
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