Shopping Greener – The Garment District

Clothing is in its age of excess and fast fashion, which calls for a need for a new alternative to shop more environmentally friendly. There are various stores online that provide a safer option and limit overwhelming outputting and unnecessary throwaways. One of my previous articles mentions one of these companies that I find worthy of mentioning again. 

If you’re like me and also enjoy the experience of in-person shopping, then secondhand shopping would be your best bet and safest alternative. There are many great local thrift stores in and around the Boston area that I could talk about in this article, but the one that I’ve found lately to be a standout is the Garment District.

The Garment District is in Cambridge, right near the Kendall/MIT station. The store originally opened in 1986 as a textile company. It later on progressed to selling piles of clothing which were placed in front of the store once a week on Saturdays, starting a brand of marketing known as buying by the pound.

Inside, this store is a lively space filled with a vast variety of clothing, shoes, and other miscellaneous gems. They have items for every season, contemporary items, and even items relating to most decades, with departments selling clothing from the 50s to the 90s. A whole section is dedicated to Halloween costumes as well.

There is quality clothing on the racks, with some still lying in bulks. You can find some and buy them through their “buy the pound” process, making it an eco-friendly and sustainable experience. The remaining clothing is distributed towards other stores and recycled. 

The Garment District mentions in their statement how they “keep these clothes from clogging up landfills, and cut down on the high carbon and pollutant footprint it often requires to manufacture new clothing.” This allows shoppers to actively partake in sustainable clothing choices and to be part of the solution.

This is the perfect place to start, if you haven’t yet, shopping in a new and greener way.