Sustainable fashion has been a growing trend in the past couple of years, but the need for people to be educated on this topic is at an all-time high. I was recently informed about how detrimental worldwide consumerism is to our planet and feel as though it is something everyone should be aware of. Some of the most popular fashion brands and labels employ the cheapest form of labor that they can find, often taking advantage of the people in developing countries. When people buy clothing that is cheap, they never ask themselves “why?” Instead, they just see it as a deal and jump at the chance to save a couple of dollars.
This is a deep-rooted problem, both forward and backward in the production chain. While the laborers receive poor treatment, the problem of getting rid of the clothes when they go out of style in a few short months also occurs. Even when donated to charities such as Goodwill, this clothing ends up in locations that seem to be endless wastelands of clothing, most commonly in third world countries, where they are at a loss for what to do with the unwanted commodities.
Clothes swapping is the optimal solution for this problem. You can take it into your own hands with an action as simple as reaching out to a friend and asking to exchange a few shirts or pants that you adore of theirs in return for something that you know they love in your closet. Not only can you swap with people that you know, but companies such as Nuuly provide a service that helps fight this problem as well. For only $88 dollars a month, they send six clothing items of your choice and you return them when the 30 days is over.
Fashion is a passion of mine, but sometimes there is a need to take a step back and realize the impact it has on the planet. Luckily there are ways to get the benefits of being both trendy and aware of the planet and the people who live on it.