07 Feb 2023 | 4 mins

Clothes are important, duh! Without them, we’d all be cold, unprotected and in our nuddy pants 24/7. Not only that, but clothes also let us express ourselves to the world, making us feel confident and stylish.

But what if I told you that the fast fashion industry is the world’s second-largest polluter, right behind the oil industry? 'Fast fashion’ referring to cheaply produced and priced garments that mirror the latest trends and get pumped quickly through stores in order to maximise on current trends, 85% of which ends up in a landfill... Yikes!

The world consumes a whopping 80 billion pieces of clothing each year... Bigger yikes! So how can we look good whilst also fighting fast fashion?

1. Get to know your fabrics

Suss out the tags on your clothes. You’ll probably see a lot of words like cotton (inorganic), nylon, polyester and rayon. Cotton (inorganic), for example, uses pesticides and a lot of water and can irritate skin from chemicals. Polyester is made from petrochemicals and lasts ages in landfills.

Research sustainable fabrics so you know what to look for! Hemp, for example, is easily grown without chemical pesticides and cotton (organic) still uses a lot of water but less than inorganic cotton which is safer for farmers because it doesn’t use toxic chemical treatments and maintains healthy soil.

                                     

 

2. Ask 'who made your clothes'?

The fashion industry is estimated to employ around 45 million people, and they're some of the lowest-paid workers in the world, most in shocking work conditions.

Before you buy clothes in a store or online, research into the brand and suss out if the clothes were made in a safe environment with workers all being paid a living wage.

Long story short, do some research! (I also can’t recommend watching ‘The True Cost’ enough).

3. Buy sustainably

Now that you’ve asked the q’s, like who made your clothes and what they were made from, it’s time to shop sustainably.
Do some digging and find some funky sustainable brands that have the environment and human rights in mind!

4. Buy less

Before you buy something, genuinely ask yourself “will I wear this a lot?”

Also think about it this way - instead of buying 5 cheap jumpers, why not save up for one really good one that’s timeless and high-quality enough to last a long time.

5. Op shop ‘til you drop

Op shopping prevents the production of toxic or exploitative new clothing, and it keeps textiles out of the landfill or from being shipped overseas.

Second-hand stores are almost always charitable as well, so your dollarydoos are keeping away from multinational corporations and helping those in need! A win win if you ask me.

                                  

 

6. Have fun with it

Borrow clothes from mates that you’d normally never wear. Rent clothes for bougee functions and events. Host a clothes swap party where everyone brings a basket of clothes that they don’t vibe with anymore and swap them for new items.

Shop from your own wardrobe and wear things in a different way (like a dress into a skirt), or style (making something really surfy look grunge with some black boots and a black jacket). Get inspired from fashion runways, Pinterest and Youtube fashion channels and go wild.

7. Get creative

This is where things get FUNKY. Do up your own wardrobe! Buy sustainable fabric and make your own funky top for that next festival. Paint on an old pair of jeans. Glue patches on a ratty shirt. Tie-dye those shorts you never wear. DIY the dang place!

Upcycling is the way to go! Not only are you channelling your creative genius and making clothing items that no one in the world has, but you’re also giving mother nature a big ol’ hug that she deserves.

Now, our mates over at LCI Melbourne are on top of all things in design and sustainability. They played a massive role in Melbourne Design Week this year with a bunch of unreal workshops around design and sustainability. From making bio leather from kombucha scoby, to using recycled paper to make and decorate a biodegradable seedling pot to house plant clippings, to discovering creative uses for forgotten and discarded objects like printers, clocks and sewing machines, LCI did it all! 

And of course, there was a workshop dedicated to giving pre-loved clothes and scrap fabrics a new life.

If you want to be a sustainable style icon, LCI Melbourne is where you’re meant to study. They offer the ultimate uni experience for anyone looking to go into a creative career, whether that be in filmmaking and photography, graphic and digital design, interior design and visual arts and of course, fashion and costume design.

Suss out more here to learn more about LCI and how you could be a part of a team of people who care about what matters.