Sustainable Wardrobe
Practical advice and projects for eco-friendly fashion
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Sustainable Wardrobe gives you everything you need to cultivate a more sustainable, ethical and planet-friendly wardrobe that is still easy, accessible and affordable!
Statistics show that how we are consuming, maintaining and discarding our clothing is having a devastating effect on the planet. There are problems with every part of the cycle and they won't be fixed overnight. So what can we actually do to make a difference?
The answer is that if we all take small steps to improve our habits, it would collectively result in a big change, and this book teaches us exactly how to do this!
Sophie Benson, a journalist specialising in sustainable fashion, will guide you through – breaking down the issues and explaining how we can mitigate them at home: from the clothes we purchase, to the way we care for them, to how we dispose of them.
With easy tutorials to follow (how to read a label and have a conscious closet clear out, upcycling hacks, how to darn socks and how to care for your jeans), Sophie will show you that small changes in habit can result in a more sustainable, eco-friendly wardrobe without breaking the bank.
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Making a fast-fashion T-shirt can take multiple fibers, many months, and an invisible chain of "farmers, merchants, factory workers, spinners, garment workers, packers and delivery workers" spanning the globe, explains journalist Benson in her pragmatic debut guide to sustainable fashion. While the industry statistics are head-spinning—only 5% of clothing Americans wore in the 1960s was made overseas, while today it's about 98%—consumers aren't without recourse and can begin by "approaching what have from a new perspective." Benson recommends using "styling hacks" to breathe fresh life into old pieces (for example, wearing a cardigan backwards) and "repurposing" clothes (turning an old puffer coat into a padded laptop case, for which instructions are included). Readers can donate clothes they don't want, though should be aware their cast-offs may wind up in landfills as charity shops are often ill-equipped to handle donation volume; an alternative is to share clothing with friends or sell it. While Benson advises readers to take action "on a more global level" by amplifying garment workers' demands for living wages and sick pay, she wisely notes that perhaps the most important step is to "lead by example," because "every button you sew on, every secondhand garment you buy" is an inspiration to someone else. It's an informative resource for fashionistas looking to dress sustainably without resorting to the "beige, boxy, and boring" repurposed clothes of yesteryear.
