What is Eco-Friendly Fashion and Why is it Important?

What is Eco-Friendly Fashion and Why is it Important?

Eco-friendly fashion is the way to go if you want to make a positive impact on the planet while still looking fabulous! By prioritizing sustainable, recycled, and ethical clothing options, you can support brands that promote environmental well-being while reducing your carbon footprint. Read on to learn more!

What is Eco-Friendly Fashion and Why is it Important?

Eco-friendly fashion and sustainable fashion emphasizes environmental and social responsibility in the processing and manufacturing of clothing and accessories.  By opting for eco-friendly fashion, you're doing your part to help preserve the planet. In the modern era, traditional fashion production usually consumes vast amounts of water and leaches chemicals that are harmful to the environment.  Exploitation of workers in developing countries has also been common. Making conscious choices towards eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives can help mediate these issues.

How to Embrace Eco-Friendly Fashion

There are number of ways you can merge eco-friendly fashion into your wardrobe.

  1. Research and shop from sustainable brands that focus on eco-friendly materials and production processes. Choosing fashion brands that prioritize ethical production practices is another way to make sustainable fashion choices. By supporting ethical fashion brands, you're contributing to a more just and sustainable fashion industry.

  2. Invest in quality over quantity - timeless pieces that are made to last can reduce frequency of replacements.

  3. Up-cycle or donate clothing you no longer wear, but are still in good condition. Just because it's no longer your taste, it may just be the perfect item for someone else and keeps it out of the landfill for longer.

  4. Opt for vintage or second-hand clothing to give pre-loved items a new home. By giving pre-loved clothing a new life, you're reducing the need for new clothing production, which saves resources, waste, and excess carbon production.

  5. By choosing clothing made from recycled materials, you're helping to reduce waste and promote a circular economy. Many brands are opting to use recycled materials. Examples of materials that are used to make new clothing are plastic bottles, old denim, polyester, and nylon.

  6. Seek out natural fibres like bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, or tencil. These fabrics are not only eco-friendly, but have other unique properties, such as breath-ability, bacterial resistance, and softness. As plant-derived fibres, they are also biodegradable. Always check, however, if an item is mixed with synthetic fibres like nylon or synthetic dyes when it comes time to disposing of the garment. Here’s more on these fibre options.
Bamboo Fibre
By choosing bamboo fibres, you're investing in a sustainable, renewable material source that is extremely fast growing. Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world and, unlike traditional cotton, bamboo requires minimal water and no pesticides to grow. Bamboo fibre clothing is soft, breathable, moisture wicking, durable, and naturally bacterial resistant.

Hemp Fibre
You’ll be amazed at the versatility and performance of hemp fibre compared to traditional materials. It’s resistant to breakdown from washing, is breathable, and has antibacterial properties. Hemp is typically rougher when new, but softens after repeat washes. It's also fast growing, insect resistant - reducing need for pesticides - and uses less water than cotton to grow.

Organic Cotton
Organic cotton is grown without the use of harmful pesticides and chemicals, making it a much more sustainable option compared to conventional cotton. Cotton is absorbent, breathable, fast drying, and soft. By choosing organic cotton instead of non-organic, you're supporting a healthier environment and reducing the impact of harmful chemicals on our planet.

Tencil
Tencil fabric is made from wood pulp cellulose fibres and the fabric is produced in a closed-loop process. The solvents used to break down the wood pulp are recycled and reused. Tencil fabric shrinks and wrinkles less than cotton. It's breathable, soft, strong, wicks water, dries fast, and is also bacterial resistant.

The Impact of Eco-Friendly Fashion

Every eco-conscious choice you make in favour of eco-friendly fashion, no matter how big or small, has a ripple effect on the planet. The more support for sustainable brands, the greater impact. This will hopefully signal the fashion industry that sustainable, ethical, and waste-free alternatives are important to consumers.

Join the eco-chic movement today and show the world that you promote sustainable fashion while maintaining your cool factor. Your fashion choices can reflect your values so embrace eco-friendly fashion and help preserve the planet for future generations!

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