Making a Difference With Your Clothing

Almost a year to the day ago I posted about fast fashion and consumption and didn't touch on it too much for the rest of the year. Time to check in and revive this topic. While the major onus is on governments and corporations to make huge changes to battle climate change, individually we can make little changes that add up to make a big difference for the Earth. With one of leading contributors of pollution being the fashion industry, the easiest way anyone can start caring for the Earth is by reexamining their fashion choices. Keep reading on to figure out how your wardrobe can help the Earth.

Find Out the Current Impact You’re Making

Some people are motivated by keeping track of things and measuring changes. You? Not really me, but it's good to figure out the current carbon footprint you’re making with your fashion choices. Look into trying an online fashion footprint calculator in order to find out how much your spending habits and clothing choices are contributing to climate change. Knowing where you’re starting off will make it much easier to figure out how much of a difference you’re actually making once you start being more mindful. Do you rent clothes for special events? How often are you buying fast fashion? Do you donate all unused clothing items? Let's get down into it. 

Donate or Sell Your Unwanted Clothing

Once you’ve gone through your entire closet, you’ll want to divide your entire wardrobe into keep or donate piles. If you have trouble deciphering what you want to keep versus what you want to donate, ask yourself the following questions: does this still fit me? When is the last time I’ve worn this? Does this accurately reflect my style? Answering one or all of those questions will help determine if you should actually keep your item versus getting rid of it. If it’s the latter, offer it to a friend or look into donating to a local organization. If neither of those will work, call Vietnam Vets for a pickup. If you have higher quality in good shape clothing from brands such as Madewell, Free People, Lululemon, etc. that you’re willing to get rid of, sell your gently used clothes online. Thred Up is super easy, you just pack them up and send them off. Donating or selling your clothing will reduce your carbon footprint, help eliminate clothes from entering landfills and give your clothes the second life they deserve. Not having a bunch of crap to get rid of in the first place is the most desirable, but after that, finding a second life for your stuff is the next best thing you can do.

Create a Minimalist Wardrobe

So much of our closet is often filled with clothes we never wear or have only worn once or twice. In order to reduce your footprint, cut down your wardrobe to only include the necessary pieces. Some people can jam with having 10 to 20 essential pieces in a capsule wardrobe, making their wardrobe a lot lighter and working to create variety with what they have. If that interests you, you can check out following a guide to creating a minimalist wardrobe to help prevent you from buying extra clothing and downsize your carbon footprint.  You can check out Steph's spring and summer capsule wardrobe here to get a better idea about that. 

Shop Eco-Friendly

Of course there will be times where you’ll want to add new styles to your closet, so let's talk shopping in an eco-friendly way. This can be by shopping secondhand online or by going to your local thrift and/or vintage shops. I've had great luck on Poshmark and Thred Up. Another way is by looking into ethical and sustainably made fashion. Shopping sustainably means supporting companies that have less water usage in the creation of clothes, sustainable packaging, the use of recycled materials and low impact dyes in the clothing.

Of course, the very best way to reduce your carbon footprint when it comes to your clothes is to wear them until they die then use them in another way. Very seriously, the rate at which many people buy new clothes is mind blowing when you think about how your grandparents got by with their wardrobe. Over the last year I have bought less than I ever have, and what I have bought I was very picky about. I used to buy a bunch of shit - $5 t-shirt here, $15 dress there, get rid of them at will, whatever. That shit added up. I can see in my mind the exact items of clothing I bought last year because they were all bought with intent and there were much less of them than there have ever been been before. I only bought one item that was a straight wish add (not filling a hole I had in my wardrobe). It feels good to stay in line with what I set out to do. It's helped me feel less cluttered and wasteful and I haven't felt deprived.

Are you trying to cut down on fast fashion and be more mindful with your carbon footprint in regards to clothes?

Sustainable Switches

Last week (the week before? I don't know) I asked if people would be interested in the actual products I use at home that are more sustainable/less waste. People said yes and here we are. Amazon links are affiliate links - I earn pennies if you buy through them, it costs you nothing, and it goes to keeping this site running.

Disclaimer - this is stuff I use in replacement of things that are single use (mostly plastic or paper products) - but to live more sustainably, you don't have to buy a lot. We throw out jars food come in every day and they can be used for so many other things! Think about what you want to improve in your waste making, and change a little at a time. If you feel the need to buy something, first look and see if you have anything that would work in its place. 

This also goes beyond what you own and use to what you consume and the trash you are personally responsible for creating. Yes, things can be recycled, but we should be in the mind of reducing as well. Reducing even the amount of waste you that can be recycled. Before I buy anything I think about the packaging. Convenience has spoiled us. I need to be filling and bringing my own water bottle, not buying a plastic one with a plastic lid, neither of which decompose. We need to be asking supermarkets why they are wrapping bananas in styrofoam and plastic to sell when bananas are self contained. I also think a lot like is this a need or a convenience? Mostly a convenience and lack of preparation.

Reusable bags instead of plastic bags. I do not take plastic bags anymore, period. I have my own bag or I carry whatever I got out and if I'm not self bagging I say right away, "I don't need a bag." There is no need to take a plastic bag. I keep mine in the trunk and if I forget them in the trunk I march out and get them. If I forget them at home I go to the store another day or carry everything out by hand or cart. I don't like the grocery store bags because they split along the seams quickly but will use them in a pinch. I got this foldup box bag, I forget where. I have two green ones from a Food Lion in the south too and I love them. I also love canvas bags because they're sturdy and easy to clean, I just throw them in the wash. 

Mesh produce bags instead of thin plastic store bags. I have these Flip and Tumble bags. If I forget them, I don't bag my produce or I get it at another time. I also use these as shell collectors and to hold my face cloths. They're machine washable. 

Stainless steel cups instead of getting the logo single use plastic cup. I don't do the Yeti. I use Members Mark brand and they keep things cold almost as long as the Yeti - ice lasts overnight, etc. You can get them on Amazon ranging from $19-30 for a two pack of the 30 oz cups depending on the color. I haven't seen them in Sam's in a while but then again I haven't looked. They are probably cheaper in store. I've been using the same four for years. I mainly use the 30 ounces because a large iced coffee fits in there. I take these (clean, come on now) to every coffee shop and ask them to fill it with my order. If for some reason you ever want to get rid of them, you can google stainless steel recycling and drop them off somewhere. 

Stainless steel straws instead of single use plastic straws. I use these longer ones or these shorter ones because they're rainbow and who doesn't like rainbows? I loathe paper straws. Glass straws rock too, I have one from here that I got as a gift. I am not for banning plastic straws, some people with disabilities need those. I am for those of us who don't need them refusing them and bringing our own. When the demand is less, less will be produced, and they will be used as they should - by people who need them. 

Stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic bottles. We have two big Swell bottles and I have two little ones as well as some I don't know what brand they are little ones. You can get the Swell brand on Amazon, Nordstrom, lots o'places. I cart these to the beach and they keep my drinks cold as long as I'm there. They take a licking and keep on ticking. I don't ever leave home without one, even to go to the grocery store. I'm deathly afraid of being thirsty and having no water. I must have died crawling across a desert in another life. 

Huge recyclable water gallons instead of single water bottles - If you can't drink your tap water and don't have a filter on your faucet, think about a water cooler with those big ass recyclable jugs (we have one at the shore). If that's out of your price range (they're about $150 for the cooler), what about the gallon jugs of water instead of the single plastic cases of little bottles with all the little caps, none of which break down?

Utensils in a pack instead of single use plastic utensils. I throw a pack in my bag for use on the beach. We carry everything else in our bags, why not a little pouch? I always say no thanks to single use plastic utensils. I have a bamboo set and a stainless steel set.

Reusable food storage bags instead of ziplocs - I use these full circle gallon bags or stasher silicone bags in smaller sizes when I need a good seal on something (chips, sandwiches, etc). You don't need a lot of them because you're going to wash and reuse. I have two of the gallon size and two of the quart size. I still have a box of ziplocs and I re-wash those too LOL. 

Reusable bags instead of paper gift bags - Functional like an extra little gift and beyond single use. I got a green and red set to use last Christmas. 

Boie body scrubbers and toothbrush instead of loofahs and nylon bristle brushes - I checked these out for a full six months before I bought them. Full disclosure I hate using washcloths on my body. Face fine, body no. The body scrubber is great: lathers well, exfoliating, BPA-free, antimicrobial, lasts about six months, and when you're finished it's fully recyclable. The toothbrush is also BPA-free, antimicrobial, lasts about six months, and when you're finished it's fully recyclable. The head lasts twice as long as a typical nylon bristle brush and you can buy replacements. I thought it would feel weird, but it doesn't. I switched from a bamboo recyclable toothbrush but I had to pull the bristles out and it was a mess. The toothbrush body is recycling code 5, and the scrubber and toothbrush head are recycling code 7. If your recycling system does not support that, you can send them back and they will recycle them. Both products are made in the USA.

Flannel face cloths instead of makeup wipes or cotton balls - Imagine if you had to discard your single use makeup wipe onto a pile and keep them in your house and live with them for many years. Would you still use them once and throw them out then? No need. What did women do for hundreds of years without makeup wipes? Take their damn makeup off without so much freaking waste. I buy these flannel cloths from Etsy. They sell versions on Amazon. You can make them out of things you have. I don't buy makeup wipes, cotton balls, etc. I use these or washcloths and they just get washed with the towels. 

Cloth napkins, dishcloths, + Swedish dishcloths instead of paper napkins and paper towels and counter wipes - To wipe counters and clean: washcloths. To mop up spills: towels or swedish dishcloths - they are machine washable (that's where mine are so you get the stock pic), compostable biodegradable, super absorbent. They're sort of magic in a mundane household way.. Napkins: washable cloth over paper, I buy on the cheap at Marshalls and they last an eternity. Why throw out what you can wash? 

Try to revive instead of buying new - I always try to save something before getting rid of it. I just repainted our night tables in our room. I was going to get lighter ones and then was like WTF paint the ones you have you lazy, frivolous ass. So I did. The rolling cart at the shore rusted so I cleaned it, painted it with Rustoleum, put a sealer on it, and it'll last a little longer. I think we're conditioned today to buy new new new. And some things definitely need replacing, but I always try to save something or reuse it elsewhere first. I also shop for a lot of wood furniture second hand. 

Big-ticket change wise, at the shore we have a tankless water heater, and I love that it conserves energy without me even thinking about it. We have a while before ours goes here, but I'm already doing research on brands thanks to articles like these. I want solar paneled everything too so the next home we buy will definitely be keeping that in mind. And I'm hoping electric cars are more of a thing in the near future. 

When I am out in stores, particularly where you get food, I always let them know I appreciate if they use recyclable materials or encourage you to bring your own cup or food transport container. Feedback is important. Let's let the businesses we patronize know we're interested in less waste. 

The above is about what I can think of swap-wise, I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff because the beauty is once you make a change that is less wasteful, it is so seamless that you forget that you used to throw more shit out. I've made small changes over the years and they've added up to a lot less waste. I'm always looking for ways to do more though and I love when people share how they live daily with less waste on blogs, instagram, in facebook posts, etc. It's inspiring and it gets me thinking about other ways I can cut down on waste. So if that's you, share! Please! 

Oh! And I am finally going to start composting. People who do it, I am looking for a composter that has a turner but I don't want it to be huge and I don't want to go poor buying it. Does anyone have any recommendations? 

Weaning myself off of fast fashion

Since last fall, my brain's been swirling around the concept of consumption in different areas of my life. Sometimes when I'm mulling over things in my head figuring out a new way forward, I don't write about them or feel the urge to write about anything, because I'm busy thinking. But I always reach a point where I'm just spinning my wheels in there because no thoughts are leaving my head, so I'll just pick a point and start.

Fast fashion - inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass market retailers in response to the latest trends - is contributing to a huge environmental problem of too much shit with nowhere for it to go (read more on that here, article is old but the cycle of clothes is still relevant). I pride myself on being pretty environmentally friendly in my home, but when I started following Aja Barber on Instagram last year, I realized a huge part of my identity as a consumer was wasteful as fuck: my clothes buying.

I wanted to learn more, so I subscribed to Aja's Patreon (if sustainable, ethical fashion or anti-racism work interests you, you are missing out if you have an extra $5 or $10 a month and are not following her work - knowledge is power and we must be willing to pay our teachers). So much of the work she's doing in writing about sustainable fashion struck a chord in me every time I read a piece of hers. I started really examining my habits clothes-wise and was absolutely disgusted with myself. I have been way too flippant with the privilege of purchasing. I was embarrassed that I was coming to this so late in life and had barely thought about my footprint in regards to clothes up until now.

Also inspired by Aja's commentary, I started thinking about the changes I could make or at least work towards making: investing in clothes that are going to last - clothes that are going to be easier on the planet, clothes that allow the workers making them to bring home a livable wage and not $1 a day in a shitty unsafe factory. This is not to say that all cheaper clothes don't last - I have sweaters from Old Navy that are eight years old - but in general, I had been cycling through a lot of stuff, quickly. For no reason. How many $5 t-shirts have I bought on a whim and gotten rid of in under two years that are now in a landfill somewhere, and two years later the woman who made them is still in that shitty unsafe factory making nothing in terrible conditions while I just buy more shit?

In the blogging world alone, how many times are we urged to buy buy buy? Everywhere, constantly. I'm not one to post my outfits because I am quite far from a fashion lady, but I swear I'm going to start calling out how old things I'm wearing are when I remember to. For the health of the planet and our wallets, I want keeping things to be cooler than the allure of shiny new things we don't need and won't still own two years from now. I don't begrudge one person making money off of affiliate links because we've all got to eat, but when you have to keep buying new to show new, it's a vicious cycle of waste. How much new shit are we buying that we don't need? How many resources are we consuming? How much money are we wasting? Why are we doing this?

As my stuff wears out, I'll be looking to make purchases more in line with my views on environmental sustainability, ethics, representation, the liberation of all women being bound up together, and all workers all over the world making a living wage. I want to know how a company who is producing my clothes operates before I buy from them. I can't be pro-conservation and equal opportunity for women - especially representation of marginalized black/indigenous/women of color in all industries - and continue to consume clothing the way I've been consuming clothing. The head and the actions are not lining up in my clothing life and that's a problem for me now. The fact that it hasn't been up until now is straight white privilege.

I'm late to the game on ethical fashion, way late. So I'm trying to catch up and learn. Instagram has been great for following a lot of people having conversations about ethical, sustainable fashion, and I'm doing a hell of a lot of listening and not talking in those spaces. I'm talking here after ruminating on it for a few months, because if you're out there considering being more sustainable and ethical in what you wear and consume, I want you to know I'm doing the same. Or maybe you haven't thought about it, but you're thinking about it now. Maybe you don't know where to start, like I didn't. Along with Aja I'm following BuyfromBIPOC on Instagram, which highlights BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) makers with a focus on slow, ethical, and sustainable fashion. I've started reading the Clothed in Abundance blog. Following Dominque Drakeford. Keila Leist.  Little Koto's Closet. There are a lot of BIPOC women out there who have been leading this for years and I am getting in line behind them and learning as much as I can.

Will I refuse to buy something from Old Navy again? No. My relationship with retail isn't going to end overnight, and I don't have a wallet wide enough to invest in higher priced items all the time. That's why the title of this post is weaning myself, not ridding myself. I am typically an all or nothing person when I look to change something, but making some small changes in what, why, when, and from where I buy will make a huge difference in my impact on the environment as well as my mindset on consumption. I've got to start somewhere with textile waste. We all do if we want a planet that will remain.

TWTW - the one bebopping around

Friday night sushi at Ota-Ya in Newtown, Stephen & Aubrey's place, to celebrate Carol's retirement. Finally! She retired at the end of December. Baby Stephen was an angel and slept right through and Lola Jean kept us all entertained and was so good.

Saturday I was in the car by 5 am to head to the shore. I mean if you have to drop lighting off but be back by 10, you might as well arrive in time for the sunrise, right? Awesome treasure hunting too. 

We did a clean up organized by Friends of Poquessing Watershed of Philadelphia & Bucks County in Morrell Park. It was nice to have a neighborhood cleanup happen when we did not have something else to do. Holy shit, litter drives me nuts.

I rushed off to acupuncture at the Won Institute in Glenside for a 1 pm appointment. No pics, I was a chicken with my head cut off by this point in the day so I borrowed a free one from the Internets. While I was waiting for the student acupuncturist to come back in with the instructor, I finished my book. My neck is still jacked up but I can turn my head all the way to the right with no resistance for the first time since June. I will obviously continue to go back to address the remaining pinched nerve shit but what a freaking relief. Thanks to Aub for the info about this place, I was desperate to get in somewhere on Saturday.

I dashed back home to get in the shower and MFD pulled up soon to pick me up. We went to a gathering of friends for John Fetterman. This man is the real deal - more on him tomorrow but his site is accessible through the link. He's running for Lt. Governor of PA and is the kind of person I want in all offices. The hostesses, food, and company were all great. I did not wear my Fetterman shirt to the event, but I wore it earlier for the clean up. Yes, that's dog hair all over it. I have dogs.

We got home a little before 9 and I was fucking beat. These are three of the five pairs of shoes I wore doing all the things Saturday.

I slept in Sunday and it was glorious. Then I set about setting the house to rights because last week was like a tornado. I changed the sheets, did four loads of laundry and put it away, ran and emptied the dishwasher, unpacked all of my deliveries (here we have the housing for dog food, treats, cleaning products, laundry powder, green string lights because the senior ladies in the neighborhood rallied the neighborhood facebook page to decorate outside of our houses and you listen to the seniors, coffee, butt wipes, and a new Roku to replace the one that crapped out on us). I also made plenty of time for the dogs since we were out most of Saturday. I also painted my nails (OPI Back to the Beach Peach) and scheduled out my week. I didn't do that last week and it was a disaster.

Weekly food prep: Breakfast is Kodiak cake waffles with maple syrup. Snacks are hard boiled eggs, bananas, bell peppers with hummus. Lunch is quinoa with goat cheese, roasted red peppers, banana peppers, olive oil, and kalamata and green olives - it sounds like a cleaning out the pantry lunch and it is but damn if the weird combination is not extremely delicious. Dinners are what we were supposed to have last week and never did:  MFD's mom's lasagna from the freezer and ham chowder from the freezer. I also made homemade bread and power breakfast muffins to freeze.

Reading and watching episode one of the Waco miniseries and that's all she wrote. 

Happy birthday to my cousin Tiffany today, and I think I forgot to wish our Derwood a happy birthday on here (he was 1/11), my fab sister in law Aubrey (she was 1/13), and my girl AEB (she was 1/21). I have been the worst lately. 

How was your weekend?

Thursday Thoughts - things I want you to know this week

1. It's my Friday and I know, it's obnoxious to gloat that it's your Friday when it is not most of the world's Friday. So I say join me...take tomorrow off. The weather is supposed to be June-ish here and not April-ish like it was earlier this week. As you may have guessed, I'll be at the shore. This time it's with my girlfriends of over 25 years celebrating our collective 40ths. They're actually not my friends at this point and they haven't been in a long time. They're my framily. I will be pushing them to take 4792084 group photos because it's rare that we're all in the same place at the same time. There are a lot of years and miles between us.

2. Friends - I am hosting a KEEP Collective fundraiser for 350.org - an organization working in more than 180 countries to keep carbon in the ground, help build a low-carbon economy, and pressuring the government to limit emissions. If you'd like the link to peruse with no pressure to buy, it's in the comments below. If you'd like to be added to the FB group, please let me know. This photo is some of my favorite keep stuff - bracelets and charms shown here, interchangeable and you can essentially wear something new daily. They also have necklaces and keychains. 50% of commissions will be donated to 350.org. If you'd like to peruse, click here to shop my link.  A few of my personal totems from Keep: 

3. In other environmental news, I've weaned myself totally from plastic straws even with takeout iced coffee. I also bring a reusable cup and attempt to have it filled. Most places will fill it. It's such a habit to grab a straw, so it's taken me a while. 

4. The making and freezing of things continues. This week it was pork fried rice. I made extra rice so I could freeze some of that too. Take that, steam fresh bags of rice. 

5. For the second week in a row I'm stuck on male rompers and covfefe. I'm still laughing about these things.

6. Fake News hysteria must go. I'm resigned to completely cut people out of my life who think the New York Times and the Washington Post and anything that doesn't have a named source is fake news. Like, are you familiar with the free press and its function, and journalistic integrity and protecting sources? Do you know that Watergate was broken with an unnamed source? NYT and WaPo are solid sources of news. Learn the difference. Maybe also learn the difference between editorial pieces and reporting. Editorial pieces are like this blog here - my opinion backed up with whatever facts I want to give you. By all means, share that, but know that that's what it is at the end of the day. Maybe be a critical thinker and examine the sources you read and share - both liberal and conservative outlets participate in fake news/clickbait headlines and both liberal and conservative people share that shit out in the world because it plays into their confirmation bias. Also, maybe READ the article or piece before you share it - don't just share shit because you like the headline. It's ignorant regardless of how you vote. Get your shit together.

7. Comey testifies today. A primer on Obstruction of Justice.

8. I forgot that I had Mae scoping out the bay last Sunday. She was like the Queen of Sheba up there. She loves being elevated in any way so she can see it all. She's nosy AF and it makes me laugh. I want to film her at the shore and show it to you. She's insane.

9. Tuesday is Show Us Your Books with me & Jana!

10. This made me laugh as it is straight up truth for at least half of the people who rent from us at the shore - our apartment is on the ground floor, so we hear the cement shoes all the live long day.

11. E-card of the week. This is so me in all disputes: I always go right to setting shit on fire. Hide yo' belongings. Hide yo' matches.

What do you want me to know this week? 

Reducing & Reusing

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Ways I try to reduce my impact on the environment:

1. Be cognizant of packaging. Plastic is bad, no matter how you spin it. I avoid things packaged in plastic when I can. Do I need produce bags? No. So I don't use them.

2. Don't use paper plates and plastic cups unless we have a large crowd. Which is hardly ever anymore.

3. Tote groceries in bags kept in trunks. I only accept plastic bags when I need trash can liners. If I'm only buying a few things and don't have a tote with me, I say I don't need a bag, thanks. We don't need the plastic bags.

4. Pack lunch foods in reusable bags. These babies can go in the dishwasher.

5. Keep a set of silverware at work so I don't use plastic. I was just reminded I wanted to do this by Steph in one of her zero waste kitchen posts so I'm new to this practice. Since we use more utensils in a house of two people than all the Duggars combined, I didn't want to bring any from home to leave at my office permanently so I got these from Amazon.

6. Glass or stainless steel straws. Sarah got me a glass straw for Christmas a few years back. I added another as well as a set of stainless steel straws so now I'm not throwing them out all the time. The stainless steel ones I bought last year came with cleaning brushes too.

7. Hang clothes to dry. I hang a majority of my clothes to dry instead of using the dryer. When we have a large yard, they'll all be hung out to dry.

8. Group errands together, walk, or use public transport. I schedule my errands for one day instead of multiple days polluting the atmosphere with my car. I take the asshole train to work, and at the shore I park my car and walk or bike everywhere until I leave. I also run as many errands as I can at the shore since I'm on foot or bike and during lunch at work since I'm on foot then as well.

9. Carry drinks in a reusable bottle. I love the S'well bottles because they keep drinks cool all day on the beach even when left in the sun. I detest plastic water bottles. If you are traveling via air, just make sure your reusable bottle is empty until you get through security.

10. Vote for people who know science and climate change are real. 

11. Pick up trash I see on the beach. Enough shit is in the oceans, we don't need our trash washing out there.

12.  Use cloth napkins, cleaning cloths, and hand towels. Paper towels are for dog accidents only.

13. Look for ways to reuse items or donate them instead of trashing them. I do put shore furniture out on my curb at home, but that's because it doesn't last for more than 10 minutes before a picker snaps it up.

14. Don't let the water run. While brushing teeth, washing dishes, etc. etc.

15. Compact fluorescent bulbs. Even though they're ugly.

Areas I need improvement on:
-To go coffee cups. DD doesn't make a reusable cup big enough to hold a large. DD, are you listening? I'd like a reusable cup that holds a large.
-Composting. I don't do it, but I should.

What do you do in your daily life to be more environmentally friendly?