My Conscious Style

I started JMC as a fashion blog  eight years ago, but for the past few years I have been buying less and less clothes. I've shopped mainly secondhand and I have invested more into pieces I love to wear again and again. I'm Lizzie McGuire, outfit repeater and proud. Clothing is such an important part of our self expression. Rachel Zoe said, "Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak". While clothing brings us so much joy (and trust me I know the joy) it also causes environmental devastation and social inequality. This is a crisis, folks. Clothing is the fastest growing category of waste in US landfills.

While I've always been extremely passionate about protecting our environment I have been complicit to the fashion industry. I'll be honest I used to shop as a coping mechanism to fight my depression but it just left me with a closet filled of clothes I felt "meh" about. I shopped fast fashion for longer then I'd like to admit. 

Everything changed the summer of '16 when I came home from undergrad and I realized that my suitcase held all the clothes I liked. I had always been a thrifty shopper but like many I prioritized price, trends, and the rush of shopping over investing in my personal style. I read Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (which honestly changed my life) and made a promise to myself that I'd only purchase things that sparked joy. So I started selling my clothes that I didn't wear anymore, and I promised myself I'd start purchasing apparel with intention.

Shortly after this experience my senior year of college was an eye opening time for me. This year was filled with learning about the environmental impacts of apparel and watching documentaries on the horrible working conditions of apparel workers across the world, shopping secondhand to rebuild my closet, and only purchasing things that sparked joy. Flash forward to the present and I am a fierce advocate for secondhand style and slow fashion. I'm proud to say that I buy almost all of my clothes secondhand (Check out this post on this sustainable outfit I wore for graduation) and my closet is the happiest it's ever been.

In my discussions with friends, family, and co-workers I have found that many people feel dejected when it comes to shopping ethically. Most think its challenging, time-consuming, and expensive. I'm here to tell you that it's not. We just need to be mindful when it comes to our closets and shopping!

Here are my five tips on achieving sustainable style:

1. Shop secondhand. Its good for your wallet and the environment. If those two are not enough for you cue a visual I created. This image was inspired by one of my all time favorite IG posts from @frisky_gatos. Here's just a snippet of how secondhand/resale has changed me for the better. These clothes retailed for $4,500 and I paid around $600 for them. A mixture of in store thrift shop finds and eBay/Poshmark. Some of my favorite resale retailers are eBay (Here's a link to my guide to shopping on Ebay), Poshmark, Vinted, Vestiare Collective, the Real Real, ThredUp, and Schoola. 

2. Phase fast fashion out of your wardrobe. Fast fashion brands like H&M, Forever 21, Fashion Nova, Zara, etc. make super trendy clothing that are not necessarily built to last. Plus many of these fast fashion retailers use cheap materials and do not have safe labor conditions for their employees. Keep the pieces from these retailers that still work for you, and use caution as you proceed. H&M has a conscious collection that is surprisingly encouraging. These products include their fiber content, and suppliers/factories used. I encourage you to be mindful when shopping at these retailers.

3. Re-wear what's in your closet and purchase clothes that you are proud to re-wear. The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing and the life cycle of clothing has reduced. Buy clothing you know that you will re-wear. Consider what you wear to your job, in your free time, and when you go out. Stop buying clothes that will only be worn once! This is huge. Many of you know that I use the Stylebook app to track where I should devote the majority of my clothing budget. If this seems too overwhelming take a picture of what you wear everyday for a month and you'll have a visual of what you actually wear.

4. Donate or sell your clothes when their time with you is finished. Clothing is the fastest growing category of waste in US landfills. Clothes trapped in landfills release a bunch of nasty greenhouse gases. Additionally, synthetic materials may take centuries to decompose.

Donate your gently used clothes to thrift stores, consignment boutiques, in-store garment collection programs (H&M, Madewell, etc.), send a recycling bag to ThredUp, or bring it to a local textile recycling organization. Look for city wide recycling initiatives too! I love volunteering at these events.

Selling your clothes online is a great way to make some extra cash and know your clothing is going to a good home. eBay, Poshmark, Vinted, Vestiare Collective, the Real Real, ThredUp, and Schoola are some sites I've used and can vouch for. I've made over a thousand dollars reselling clothes on Poshmark!

5. Hold out for great. This is one piece of advice I wish I had when I was younger. Buy the one thing you know you will love to wear over and over again. Its challenging to explain what these pieces might look like for you. For me its a vintage Chanel bag and a wrap dress I used to admire when I was a poor intern. Hold out for clothes that leave you speechless.

Now what am I doing to attain a more sustainable style in 2020? 

• I'm buying less. I'm trying the 20 in 2020 challenge. Its going well so far. I actually haven't bought anything thus far and surprisingly feel at peace.
• I want to get more involved with supporting organizations that support fighting plastic pollution like Greenpeace, Oceanic Society, and The Plastic Pollution Coalition.
• Buy more organic cotton that is Global Organic Textiles Standards and Organic Content Standards. Even if this is secondhand. 
• Support sustainable brands. I have been eyeing some Veja sneakers. I am also interested in shopping at Eileen Fisher Renew, and Stella McCartney (secondhand denim), and Reformation secondhand. 

Well friends, I hope sharing my journey to ethical fashion has convinced and inspired you that your impact with fashion and shopping is powerful. Where we put our dollar counts. You can protect the earth by making more conscious fashion decisions whether it be shopping secondhand, googling a brand's sustainability practices, following conscious fashion bloggers (Hi!), or even washing your clothes less. 

I encourage you to try to do one green thing when it comes to your shopping/fashion habits.  Although these actions seem small they add up! Here's another great post filled with easy tips to green your fashion routine.

What questions do you have for me? What are you doing to attain a conscious closet?

Photo above by Juliana Noelle Jumper