We all wish to contribute our bit to save the environment and be ethical when it comes to any activity we do. This extends to shopping basics as well. May be like you most of us are unaware of how to proceed and what steps to undertake to ensure that you do not become a part of irresponsible shopping. Child labor, unfair wages, enormous wastage of natural resources and pollution are some of the dark recesses associated closely with the fashion world. Take a moment of pause and think of the little changes in lifestyle you can make that can actually help make a huge difference. Let us help you with how to.
1- Sustainable fashion– Try to incorporate and advocate sustainable fashion ideas as much as you can. Buy less but buy authentic, from sources that are genuine and equally concerned towards ethical motives. Own only a few pieces of timeless classics that you can mix and match to get a new look every time. Fashion trends change with every season but style remains evergreen. Stick to this concept and get yourself a capsule wardrobe that is well thought out and will look good even after years of purchase.
2- Shop online– When you buy online, you automatically cut down on the channels through which a clothing piece goes through to reach the showroom. With no middlemen and retailers, you ensure the least amount of resources being wasted. You tend to buy online more directly from the craftsmen, thus facilitating better payment to them.
3- The three R’s to follow– Reuse, recycle and repair your clothes to let them last a little longer. It is no more fashionable to flaunt a no-mending policy for your clothes. Feel proud to say you have recycled your denim and sarees to turn them into a creative product. Ask your friends to do the same and you have various DIY videos to learn from.
4- Choose fabrics with utmost care– When you use fabrics that are environmentally friendly, you are doing a lot to save the nature and unnecessary depletion of its various resources. Cotton, silk, linen, wool and khadi are some of the fabrics that ensure a minimal amount of toxins being leached into the environment. Shun the use of leather products and animal skin products to show benevolence to the animals and also to the workers engaged in tanning them.
5- Donate your clothes– There are many needy out there who have little or no clothing to cover themselves with. Awake your humanitarian side and donate what you do not require to the poor. A lot of NGO’s are working towards this objective and your contribution will not only serve the poor but also help your discarded clothes not ending up in a rubbish heap to be burnt or discarded.
Share your clothes with friends and siblings to ensure that they are used to their full
capacity. Turn your shopping rendezvous into a community welfare program as well.
When you are satisfied that you are a part of ethical shopping, you will feel genuinely happy and proud too. Try this out to believe us!