Clothing — Zero Waste — Trying to Be a Zero

I kind of take that back. I guess he and his subjects learned a good lesson. But wouldn’t it have been better for him to just wear threads he already had? I’m sure his subjects would have been impressed enough with his regal appearance and then all involved could have saved face. But no. He had to get all showy. So another moral of the story: find some appreciation and gratitude for what you already have, especially if you already have way more than you need. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story or need a refresher, here you go.

A few days ago, I received a text from my sister (see pic above). It made me so happy and isn’t it pretty? And don’t be jelly because she made two and gave me one. For the fabric, she dyed an old white sheet, had enough to make two dresses, and then sewed this simple pattern. I want to try to make one too. So comfy and great for staying at home because you are under stay-at-home orders and also for going out and dressing up with some nice jewelry whenever that day may come. The text message reminded me that I wanted to do a post about fashion and waste. There is So. Much. Waste. in fashion. Think of all the clothing that has been made since who-knows-when and how it has continued to be made since then, exponentially increasing in volume. And where does it all go? And not just the clothes, the finished products made for sale, but the by-products and excess from the process of making clothes. I don’t usually make official New Year’s resolutions, but I did for 2020 and it was to not buy any new clothes or shoes unless…I need underwear or socks or something like that. Aside from those, I would ideally not buy any other clothes at all but if I did, I would have to buy/get second-hand or make out of recycled or repurposed material. I knew this wouldn’t be too much of a problem for me as I have loved thrift store shopping since I was a teenager and I also like sewing, but I do like nice and new things as well from time to time. Still, I wanted to see if I could do it AND with sites like eBay and thredUP, you can find a lot of clothes that are very nice (even designer labels if that’s your thing) and not new. I also wanted to try the same for my boys. I try not to buy too much for them (clothes and toys) anyway since I hate the idea of spending money on things they will outgrow so quickly and don’t care about. Also, the younger one generally inherits stuff from the older one and I am so lucky to have great friends from whom I have received plenty of hand-me-down clothes and toys.

So far, almost 5 months in, I have not broken my resolution. I have not even bought second-hand. Although to be fair, the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have significantly reduced opportunities to go shopping for almost half of that time. Still, it hasn’t been that hard (except there was one pajama set I really wanted at Target and I had to stop and have an internal dialogue reminding myself that I did not need it). It was also helpful during this pandemic to already be in the mindset of not shopping. Yes, I know a lot of shopping could still be done online, but I think it was helpful to not feel like I was deprived of anything in this regard—that I had already made that decision before everything shut down. Whenever we are able to co-mingle more safely, I am eager to do a clothing swap with friends. I’ve done them in the past and scored some great items. Yes, very often friends come in different shapes and sizes, but it can still work and still be fun...for women AND men. While it may be difficult to fit a wide range of sizes of a lot of clothing, there are some things that are more forgiving or easier to work with (e.g. scarves, shoes, things with drawstrings, sweaters, jackets) and things where someone may prefer a tight fit and another might prefer a loose and baggy fit. So when we can safely do so, clean your closet, gather some friends, maybe do a potluck, and get some new stuff for free! You can also do a version with kids clothes. Then you can donate whatever doesn’t get snatched up. It’s a win for you (new stuff for you AND free + hanging with friends), a win for the environment, and a win for wherever you donate to. Win, win, win.

In case you are interested in reading about the waste problem of clothing and fashion, here are some articles that I learned something from: