With more and more people becoming aware of the fact that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries on the planet, many want to know how to shop sustainable fashion. The climate crisis has become so evident for all of us that we want to do better, we want to do our part for the planet.

But with so much greenwashing going on, how can one tell which brands are actually putting in the effort to produce clothes and operate in an environmentally friendly way? Well, this article is here to help you out on this!

And congratulations are already in order! You have made the executive decision to shop sustainable fashion instead of fast fashion, and that is the first step towards a better future for all. Here are 6 simple steps with which you can ensure you’re not a victim of greenwashing, but actually shop sustainably.

6 Tips on how to shop sustainable fashion

Before we get to it, let’s clarify the main terms: sustainable fashion vs. fast fashion.

Fast fashion in short is a business model where fashion companies churn out low-quality clothing in excess amounts. These clothes are often made out of toxic materials (for example polyester is made out of petrol), and the people making those clothes work in dangerous conditions and are under-paid.

Sustainable fashion, on the other hand, strives to overthrow these harmful business practices by keeping their collections small or on-demand, using environmentally friendly materials and fabrics, and of course making sure their employees work in decent conditions and get paid a living wage.

Where fast fashion is extremely bad for the planet due to all the toxic waste that it generates, it’s also bad for us consumers. Our skin is a fragile organ that should not be covered in toxic fabrics.

So, how to shop sustainable fashion? Let’s get into it!

2. Shop locally

As we know, most Western countries have outsourced their clothing production to cheaper countries often in Asia. But cheap does not equal good, and in fashion’s case it’s very bad on multiple levels. Which is why I really recommend looking a little closer when you’re looking for new clothes.

And not just at home, but especially when you’re traveling! Responsible tourism is the only way we can keep this beautiful planet in a state worth visiting, and shopping while traveling plays a big part in that:

When you buy locally produced clothes from a local vendor, your money goes straight to the people who made those clothes, not to some billionaire so they can buy a 3rd luxury yacht. The money also treacles down into the local economy through taxes, which means that everybody benefits from your purchase.

I can tell from personal experience that most of my favourite pieces have been bought from female solopreneurs around Europe. The fact that I was able to financially support their business dreams and in return got a high-quality piece of clothing that on top of everything else is unique means a lot to me as a simple consumer.

4. Shop second-hand 

This was probably one of the first things that popped to mind when thinking how to shop sustainable fashion, right? And you’d be absolutely right! Shopping second hand is environmentally friendly the same way as renting clothes is. And again, the trick is in the fact that quality clothes stay in circulation instead of adding to the waste problem.

If you get lucky, you can also find actual luxury brand clothes in second hand stores for a fraction of the price.

5. Upcycle old clothes

Upcycling is a part of sustainable fashion that we don’t hear about much. What it means is simply fixing broken clothes (if they just have small tears that don’t prevent wearing them) or creating something completely new out of an old piece.

My example of this would be a pair of 80’s mum-jeans I found in my mum’s wardrobe and that I turned into denim shorts with stylish rips. It was a simple process that included a piece of sandpaper and scissors.

I first cut the legs off the jeans at the height I had measured before. And then using the sandpaper I “wore down” small batches of the fabric to create those ever-trendy rips in the denim. Those jeans had survived to the 2010’s from the 80’s, and I still wear them as shorts. Now, what could be more like sustainable fashion than that!?

One more thing: if you think that clothes should be cheap, you should understand that this sort of thinking is very new. We think that sustainable fashion is expensive, but in fact sustainable fashion is reasonably priced!

It’s not further than the 80’s, even in the 90’s that you had to pay much higher prices for clothes. Times were truly different then, though, because unlike now with fast fashion, clothes were meant to last the tooth of time. Which is exactly why you can, and should find absolute treasures in your mum’s and grandmum’s wardrobes!