Tips and tricks for making your fashion statement a little more friendly

BY GAVIN LEIGHTON FOR GREENING OF OIL

When it comes to what we purchase and use, one of the staples in life is our clothing. From purchase to disposal, how we treat our clothes can go a long way in easing our impact on the environment. Because clothing is such an integral part of our lives, most everyone can employ the following suggestions.

Purchase

The first step in the clothing lifecycle is actually purchasing the clothes; fortunately, there are numerous ways to be green when buying clothes.  The first is buying used clothing from friends, consignment stores, both online and locally, etc. Buying anything used reduces the need for energy to be spent in creating something completely new. So as with most goods, buying used is a good way to extend the lifespan of a manufactured product. But I could feel most of you cringing before I even finished that last thought. So, if you do want to buy new, try to avoid synthetic fibers that require more energy to make. Additionally, many crops (cotton in particular) are heavily dependent on pesticides but alternatives are out there, such as hemp and bamboo. You can get a surprising selection of ready-to-wear bamboo clothing for men, women and children at Organic Bamboo Clothing. They make great basics that feel awesome and don't cost and arm and a leg. And for business attire there’s options too. No need to be green only on weekends. Companies like Cool Not Cruel cater to a niche market of business professionals who want to wear organic, sustainable materials made in areas of the world that promote fair labor practices.

Care

A typical household chore is washing clothes to be able to wear them again.  However, in the cycle of washing clothes and wearing them, there are several ways to reduce energy expenditure. The first strategy, and the most simple, is to wear some clothes more than once before they go in the wash.  For example, clothes for yard work don’t have to be washed every time after use and can be stored in the garage or hall closet between uses. Similarly, sweatshirts and coats can be worn multiple times without having to be washed. Sounds simple, but I can bet a number of you have just grabbed an article of clothing and thrown it in the wash simply because you're doing a load, not because it needed to be cleaned. This is especially important to consider if your washing machine has a water level option...

When it does come time to wash your clothes, there are avenues available to reduce your environmental footprint. If available to you, using a high-efficiency washing machine coupled with concentrated detergent can save both energy and soap.  In addition, whenever you do run the washer, make sure that you use a full load of clothes and set the water temperature to cold (so long as the fabric can tolerate cold water). Or, if your washing machine has settings for specific amounts of clothes, be sure to use those if you aren’t using a full load.  Furthermore, the detergent you buy can also be ranked on a scale of environmental friendliness.  For example, detergents with phosphates can end up in local waters and increase algal growth. Another problem chemical, NPE (nonylphenol ethoxylate) is an endocrine disruptor and can harm wildlife if it reaches the local water systems. So be sure to check the ingredient list on the back of your detergent for these terms. Nowadays there's a number of products that don't wreak havoc on the environment that are also affordable. Even Costco's Kirkland Signature brand has created an environmentally-friendly detergent with no phospates, dyes, optical brighteners or bleaches. And all the chemicals used are plant-based, are safe for septic systems and nothing was tested on animals.

Consideration

After the clothes are out of the wash, the best thing to do is let the clothes air dry where possible. If you don’t live somewhere with an outdoor clothes line, then the next best thing would be to dry the heavy clothes on the low setting in the drying machine and let the lighter items air dry inside on an indoor clothes string or rack. Additionally, if your drier has a moisture sensor then be sure to use it, since this can dramatically lessen the energy needed to dry clothes. Many of us are spoiled, but take a second to consider how your mothers and their mothers dried clothing. And in Europe it's still more common than not for apartments to come equipped with only a washing machine. 

Finally, when you have outgrown your clothes, physically or mentally, the best thing you can do is sell them or give them to someone else. This will continue the process of recycling and reusing items.

Please use the comment section below to share your tips, tricks, favorite green retailers and more!

About Gavin Leighton

Gavin Leighton is a first year graduate student studying biology at the University of Miami. He is focusing his efforts on the maintenance of a cooperative behavior in an African passerine.

Born and raised near Philadelphia, PA, Leighton attended Colgate University in New York. At Colgate, he majored in environmental biology and was the president of the environmental student group on campus for two years. Leighton was also a member of the sustainability council at Colgate University. The council was a group composed of faculty, staff, and students that made advised the administration on environmental decisions.

Visit Leighton's website.