50 Acts of Green: Day Six - Second Hand Clothing
Most of the content of our laundry is clothing. Clothing is an important part of our life as a society. Despite our best efforts not to judge people by what they wear, over and over, we judge people by what they wear. In some true ways, we know who people are by what they are wearing. As cues of our interactions, uniforms of all types, restaurant, delivery, mail, priests, and so on, determine how we will talk to and with certain people. Certainly, I find my uniform as a priest always starts interesting conversations when I am out in public.
What we wear beyond our work is entirely up to our own sense of comfort, style, and modesty. But how we wear our clothing matters too. The brands we choose make a difference on how our clothing choices impact the world we live in, from the workers who make the clothing to the workers who make the materials and the way the materials are made or grown. The world is an interconnected place and our choices impact a lot of other people.
There are plenty of brands and labels out there in the world which have always been environmentally friendly or have started going environmentally friendly with the rise of concern over climate change. Some companies have made better progress than others, but a quick search of the internet will give you lists of eco-friendly brands of clothing for purchase.
My favorite way of acquiring clothing has always been hand-me-downs. From cousins, neighbors, my mother's violin students, roommates, friends, my mother and aunts, even strangers, I love being handed a trash bag of free clothing and opening up to the surprises within. I don't always wear everything given to me, some of it goes along its journey to a thrift store, but hand-me-downs are a great way to reduce and recycle useful clothing. Hand-me-downs also help in two areas I great dislike: shopping and breaking things in. I totally dislike clothing shopping, which hand-me-downs negate the necessity of; and I always dislike the discomfort of trying to break in new items which don't fit the way they should. Hand-me-downs are usually already a little bit broken in.
Thrift stores are of course, the next best option. For the last couple of years, I have limited the number of clothing items I have allowed myself to purchase. This small act of green leads to less clothing made and more creation saved!
What we wear beyond our work is entirely up to our own sense of comfort, style, and modesty. But how we wear our clothing matters too. The brands we choose make a difference on how our clothing choices impact the world we live in, from the workers who make the clothing to the workers who make the materials and the way the materials are made or grown. The world is an interconnected place and our choices impact a lot of other people.
There are plenty of brands and labels out there in the world which have always been environmentally friendly or have started going environmentally friendly with the rise of concern over climate change. Some companies have made better progress than others, but a quick search of the internet will give you lists of eco-friendly brands of clothing for purchase.
My favorite way of acquiring clothing has always been hand-me-downs. From cousins, neighbors, my mother's violin students, roommates, friends, my mother and aunts, even strangers, I love being handed a trash bag of free clothing and opening up to the surprises within. I don't always wear everything given to me, some of it goes along its journey to a thrift store, but hand-me-downs are a great way to reduce and recycle useful clothing. Hand-me-downs also help in two areas I great dislike: shopping and breaking things in. I totally dislike clothing shopping, which hand-me-downs negate the necessity of; and I always dislike the discomfort of trying to break in new items which don't fit the way they should. Hand-me-downs are usually already a little bit broken in.
Thrift stores are of course, the next best option. For the last couple of years, I have limited the number of clothing items I have allowed myself to purchase. This small act of green leads to less clothing made and more creation saved!
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