January Refashion Challenge: Sustainable Style

4 years ago I stopped shopping new and fully embraced creating my own unique style from secondhand, vintage, thrifted and inherited garments and materials. Giving up buying brand new wardrobe items was a lot less difficult than I had imagined and I’m constantly surprised when others think it should have been a challenging experience.

For this January Refashion Challenge: Sustainable Style I thought I’d share my top 3 reasons for reusing and shopping secondhand and preloved to (hopefully) help influence others to step away from unethically (& immorally) produced fashion.

1. By shopping second hand and reusing I am not contributing a penny to the multi-billion dollar fashion industry nor am I unintentionally supporting an unethically produced brand. (check out my thoughts on the ethics of thrifting here)

2. Wearing and refashioning pre-owned garments means they are not ending up in landfills. North Americans send more than 10.5 million tons of wearable waste to landfills each year, not to mention the increased impact when you add in the rest of the world. In fact, only around 15% of used clothing gets recycled or donated, giving textiles one of the poorest recycling rates of any reusable material. That’s even more shocking when you realize around 95% of the textile waste sitting in our landfills today, is actually recyclable.

3. Shopping preloved is economical. I simply cannot afford to purchase brand new ethically produced items from sustainable brands. Thrifting, upcycling and DIY-ing definitely help keep a tight budget under control yet still allow for new-to-us gear and the occasional thrifty spending spree! (grab the top 20 thrifty diva tips right here)

Always remember New to You is Still New!

Want to get started living more sustainably? My top 6 tips are right here.

What does sustainable style mean to you?

Head on over and share your inspiring sustainable style stories with the Gone Thrifting group!