Whether we realize it or not, everything from our food to our cell phones requires energy to be produced.
This includes clothing, and there are simple ways for us to reduce our carbon footprint while being fashionable.
One of the newest crazes in shoe fashion is TOMS shoes, which is a non-profit company that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need when you buy their reasonably priced and comfortable shoes. (TOMS isn’t really a name. It’s short for Shoes for Tomorrow.)
TOMS shoes are the perfect combination of comfortable fashion and eco-friendliness. The shoes provide vegan options as well. The iconic shoe is modeled after a Peruvian farmer’s slipper.
Similarly, Sanuk, a California-based shoe company, makes surfer style shoes that are the essence of comfort (I would know).
I recently bought a pair of the “Sidewalk Surfer Shoes” at a Saunk in Hawaii.
The shoe is called “Not a Shoe” because of its half-sandal, half-shoe construction.
Sanuk uses recycled tires to make their shoes.
However, what is even more impressive is that they transport the recycled material only 100km away from their factory in China.
Sanuk is a part of the R.A.S.T.A program, which supports the use of local materials in factories. With plenty of Sanuk dealers in our area, there is no reason why you cannot support the eco-friendly R.A.S.T.A program!
If you are willing to use your creative intuition, revamping your wardrobe in an eco-friendly way is easy!
Use old T-shirts to make pillows, tote-bags (if you sew the bottom and cut the neck into handles), or even cleaning rags.
Cutting old jeans into cute jean-shorts is an easy and eco-friendly project that will help your wallet, too.
Baltidome.com, the Baltimore Green Guide, suggests Goodwill Industries in our 21218-zip code areas for vintage eco-friendly options. The website even includes interesting facts such as the following:
“Polyester, the most widely used manufactured fiber, is made from petroleum. The manufacture of polyester and other synthetic fabrics is an energy-intensive process requiring large amounts of crude oil.”
Opening your eyes to our serious effect on the world can inspire you to be more eco-friendly in every way. But that does not mean you have to have dreadlocks or never shower.
Becoming more aware of ways to minimize your impact on Mother Earth will only help us in the future.
Simply buying a faux fur clutch rather than a real fur clutch can pave the way to bigger changes, like biking to work rather than taking the bus, if possible. Though faux fur is not the real thing, it looks and feels just like the original.
Being fashionable is easy to do, and there are many bloggers online with great, fashionably green ideas.
For example, “Eco-Friendly Fashion by Eco Empress” is a blog about a fashionista attempting to become greener. She cites three reasons for buying vintage clothes:
“1. Instead of following the fashion trends as they cycle round and round, get the real thing back when it was first made popular.
2. Stop clothes [from] going into the landfill, and save chemicals and harmful dyes from being released into the environment.
3. Benefit from the fact that clothes were made with quality materials in the past. Even if they were used, they are usually top quality — and for a largely reduced price!”
You can even be eco-friendly when it comes to makeup!
For example, buy it sparingly, use it completely, and either make other uses out of mascara brushes or recycle them. You can go online and look up local stores that will recycle your makeup for you.
There are so many reasons to be eco-friendly when it comes to fashion. Looking great is just a benefit. And by being eco-friendly, you have the potential to have trendy, one-of-a-kind pieces. These items can also be converation starters.
What’s more is that once you start researching green options in your area, and find out what others are doing, it becomes an addiction.
The benefit is really two-fold: it saves the environment and gets you to exercise your imagination and creativity.
