My Shirt Costs What?

When we think about what we can do to take care of the environment, we often think of our carbon footprint, our kitchen and household waste and maybe not getting one use cups from Starbucks. But there is a big thing we all use every day that is very often overlooked completely. Our clothing.

We all wear clothes and most of us will be wanting to get something new to wear on a regular basis, but what impact does this have on the Earth?

The clothing industry produces an anual 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2. So lets take a look at where that impact is coming from and what we can do to tackle the problem.

Alongside the carbon footprint, clothing production also uses 93 billion cubic metres of water every year. The same at 37 million Olympic swimming pools.

While some sections of the clothing industry are trying to find ways of making fabrics with a lower environmental impact, the vast majority of clothing continues to be made and distributed in the same way. The fabrics shed micro fibers back out to the water system and the fashion turn over is fast.

What are some of the top things you can do to help at least bring down your impact when it comes to clothing?

As you can see from the chart above, the textile production is the leading cause of CO2 release as well as using a crazy amount of water. So this brings us a very simple solution. Stop buying new fabrics. I have known people over the years who recoil in horror at the idea of second hand clothing, but trust me, there is nothing to fear. There is great joy to be had in rooting through charity shops to find something you love, and you will most likely land on something not many other people will be wearing. Personally I hate the feeling of getting a mass produced item and seeing so many other people wearing the exact same thing. Charity shop items could originally be from any shop, from any time (except the future, not got that one figured out yet) and might even be a one off item.

Have a look through your clothing stash. On average, each UK home will be holding around £4,000 worth of clothing, with 30% of it not having been worn over the last year. The estimated cost of this unworn/unused clothing is aproximatly £30 billion. That's a lot to just be sat around doing nothing. So I suggest either use it or lose it....to someone who will. Gift it, sell it, swap it, donate it, just get it back out in to the world so people can be wearing already made items rather than buying more brand new.

Here is a big one for you. Ask yourself if you really need to get rid of your current clothing and get some more. You might have had things for a while, but what is the reason you want to move them on? And is there a better way than throwing it out? Around £140 million worth of clothing ends up going in to landfill each year in the UK. Is the item you want to part with just not for you anymore? Donate, sell, gift or swap. Is it ripped? Check out some tutorials on how to fix it, from secret stitching to the visible mend. Beyond fixing? Can you use the fabric in an upcycle to make something else usefull? Check YouTube and Pinterest for inspiration. How about looking up a few modifications you can make to an item so you can carry on wearing it. If you really don't think any of this will work there is another option before throwing anything in the bin.

Any fabrics that are not fit for use can still be given to a charity shop. I sterted my working life in charity shops and I can tell you about the humble rag bag. If anything is not fit for sale, it goes in to the rag bag. These are collected, normally at least once a week, and bought from the shop by weight. That's right, even your old scrappy sheets will make money for the charity. All the rag bags then go on to be sorted, processed and sent to be used either in poor areas of the world or to be recycled by breaking down the fibers. No landfill needed.

Had your clear out and now you want to fill back up? Well we already covered charity shops, there are some real gems out there. But where else can you find your next look? More like where can't you. Ebay, Facebook marketplace, the Vinted App, the Shpok App, Etsy and even trades with friends. There are also many 2nd hand and vintage shops out there like Bad Bambi which you can find in Leeds and Castleford as well as on Ebay and Facebook. You really don't have to get new to look good.

Just before I wrap this up, I want to point out the best part of conducting your wardrobe in this way. The money. As an example of both what you can find and how much you can save, I would like to tell you about the a dress and a t-shirt I bought. My t-shirt find was about two years ago. It looked like new and was an official Marvel. They do tend to sell these in Primark at around £10. It's fully covered in comic book print and I love it. I still wear it all the time. I got it for £2. The dress was clearly brand new, still with tags on. It was by Simply Be and was exactly my kind of thing. I have had that dress for about five years at a guess and I still wear it now and then. I paid £9.99 for it in The British Heart Foundation. I looked up it's price brand new. It was £70. KACHING!

Happy hunting.