If you’ve been a fan of RAINE Clothing for a while, chances are, you’ll already know how passionate we are about trying to make eco-friendly clothing more accessible for everyone – as well as discussing the current barriers to accessibility that the sustainable clothing industry faces.That’s why, today, we’re discussing how and why investing in eco-friendly clothing could be better for your budget, in the long-term, as well as the environment!
It’s worth noting that, when it comes to living – and purchasing – more sustainably, every little really does help; not only does purchasing more sustainable garments mean that you’re breaking out of the fast fashion cycle, but by choosing not to throw away your clothing, you’re saving it from going to landfill, too!
Sustainable clothing will probably last you longer
Now, we can’t speak for all eco-friendly clothing brands, of course, but when we talk about truly sustainable clothing at RAINE Clothing, we’re not just looking at the materials used and the ethical credentials of the places they’re produced (although both of those things are very important, of course)! We’re also talking about ending the cycle of fast fashion altogether, which means creating wearable, durable clothing that is designed to last, so that they don’t need the frequent replacing that clothing from fast fashion brands often do.
Some eco-friendly brands even take this one step further, focusing on the ecological impact of each garment or accessory right from the design process. This is called Circular Fashion, and you can read more about it in our recent blog post on the topic!
The more popular slow fashion becomes, the more affordable it becomes!
As we’ve mentioned before, the more demand there is for sustainably sourced fabric and clothing, the more that will be produced – and, naturally, the more the price of these options will drop. Whilst eco-friendly choices are, unfortunately, not available for everyone who would like to support the environment, and these options are not currently widely affordable, if those of us who are in the position to choose eco-friendly clothing do so as often as we can, there will eventually be a positive impact on the long-term affordability and availability of both the materials and the clothing itself! That’s why, whenever you can choose to purchase from more sustainable brands, you should do so – you never quite know the impact your purchase might have!
Shopping sustainably doesn’t mean you have to buy new
When you’re thinking about making the switch to more eco-friendly habits, it’s easy to think that you have to choose to pay more for sustainable clothing – but this simply isn’t true! Thanks to the increasing popularity of more ethically conscious consumption, there are lots of options available when you want to support slow fashion. One of the best ways you can do this is to buy secondhand or pre-loved clothing – either from friends or family that no longer want or need specific items of clothing, or from pre-designed apps created for the specific purpose of reselling garments. Don’t forget, you can pay it forward, too – disposing of your no-longer-wanted clothing responsibly means that you’re not contributing to garment waste, and your unloved items won’t end up in landfills, and means you might make a little extra cash from your old clothing!
You can, of course, send clothing that’s in great condition to charity shops if you’re not sure how else to get them out of your wardrobe, and these stores are great spaces to pick up new items when you’re shopping, too, which is a much more budget-friendly way to shop if you’re not able to invest too much in your wardrobe.
We hope you found this little guide to the budgeting benefits of shopping sustainable clothing useful, and that it helped demystify the world of eco-friendly clothing to you a bit. As always, if you have any questions, or want us to write posts on any particular topics, please do let us know in the comments below, or on our social channels!