Buy green, save money
Every year in the UK, we each spend approximately £600 on clothes but then throw away around £400 worth, with 63% ending up in landfill.
The real cost of cheap clothing
From catwalk to high street, the fashion industry is in overdrive keeping up with the demand for the latest styles and trends, but at what cost?
Fast fashion is characterised by cheap, low-quality fibres with a short lifetime. This has a huge impact on waste and uses valuable fossil fuels through the production and transportation of cheap garments.
Ethical clothing is big news in the fashion world
Next time you need a new outfit, how about buying it from a charity shop? Or you could try vintage outlets, both online and on the high street.
TRAID, a charity raising funds to fight global poverty through clothes recycling, takes steps to divert clothes from landfill by sorting through them for resale in its charity shops.
They also have a fashion label TRAIDremade.com which recycles, refashions and remakes textiles into bespoke items and accessories.
The charity shop challenge
To show you what can be achieved, we’ve taken on our own charity shop challenge – using online second-hand stores to buy a whole evening wear outfit for under £100.
Oxfam’s online and high street stores are full of unwanted clothes and if you’re on the hunt for something a bit different, Oxfam Original stores specialise in vintage and retro clothing. There are lots of online bargains too, with plenty of items on offer that have never been worn so look out for BNWT (brand new with tags) signs.
How did we do?
In the Oxfam online shop we found a brand new, strapless Jaegar limited edition dress, complete with an empire style bodice for just £40.
When it came to searching for the perfect shoes, there was lots to choose from at vintage store www.candysays.co.uk. Vintage 1980’s Kurt Geiger, Italian-made slingback heels, in their original box, were a bargain at just £35!
TOTAL COST: £75
Oxfam came up trumps for the men too – we found a stylish Givenchy black suit in very good condition for just £65, plus a vintage Louis Philippe cummerbund and bow tie set for just £6.99.
TOTAL COST: £71.99
5 ways to be a green fashionista
1. Buy second-hand clothes from vintage fashion fairs and charity shops wherever possible
2. Buy recycled clothes from labels such as TRAIDremade – www.traid.org.uk
3. If you do buy new, aim for quality which will last much longer
4. Take your unwanted clothes to a charity shop or, if it can’t be reused, a clothes bank
5. Revamp your wardrobe by organising a fashion swap party with friends and family – or look at online swap sites such as www.whatsmineisyours.com
Every BIG helps
- A fifth of the UK market is made up of low-cost fashion – this area has doubled in growth between 1999 and 2006
- It takes 800 litres of water to make a t-shirt
- Consumers buy 2.15 million tonnes of clothes and shoes each year in the UK
Team Green Britain
and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic
Games Ltd (LOCOG) do not endorse any of the products, companies,
organisations, opinions or websites that have been mentioned in this
article. The content of this article has merely been provided as
background to, or discussion on, various topical issues relating to the
environment and it is not necessarily representative of the views of
Team Green Britain and LOCOG. Further, any figures and calculations
noted in this article are estimates (unless otherwise specified), and
may vary in light of numerous factors and readers are advised to
undertake their own research in relation to the facts and figures
applicable to their particular circumstance.