Helping The Climate Through Your Clothing

We all know that we take many small steps every day to make a bluer and greener tomorrow. As stewards of this planet, we must recognize the impact every decision we make day in and out has on our environment and the climate crisis facing it. Though it can feel overwhelming at first, as you adopt more and more small changes into your routine and lifestyle, your decisions and their impact add up to profound benefits. 

One such commitment you can make to help the environment is ethical shopping. One aspect of ethical shopping that helps with the climate crisis and your mental and emotional health and curates a capsule wardrobe. Let’s dive into what a capsule wardrobe is and how it benefits the environment. 

Capsule Wardrobes Explained 

Capsule wardrobes are a collection of clothing you own that is interchangeable, and each piece can serve many functions and be matched easily with the other components in your wardrobe. Ideally, all the pieces you own are ones that you love and feel great in, so you’re more apt to wear them often and with one another. You own less clothing by curating a wardrobe of pieces you genuinely love and feel confident in. By knowing your sense of style and purchasing only items you will wear and compliment the said style, you impact the environment positively by not contributing to textile donation and waste because you’re shopping less. 

Where To Start 

The most accessible place to start when creating your capsule wardrobe is to take stock of what you own. If you have twenty button-up shirts but find yourself wearing your favorite boho tops most of the week, consider selling or donating your button-ups and getting them out of your closet. The same goes with the types of bottoms in your wardrobe, your shoes, everything. Paring down to only what you genuinely love is your first step to curating your look. 

Phase Two 

After you’ve got your closet and dresser free of the items that you don’t often wear and don’t fit you well, take a closer look at what’s left behind. Are all the items in good condition? Do they match your current style? If so, try them all on. Ideally, at this point, you’ll have around fifty to one hundred items – so take a day to try things on and determine if they make the cut. 

Mix And Match 

After you’ve completed the first two steps, it’s time to have fun with what’s left behind! Remember your favorite boho tops? Try them on with the remaining bottoms and shoes in your wardrobe and make several outfits out of them. If you find that many of the bottoms you thought you wanted to keep don’t go with the style you’re aiming for, it’s worth donating them or giving them to a friend who could use them. You will continue paring down towards your goal of a capsule wardrobe by doing this with each piece you own. 

Reap The Benefits 

Now that you’re left with only items that complement one another, as well as compliment your figure, you are left with an authentic capsule wardrobe. The fun begins at this moment because you are free from several things. You’re free from the decision fatigue of figuring out what to wear every day. You are free from the burden of too much laundry. By the way, how often you do your laundry impacts the climate as well, so opt only to do laundry on undergarments after each use and try and get several wears out of everything else unless it’s been soiled. Reap the benefits of money saved from no longer impulse shopping fast-fashion items because you know they don’t compliment your capsule wardrobe. You also gain the best gift of all, which is more free time – when you aren’t shopping, doing laundry, and trying to figure out what to wear every day, and you’d be amazed at how much free time that adds up to. 

Often even the most environmentally minded individuals don’t recognize the impact that the simple act of what they choose to wear has on our climate issues and environment. By selecting a capsule wardrobe or possibly even a minimalist lifestyle, you can significantly impact the future of our planet – give it a try today!