We're running out of puns
Brb while we run to the fabric store for some new material
Hi friends!
Pack up your winter coats, and get ready for potentially one of the hottest summers yet. ☀️We've been going through our closets, planning summer outfits, and doing some cleaning to make space for the latest trends. Can you ever own too many clothes…? We do our best to limit what we buy and shop sustainably but it's incredibly easy to succumb to what's hot these days.
Fashion is an outlet for us to express ourselves, our culture, and get a confidence boost. It's fun to wear different kinds of clothing, pair things together, match with our friends, emulate our favorite celebrities, and be creative. But, we have our qualms with the fashion industry.
In the past, we dived deep into problems in the leather, denim, and t-shirt industry, while highlighting some innovative efforts made to standardize these supply chains and the issues with fast fashion. We highly encourage you to reread some of those pieces, as they continue to remain relevant today.
We have some hope that things are changing for the better. There's more ways for people to buy gently used clothing, and there's more innovation in materials that our goods are made from.
Some of the Latest Trends
Companies and brands that are making fashion less wasteful and innovating on new materials.
Depop: An amazing resource for you to discover new trends in fashion and buy/sell clothes.
Dressd: An up and coming peer to peer clothing exchange, because borrowing > buying.
Vividye: This company has come up with a new printing technology that can color, decolour, and recolour fabric in a sustainable way.
Bolt Threads: Produced a leather substitute made out of mushrooms. They’re now partnered with big designers, but also with more affordable brands for everyone.
Evrnu: Their technology allows for making new products/material to be made from discarded clothing.
Things We're Consuming This Week
🛢️ Back in 2015, the worst California coastal oil spill to happen since 1969, killed hundreds of wildlife, while also damaging tourism and fishing. Plains All American Pipeline recently just finalized a $230M settlement, with plans to still build a new pipeline.
💡 Seven of Ohio’s gas and electric companies cut off service over 270,000 to people over one year during the pandemic due to customers’ nonpayment for utilities, as allowed by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, while continuing to make a rise in profit.
🏭 Two cities, Boulder and Flagstaff, are building projects (the first two of its kind in the US) focused on carbon removal as part of their carbon neutrality plans by 2030.
🔥 1 in 6 Americans live in an area with significant wildfire risk. Due to potential wildfire and extreme heat, Oregon established new job site rules mandating companies take steps to protect workers.
♻️ Learn from Kamikatsu, Japan, a town with about 1,500 residents on how they plan on living a zero-waste life through its Zero Waste Center as a thrift shop and a recycling facility.
💧 Check out the Dam Removal Europe Coalition’s progress in 2021 to remove dams and other river obstacles from blocking breeding areas and reduced water species.
👠These designers in the Philippines are creating beautiful alternatives to fast fashion. Read their stories here.
Things You Can Do
Do your best to buy less clothing this summer and reuse what you already have in your closets.
Invest in staple pieces that will last you a long time.
Consider checking out thrift stores or from responsible companies. Check them out on Good On You to see what they’ve been rated.
Instead of immediately trashing your old clothes, see if you can find a new purpose for it, either by donating it or repurposing it.
We love buying from brands that promote slow shopping. At Patagonia, if your clothing is damaged or worn out over the years, you can send it in and they can repair it for you!
Try fixing and altering clothes that started wearing out to help prolong their lifetime.
Questions or comments on this piece? Suggestions on what we should cover next? Send us a note.