Is Sustainable Fashion Really Attainable?

Recently I was reading a blog about sustainable fashion and the author made, what I thought was a bold statement. She said that there is no such thing as 100% sustainable fashion. My initial reaction was to scoff at this. Then, I started feeling resigned that maybe she was right. So, what does sustainable fashion really mean, is sustainable fashion really attainable, and should we be striving for 100% sustainability?

What Is Sustainable Fashion?

There are a few definitions of sustainable fashion out there. Here are a couple that I like:

Wikipedia says this:

“Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion and ReFashion) is a movement and process of fostering change to fashion products and the fashion system towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. Sustainable fashion concerns more than just addressing fashion textiles or products. It addresses the whole system of how clothing is produced, who produced it and how long the life span of a product is before it reaches landfill. This means dealing with interdependent social, cultural, ecological, and financial systems.”

Good On You says this:

“…sustainable fashion is simply about fostering a fashion industry that takes a long term approach to the design, manufacturing, and consumption of clothes and accessories. It’s about fashion that both creates good and avoids harm, whether to people, the planet, or animals.”

Adopting More Sustainable Practices

So, if it is unrealistic to think we can have 100% sustainability, what can we do? As it turns out, actually a lot. Here are some easy ways to be more sustainable in our wardrobes:

1. Wear your clothes longer – If you are shopping for quality, your clothes will last longer and stay out of the landfill longer. 
2. Shop sustainable brands – Research companies that are committed to sustainable practices. The Good On You app can help you. But, if you still feel like sustainable brands are out of reach…..
3. Shop secondhand – Extend the life of an existing garment. Again keeping it out of the landfill longer. 
4. Practice conscious shopping – I shared about this in last week’s blog. Consuming less is inherently sustainable. 

It doesn’t serve us to think that we need to do sustainability 100% perfectly. That just leads to resignation and eventually giving up on trying altogether. If you care about the environment, sustainability and ethical work practices, just try and adopt one small change to how you dress yourself. Every small action adds up to a larger impact, even a movement. For more detailed tips, check out the Checklist for Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget. 

Recently I was scrolling through Netflix, looking for a new show to watch, and I came across the show Hoarders. In case you haven’t heard of it, the show features people who suffer from Hoarding Disorder, which is defined by the Mayo Clinic as “..a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to have them. A person with hoarding disorder experiences distresses at the thought of getting rid of items. Excessive accumulation of items, regardless of actual value, occurs.” As soon as I started watching this show, I couldn’t look away. My husband didn’t understand why I would watch such a thing. I mean, I get it. Why would I waste my time with such “reality” TV? After reflecting on it a bit, it’s really the psychology of it that fascinates me the most – the irrationality of the acquisition of stuff that we don’t need. Why do we do it? Why do we need so much stuff?

Most People Like to Acquire Stuff

The show “Hoarders” obviously takes a look at the most extreme cases of acquisition because that is what gets us to tune in. A person with hoarding disorder will often have a serious relationship and health struggles as a result of this compulsion. But, what about the average person? Why do we choose to acquire the things that we do? Consider your last purchase. Was it something you really needed? Say, for example, groceries. Or, was it something that you just wanted. Such as a new purse even though you have several that work very well. Now, the point of this post is not to shame anyone for liking to buy nice things, Most of us do. The point is to really explore our motivations and how to think more consciously about what we acquire. 

Let’s Take a Look At Our Closets

Since I like to write about conscious and sustainable fashion, let’s explore this topic of why we need so much stuff by taking a look at our closets. Do you have a sense of how many articles of clothing you own? Of those items, could you estimate what percentage of those clothes that you actually wear? I’ve seen some experts say that we only wear about 20-30% of the clothes that are in our closets. If that’s the case, why do we have all the other items, and why can’t we seem to get rid of it? Until recently, I was one of those people who did not wear most of the clothes in their closet. I’ve slowly and methodically been working to change that. You can read a little more about my process in my Conscious Closet Cleanse Part I and Part II blog posts. (Part III coming soon!)

If you’d like to have a closet filled mostly with clothes that you WANT to wear, there are a few different ways to really get in touch with what’s in your closet and what you will actually wear. I find that the first best step is to take an inventory of what you have. It doesn’t have to be super detailed. You can use a spreadsheet or just a notebook to capture what you currently have. Create rows for major categories such as tops, jackets, pants, skirts, dresses, sweaters, etc. Then just take a basic count and add it up. Does the number shock you? I was definitely shocked the first time I did this. Here’s an example of my spreadsheet over the span of about a month. 

How Much Do You Actually Wear?

Okay, so you know how much you have. That’s a great first step! But what really matters is how much of it do you actually wear? If you wear most of the clothes that are in your closet, GREAT! But if not, there is a chance that you are acquiring those clothes for some unconscious or irrational reason. Maybe it was a great deal. Or you bought it on vacation and it has sentimental value. It could even be something you acquired as a status symbol, i.e. designer bag.

A simple way to figure this out is to literally pull out all the clothes that you know you’ve worn in the last year and put them in one section of your closet. The opposite can also work. Meaning, pull and set aside all the things that you KNOW you haven’t worn in at least a year. Take a count and figure out the percent that you actually wear. (For additional ways to sort what you wear vs. what you don’t, check out my blog post about the Best Time To Clean Out Your Closet. 

The “ribbon test” is a great way to learn what you do and don’t wear. After you wear and was something, put it back on the right side of the ribbon. After a while, everything that remains on the left is stuff you don’t or rarely wear. 

By now you should have a rough number of where you are with your worn vs. unworn clothing. But knowing that number is probably not  enough to get you to make changes  in how you acquire and keep things. Why DO we need so much stuff? Keep reading and we’ll start to get to the heart of the matter. 

Time To Take a Hard Look At Things

Now that you have gotten in touch with the reality of how many clothes you have hanging in your closet, and how much of it you actually wear, it’s time to really consider why you have so many clothes that you do not wear. Here are a few questions I asked myself that might also work for you:

1. Who was I with when I bought this? Did it influence my decision to purchase?
2. Would I have proactively sought out this item if I had never stumbled across it in the first place? 
3. Did I only buy this because it was a “great deal” even though it doesn’t fit or isn’t my style?
4. Did you purchase the item because you felt you “deserved it” or as a reward?

Again, the aim here is not to pass judgment on anyone’s decisions. Even as someone who blogs about conscious and sustainable fashion, I find that sometimes I purchase something that later I scratch my head over. Wondering, “what was I thinking when I bought this?”

Are We Possessed?

In the book “Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need” by Bruce M. Hood, the author explores this whole idea of possession and acquisition. So, why do we need so much stuff? Goodreads sums it up this way, “[Possessed] reveals how we are compelled to accumulate possessions in a relentless drive to seek status and approval by signaling our values to others by what we own. It traces the history of ownership but looks to the future as our drive to own will need to adapt to environmental and technological change”

As we consider the future of the planet and the environment, there are some very simple things that we can do to save money, reduce waste and reduce our carbon footprint. 

Making the Most of What You Have

Most experts in the sustainability or green movement will tell you that we cannot acquire our way out of the environmental crisis we’re facing. Even if you are not a believer in man-made climate change, just consider the very real cost of disposing of our unwanted items. In “The Waste-Free World: How the Circular Economy Will Take Less, Make More, and Save The Planet” author Ron Gonen outlines a very compelling case.

You see, the trash we throw out has to go somewhere. Often cities and communities will ship our garbage out of state, at a huge expense to taxpayers, because we’ve run out of room for our own trash. Using and acquiring less, as well as recycling and repurposing existing items are some ways to help reduce this excess garbage we’re throwing out every day. Here are a few things that you can do NOW, starting with your own closet. 

1. Shop Your Own Closet – Make new outfits out of pieces you already own. To learn how download my 6 Ways To Shop Your Closet Guide 
2. Shop Secondhand – Don’t let anyone tell you that thrift stores are being overrun by rich folks and resellers. There is PLENTY to go around. More than plenty, actually. Thrift and charity stores still throw away a lot of unwanted and unsellable clothing. New to thrifting? Check out the blog post on 5 Tips If You’re New To Thrifting 
3. Choose to repair or remake items you already have instead of chucking them. I recommend you start following the hashtag #visiblemending for repair inspiration. I also recommend that you follow my friend Crispina ffrench. She teaches people how to make beautiful potholder rugs using unwanted textiles. You can find her at www.crispina.eco. 

If you decide your entire closet is a lost cause, check out my Checklist for Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget so you can build a closet full of clothes that you love to wear, while reducing your carbon footprint, and saving money.

What Does it Mean to Have a Conscious Wardrobe?

There is a lot of talk about sustainable, eco-friendly, and ethical fashion these days. I recently read a blog that said there is no such thing as sustainable fashion. In another article I read they argued about what is the “true” meaning of ethical fashion. It’s easy to get tripped up on these terms, let them cause confusion, and then we throw our hands up in the air and say “screw it” because it just seems too hard to do the right thing!! I tend to use the term “conscious” when describing the effort to have a more sustainable, ethical, and eco-friendly wardrobe. Because we’ll never get things 100% right. Instead, we can focus on the choices we make. Such as what we buy, where, how often, and how we treat the clothes we already own. All of this is part of creating a conscious wardrobe.

Imagine taking a look inside your closet and knowing that you’ve acquired your wardrobe in ethical, eco-friendly, and sustainable ways. It may sound daunting but it’s totally doable, once you learn a couple of important things about how clothes are made. Let’s take a look at a couple of these factors and where we can make small but easy to implement changes toward the better good. 

What Does It Mean for Clothes to be Ethically Made?

Did you know that less than 3% of the clothing we Americans purchase is actually made in the US? That is down from about 50% in 1990. So if our clothes are made outside of the US, where are they made? They are made in places like China, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, and Cambodia. So, you might be thinking… “So what? People in those countries need jobs too, don’t they?” Yes, of course. But chances are that they are not working under the same conditions as most US workers. 

The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013 was the world’s largest garment industry disaster ever witnessed. This tragedy that cost over 1000 deaths shed an international spotlight on garment worker conditions around the world. For example, did you know that a garment worker in Bangladesh makes a minimum wage of $95 per month? That’s less than a quarter of the living wage in that country. 

(Source: The Conscious Closet)

Our demand for cheap fast fashion drives the demand that leads to these conditions. This was a really hard pill for me to swallow. For a long time, I was perfectly happy to ignore what I intuitively knew, something shady must be going on for me to be able to buy a brand new $10 blouse at my favorite fast-fashion brand. If you are anything like me, you want your wardrobe to match your values. 

How To Have a Wardrobe That Matches Your Values

The best way to start is to take small steps. This is a process. But, there are several things that can be done to start to build a more conscious wardrobe, full of clothes that you actually love to wear, and that have a lesser carbon footprint. If you’re curious about how your fashion habits impact the environment, head over to my last blog post – How Bad Is It Really To Shop Fast Fashion – and use the calculator linked there to measure your impact. 

To build that more conscious wardrobe, without spending a fortune, I’ve developed a 4 step process that will have you looking in your closet and being proud of what you have in there, excited to put on the clothes that you own, and confident that you’ve made a positive impact on the planet. At a high level, the process is as follows:

The 4 Cs

1. Create – Start with what you already own and create new outfits with things you already have. If you need help getting started, check out the 6 Ways to Shop Your Closet guide for some tips.
2. Cleanse – Do a thorough evaluation of what you own and what you actually wear. Once you’ve decided what to purge, responsibly pass on those gently used garments by either swapping, donating, recycling or selling. This brings us to Step 3!
3. Cash In – It is easier than ever to sell your unwanted clothes using nothing more than your smartphone. Apps like Poshmark and Mercari are extremely easy to use. Consignment stores are another great option. You can then use these funds to move on to step 4. 
4. Curate – This step may take some time but it is the most satisfying, in my opinion. This is where you start to fill in the gaps in your wardrobe with quality clothing that you love. This is done by shopping second-hand, investing in higher quality and/or sustainable garments. 

If you are ready to take the next step, check out the Checklist for Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget for more specific tips and tools. Please leave a comment and let me know where you are on your journey and how I can help!

How Bad Is it Really to Shop Fast Fashion?

Most of the clothing that I buy for myself and my daughter are secondhand. For me it’s about 95% secondhand and for my daughter it’s probably close to 85%. (The men in my family shop so little for clothing I’m not even considering them in this equation.) So, overall I feel pretty good about being a conscious fashion consumer and my impact on environmental and ethical factors that go into producing fashion today. I was recently faced with a real dilemma. My daughter had a semi-formal awards ceremony to attend for her choir and she wanted to buy a dress. Okay, that’s totally reasonable. Then she told me that she wants a NEW dress…as in…not thrifted. Okay…deep breaths! The whole experience had me reflect once again on fast fashion and how bad is it really to shop fast fashion. And, how should we feel about it if we do?

Dress Shopping

After my daughter said she wanted to get a new dress I had to sort of rack my brain for where to shop. No kidding. I genuinely wasn’t sure where to go. She suggested Marshall’s and Ross. Okay great, at least those are affordable options! But, it turns out they were a total bust. They each had lots of dresses but nothing semi-formal. After a few days of her sulking with disappointment, I took her to…deep breath….THE MALL! We started in a department store but didn’t see anything to her liking. So, we ventured into the mall and hit one of the popular fast fashion chains where a lot of girls get their dance dresses. She immediately found several dresses that were good contenders for her event.

While she was looking around, I decided to peruse the clearance section just to see if there were any hidden gems in there. I was floored. Almost every item in there was pilled, torn, pulled or literally looked like it was falling apart. These clothes were so cheaply made that they couldn’t even last long enough to make it out of the store in one piece. Imagine trying to wear one of these more than once? I think they might just disintegrate!

The Aftermath

Fairly quickly, my daughter was able to find the dress that she liked and we chose a couple of accessories to go with it. I held my nose at the cash register as I paid $79 for a dress that would probably fall apart as soon as she wore it. We got home later and my husband asked how it went. Of course, my daughter was elated with her dress. After she left the room, I told him that I had a hard time shopping in that store because it was all such crap. Then, I reminded myself that a purchase at a fast fashion brand is a VERY RARE occurrence for us. It does no good to beat myself up for it. It does create a learning opportunity. I decided to dig deeper into how bad is it really to shop fast fashion. 

The Fashion Footprint Calculator

I decided to turn to Thredup’s Fashion Footprint Calculator. It’s a really great tool and I hope to have one like it built for my website one day. After answering all the questions about my shopping and laundry habits, the calculator told me the following:

• My fashion habits contribute to 794 lbs of carbon emissions annually
• My footprint is 51% lower than the average consumer. 

I was honestly hoping for a better number. I think the fact that I do so much laundry is what really drives it up. I’ve been practicing wearing an item multiple times before washing and trying to educate my family to do the same. My daughter will wear something for an hour and then throw it in the hamper!

Try the calculator for yourself and see what your impact is. Whatever your number is, this is not an invitation to beat yourself up! Knowledge can be power but really it is APPLIED knowledge that is power. Get a sense of where you stand and start making some small changes. I am clearly far from perfect at this thing called conscious and sustainable fashion. But I have been trying to take steps to make improvements. You can follow a little. of this journey in my two blog posts of my Concsious Closet Cleanse Part I and Part II.

So How Bad is it Really?

To answer the question in the title of this post – How Bad Is It Really to Shop Fast Fashion – I did the calculator again. This time I did it as if I were someone who frequently shopped, didn’t choose secondhand or sustainable brands, and didn’t have environmentally friendly laundry habits. The result?

• Those fashion habits contribute to 2337 lbs of carbon emissions annually
• A carbon footprint that is 44% higher than the average consumer

Even though I had hoped my numbers would be better, I am happy to know that the effort that I put into having a conscious wardrobe does make a difference. 

You Can Make a Difference

If you are someone who cares about the environmental and ethical impacts of fashion, there is a lot you can do to help the equation. 

• Shop sustainable brands
• Shop secondhand
• Do less laundry by wearing each item more than once
• Repair your clothing
• Buy quality items that will last

The best part is that you can still have a wardrobe full of clothes that you love, nix fast fashion AND do it all on a small budget. I know that the fancy sustainable brands can feel out of reach but it is totally possible to create a more conscious wardrobe that you love! For more details, download the Checklist for Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget.

In what ways have you tried to reduce the negative impact of fast fashion? Drop me a comment below and share your best practices so we can all learn and do better!

The Best Time to Clean Out Your Closet

Do you stand in front or inside your closet and say to yourself, “I have nothing to wear!” Even though clearly the closet is full of clothes? If this is you, don’t feel bad. This happens to most of us at one point or another. Sometimes it is because we buy things that are inexpensive or were “a good deal” but those items didn’t really fit our taste. Or, it could be because we hang onto clothing because it was expensive or something we once really liked, but it no longer fits our lifestyle. Whatever the reason, one way to combat this issue is to do a regular closet cleanout or closet cleanse, as I like to call it. In this post, I’ll share the best time to clean out your closet, along with a few tips for ensuring you DO have clothes you actually WANT to wear when you’re finished. 

What’s The Best Time To Clean Out Your Closet?

There are several approaches to this but my favorite is to do a closet cleanse seasonally. Here’s why – You can very quickly discern if you wore any garments from the season that just ended. Therefore, you don’t have to wonder “will I wear this?” You already know if you did or didn’t. 

Here’s how it works:

1. As the season changes, go through your clothes from the season that just ended. For example, if Spring just started, you want to go through your winter clothes.
2. Were there any items that you went the whole season without wearing or even really thinking about? If the answer is “yes” then that item can likely be donated, sold or swapped. (See The Conscious Closet in Action blog post for more tips)
3. If you’re like me and live in a climate that doesn’t really have 4 distinct seasons, notice when the weather starts to change. For example, now that it is May, I noticed it’s been a bit since I  wore any of my pullover sweaters. So, it’s a perfect time to go through my sweaters, coats, boots and other winter and fall items. 

Other Ways to Cleanse Your Closet

There are a couple of other techniques that you can apply to cleaning out your closet, whether you choose to do it seasonally or more or less often. Really, the best time to clean out your closet is the time that works best FOR YOU.

Technique #2 – What’s Old is New Again

• Go through your closet and pick out 5-10 items that you know you haven’t worn in at least a year. 
• Set them aside in a designated section of your closet. 
• Start creating outfits with these pieces, mixing these older pieces with newer ones that you wear more often. For example, maybe there is a blouse that you haven’t worn for over a year because you feel it’s too dressy for your lifestyle. Try wearing it with your favorite pair of jeans. Maybe put a white tee under it to dress it down for a more casual look. 
• After giving the old item another chance, decide if it is something you are going to keep and try wearing again or, if you really are just over it. 

Make a New, More Conscious Habit

If you can get into a new habit of using one or more of these techniques on a regular basis, you’ll be well on your way to refreshing your wardrobe and making room for the clothes that you really DO WANT TO WEAR. The next step is to discover the gaps in your wardrobe and make a plan to fill those gaps. This can be more challenging than it seems – it requires a more conscious approach to make sure we don’t just fill our closets full of cheap so-so clothes again. The Checklist for Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget is a great resource to help you get started with ensuring that the choices that you do make are ethical and environmentally friendly. 

So You’re Doing a Closet Cleanse…

So you’re finally getting around to cleaning out your closet. Good for you! You may have your own system or maybe you’re following the advice of another style blogger. There’s definitely no shortage of advice. But, there is a specific closet cleanse dilemma that I seldom see addressed thoroughly. What to do with clothes that don’t fit.

We’ve all been there, I’m sure. There’s that dress or those jeans that once fit like a glove, but because of the baby or covid, you’ve put on a few pounds and that garment doesn’t quite fit. Or, maybe you were going through an illness or other significant weight loss and some of your clothes are now too big. So, the question becomes: Do I keep it or get rid of it?

Consider the Impact on Your Mindset

Keeping something in your closet that doesn’t fit can have a significant impact on your outlook. For some, it can be motivational. As in, “my goal is to fit back into those jeans in 2 months.” But for others, it can have the opposite effect. As in, “I’ll probably never fit into those again but I’ll keep them just in case.” It’s helpful to get in touch with which camp you fall into before attempting to do a closet cleanse. If you approach this with a few simple tactics in mind, you’ll not only feel great about the clothes that you end up keeping in your closet, but you’ll make peace with those that you decide to let go of. 

Start with an Aspirational Box

In a previous post, I went over what to do with the items you are cleansing from your closet. You can check that out HERE but if you don’t want to read the whole blog, the short version is: donate, sell, swap, recycle. Recently I thought of an additional option, what I call an “Aspirational Box” or you may have seen some call it a goal box. Use whatever euphemism works for you. But, essentially this box is for items that don’t currently fit (either too big or too small) but you still like think you would like to wear again.

Pro Tip! – Use a clear storage bin in a conspicuous area so you don’t forget about it entirely. Or, if the space in your closet permits, section off a portion of your closet for your aspirational items. Plan to revisit that bin about once a month.

When creating this box, keep the following in mind:

1. How likely is it that the item will fit in the future?

Be honest with yourself. Is the change in your body that caused those clothes to not fit temporary or not? If you are confident that the answer is “yes” this will fit me again, put the garment in your aspirational box.

2. Is the quality high enough to justify alteration?

Even if the answer to the above question is “no” you may still have a use for that garment. A high-quality wool dress might benefit from being taken in, or even let out if there is enough fabric to work with. Iif that’s the case, put it in your aspirational box for alteration in the future. If an item is a fast-fashion piece that you paid $10 for. Just donate it. Chances are you won’t miss it and it will cost you more to alter it than it’s worth.

3. Does it still match your style?

Sometimes we hang onto something that we once loved for so long that it no longer matches our style or even anything resembling a current trend. I had this pantsuit that I used to love but after baby #2 in 2009 it was harder to fit into the pants. But I kept hanging onto it thinking….someday maybe. Fast forward to 2020 when I no longer had a corporate job that required anything resembling a pant suit. Why did I still have that thing? I donated the pants and put the jacket in the aspirational box/section of my closet. I tried wearing it once or twice and realized it just wasn’t my style anymore. So, I decided to sell it.

The jacket that was part of the pantsuit I mentioned above is still available for sale! (As of this writing)

Check in With Your Aspirational Box

Every month or so, check in with your box or section of your closet and re-evaluate each item. Will you put it back in the box and try again next month? Are you going to alter it? Are you finally ready to let it go? Don’t just dump stuff in there and forget it. Set a reminder on your calendar or plan to do it on the first of the month. If a different frequency works better for you, say every 2 months, that’s okay too. The goal is to NOT forget about the box but we also DO NOT want it to be a demotivator.

Now What Will You Wear?

Doing a closet cleanse can be very rewarding and it’s a great way to get in touch with the clothes that you really DO love to wear. Just picture your closet after a cleanse. All that old stuff no longer nagging at you. But you actually have a closet full of things you love to wear. The best part? You didn’t have to spend any money to do it!

After doing a cleanse, I like to challenge myself to create new outfits with the items that I have left. If you’d like help in this area, I have two resources that you might like.

6 Ways to Shop Your Closet Guide

Outfit Inspiration Ideas

Drop a comment below and let me know how your conscious closet cleanse is going. Are there any other challenges you’re up against when trying to create a more conscious wardrobe? Leave a comment or email me and let me know. I’d love to hear from you!

Can a Woman Over 40 Wear Fishnets With Ripped Jeans?

Some people would answer the above question with an emphatic “NO!”  (My 14 year old daughter definitely thinks this is a no-no). There are rules for dressing for a certain age. I mean, all you have to do is go onto Pinterest and type in “outfit ideas” and it will automatically recommend things like “outfit ideas women over 40” or “outfit ideas women over 50” and so on. Have you ever actually clicked on any of those searches? 

YAWN!!!!

Well, I have my own “rules” if you can call them that. That’s the subject of my latest video. Just click below. 

Still Don’t Know What To Wear?

I get it, figuring out what to wear can be a challenge at any age. After a while we all get tired of wearing the same old outfits, no matter how cute they are. I’ve discovered a few tips and tricks to help freshen your wardrobe without spending any money. If you are looking for some ideas, check out my FREE guide with outfit inspiration ideas.

(ICYMI – You can find my last video blog HERE.) 

A Conscious Closet Cleanse Is A Work In Progress

About a month ago I wrote a post about my Conscious Closet Cleanse: Part I and went to work clearing out unwanted garments from my wardrobe. I really tried to challenge myself to consider whether or not I would EVER wear the things that were hanging in my closet. I thought I was being pretty ruthless. Today, I did a recount to compare what I had before to what I currently have. Conclusion: I am pathetic in my ability to ruthlessly cleanse my closet. See below for my “before” and “after” numbers.

I only reduced my closet contents by 18%!!!!! My goal was to reduce by 50% I knew this would be a process but I really felt like I had done much better than this. It probably didn’t help that I ADDED a blazer to the count! Oh, and I am not sure why I have one more skirt. I may have miscounted last time. 

I clearly have a problem!

BTW – I forgot to count shoes the first time around. So, that is why those numbers are not reflected here. But, in case you are wondering, the shoe count is currently as follows:

• Boots = 4
• Booties = 4
• Flats = 8
• Sandals = 6
• Pumps = 1
• Sneakers = 14
• Oxfords = 3
• Total = 40

The sneakers kind of makes sense to me. I have had multiple foot surgeries on my right foot and for a while, sneakers were all I could wear. So, I bought a lot of them. The pumps are a joke. I can’t wear them. They have no business being in my closet.

Based on all this, clearly, there will need to be a Part III blog post cuz I’ve got more work to do. If you are also trying to cleanse your closet of unwanted items, and struggling as I am, I think we can all take comfort in the fact that this is clearly something that takes time and patience. A conscious closet cleanse should be done carefully. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be very “conscious” would it?

The Eighteen Percent

What I can take some solace in is the fact that I was able to discard my unwanted clothes responsibly. Here is where it all went:

• Clothes that were in good condition but not worth my time to try to sell individually went to Swap Society.
• Items that were worn out or in bad shape were sent to either For Days or Universal Standard for recycling.
• Items in good condition and worth resale value got listed on Poshmark, Mercari, Kidizen and Depop
• Some random items went into a garage sale fundraiser we had to raise money for my daughter’s school trip to South Africa.

What Sold

Here are a few examples of what I was able to sell. At the top end, I got $20 for the Express jeans and at the low end I got about $7 for the pink Knox Rose top. It was part of a 3-item bundle of items that I honestly thought would sit in my closet for a long time. So, I was happy to make someone a deal!  I wasn’t expecting to make a ton of money, and I didn’t, but I’m happy anytime I can get a little money for my old unwanted clothes. 

What’s Next?

After I started writing this post, I shared with my family what my closet count was.

I thought my husband was going to fall over.

He’s always been a minimalist with his wardrobe. He doesn’t shop often but when he does get something new he tends to wear it until it wears out. No wonder he only needs one-fifth of the closet space that I do! I told him my commitment to reduce my closet by at least half so….now I HAVE to do it!

What Have I Learned?

There are a few takeaways from this experience that I hope can help you with your closet cleanout.

1. Set a goal that is realistic for YOU: I set a goal to reduce my closet by at least half. That felt do-able enough for me. If I had said that I was going to reduce my closet by 95% I probably would have quit before I started. I needed to start with something that felt significant but do-able for me. Once I reach that goal. I will set a new one.
2. It can be a marathon or a sprint: If you want to clean out your closet responsibly, it will take a little time to make sure the items you are rejecting don’t end up in a landfill. Give yourself some grace if you don’t reach your goal overnight. Go at a pace that works for you and lets you do this cleanse responsibly.
3. Create accountability: I was embarrassed to tell my husband how many clothes I have. He can obviously see it all since we share a closet. Buy it was super cringy to say it to him out loud. So, whatever your own personal goal is, share it with someone else and ask them to check in on your progress.

If you’re on your own conscious closet journey, I hope that sharing my process is helpful for you. I am convinced that everyone can have a more conscious and more sustainable wardrobe with just a little bit of effort, and without spending a lot of money. If you’re interested in building a sustainable wardrobe on a budget, check out this FREE CHECKLIST. 

An Inside Look at the Clothing Industry

After I finished reading “The Conscious Closet” by Elizabeth L. Cline, I was hungry for more information about fashion and sustainability. (You can read my review of The Conscious Closet HERE). I have a whole list of books on my Goodreads that are under the “want to read” category. So, the next book I chose was Fashionopolis. Although I have been a fashion lover and avid shopper my whole life, it was only recently that I started to think about where our clothes come from. Who makes the clothes? How are the clothes made? I was blissfully ignorant of these facts for a long time. “Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters” by Dana Thomas changed all that. 

Fashion’s Dirty Secret

Thomas is a storyteller and in Part I of the book she tells us stories that lay the groundwork, describing the conditions that have led to what the fashion industry is today. In 1980, 70% of the clothing Americans bought were made in the United States. Then, because of a series of trade deals, it became necessary to make clothes off-shore in order for brands to compete on price. When we buy a $10 shirt at Forever 21 or H&M, most of us don’t give much thought to just how they are able to sell a shirt so cheaply.

The #1 answer, cheap labor. With cheap labor comes awful working conditions that range from super sketchy to downright deadly. On April 23, 2013, the Rana Plaza building, in Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1134 people and injuring 2500. It was the deadliest factory accidentally in modern history. Thomas tells the story of Rana Plaza through interviews with those who survived the disaster. Many who survived have suffered ongoing physical and mental injuries that have left them unable to work and care for their families. Thomas explains: 

“News stories on Rana Plaza were blunt and inescapable. The awareness campaigns that followed were vocal. Yet Americans didn’t change their apparel shopping habits. In 2013, they spent $340 billion on fashion – more than twice what they forked out for new cars. Much of it was produced in Bangladesh, some of it by Rana Plaza workers in the days leading up to the collapse.”

Thomas does such a great job of painting the picture of what the garment industry working conditions are really like, it becomes difficult to ignore it. We have an opportunity to buy more consciously so we can confidently say that our clothes were not made while others lost their lives. 

Dressing With Intention

I don’t mean for this to sound so doom and gloom. It can be overwhelming to try and think of what one person can do against a giant industry like the apparel industry. But, it all starts with becoming aware. Aware of the problem and some of the solutions. In part II of the book, we learn about reshoring – “the act of bringing back the manufacturing that went offshore during the post-NAFTA globalization boom.” In order to bring production back to the US, designers and manufacturers are being forced to innovate, to completely change what experts thought was possible when it comes to making fabric and sewing clothes. 

At times, I found it challenging to follow along with the industry jargon. But the stories in the book show us who makes our clothes and how they are made. I admit I knew 0% about how clothes are made on a mass scale. Just imagine that every time you shop now, you’re thinking about who made your clothes? Would you make different choices? I know I will. We can finally start to have a wardrobe that reflects our values. 

Feeling Good About Our Fashion

In the last section of the book, we learn about the ways in which shopping has changed. Did you know that it was projected that in 2017 a fourth of America’s remaining malls would shutter in five years? Malls were already a dying breed…then entered the pandemic (which of course, the book does not address since it was published in 2019). The good news that I find in these pages is that as consumers, we have SO MANY CHOICES now when it comes to where we shop and what we buy.

As Thomas points out, “Consumers now routinely and freely tell brands and retailers how they feel and what’s important to them: their emotions, their envies, their neuroses.” When we start to vote for the change we want to see with our dollars, brands have to sit up and take notice. We have choices: consignment, resale, swapping, shopping ethical, and/or sustainable brands. Reading a book like this has definitely empowered me to shop with more confidence and clarity. My preferred shopping method is second hand, whether it be resale or thrifting. But if/when I choose to get something new, there are a host of brands I know I can seek out. 

The Inspiration

I have been writing and sharing a lot lately about the book, The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth L. Cline. This book is so inspirational on so many levels. It has inspired me to do a cleanse of my closet and try to get to more of a “capsule wardrobe”. In case you’re not familiar, a capsule wardrobe is when you invest in just a few essential pieces that are classic and non-trendy that can be augmented with select seasonal and trendy pieces. A capsule wardrobe is MUCH smaller than a typical wardrobe. The idea is that when you have fewer pieces that you actually love and are of good quality, it all gets worn, and you spend less time standing in front of your closet figuring out what to wear.  

BTW, if you’d like some outfit inspiration ideas check out my free guide from this BLOG POST. 

The Challenge

I’ve decided to take on this challenge! I have NEVER been accused of having a minimalist wardrobe. But, to be honest most of the items currently in my closet go unworn. Either because they are from a time when I had to dress up for work (now I work from home) or there are items that don’t fit. After all, this is the year that I decided to stop weighing myself so there are a few pieces that used to be snug….that are just unwearable now. This is going to be a work in progress so this blog post will be part I of I-don’t-know-how-many posts until I get to that desired capsule wardrobe. So, sit back, relax, and join me in my conscious closet cleanse. 

The Count

I was procrastinating and dreading to do it, but it needed to be done. I needed to count how many clothes I had in my closet. So, here it is:

Pants = 13

Dresses & Rompers = 35

Skirts = 13

Shirts = 89

Blazers = 35

Jeans = 21

Cardigans = 30

Sweaters. & Sweatshirts = 13

Coats/Capes/Ponchos/Vests = 26

Total = 275

The number that I think I was the most shocked by was the shirt count of 89. 89!?!? I haven’t even counted my dresser drawers yet! And….I had already gone through and started to purge a few things before I did this count. Do I feel like I have 89 tops in my closet that I would be happy to wear on any given day?

NO!

One of the other numbers that is a huge problem is 35 dresses/rompers. For my current lifestyle I really don’t need that many. So, some of those are going to have to go.

Why am I not calling out the blazer count as a problem? I LOVE blazers. I consider jeans, a t-shirt, and a blazer my signature look. Unfortunately Southern California weather only allows me 3 seasons of that look. I am going to probably get rid of at least 2-3 that I have not worn in a long time. But most of them are staying put and I am okay with that. Here’s why – I can cut way back on the tops and jeans but throwing on a pop of color, pattern or texture with a blazer can instantly make that simple jeans and tee super interesting.

The Castoffs

So what to do with the castoffs? I have been exploring some new ways of disposing of my old clothes. There are now four categories the castoffs go into; Sell, Donate, Swap, Recycle.

Sell: Anything that has resale value obviously goes up on Poshmark and Mercari to sell. I don’t worry about making a huge profit on those pieces so I try to price them to move.

Donate: Anything that is in good condition but not worth the effort of trying to sell, gets donated.

Swap: I recently signed up for a membership with Swap Society. You sign up for a fee and earn points that you can use to “swap” clothes. When you send in your old items they will assign a point value as well. You use these points to shop on their website. There is also a small fee for each transaction. It’s probably not the most cost-effective way to swap but since organizing a large clothing swap isn’t in the cards due to the pandemic, I thought I would give this a try. I’ll share more about my experience after I have a chance to have the full experience with shopping with them.

Recycle: I found a couple of other websites that will, for a small fee, send you a bag to fill up with your not-so-great old clothes and they will recycle them. Did you know that only 1% of clothing is recycled in the truest sense of the word? Companies like For Days and Universal Standard are trying to change that. This is a good option for clothes that aren’t really usable. For example, my daughter had several t-shirts with paint stains (because she never listens to me to cover up her clothes when she paints!) and these are clearly not going to be desirable by anyone. So, they are good contenders for recycling. Some of my son’s old worn-out pajamas fall into this category as well.

What’s Next

It’s clear that this is going to be a process for me. Gutting my wardrobe isn’t something that I think I can do in a single day or weekend. But instead, something that happens over a slightly longer period of time. But, not too much longer. I just finished watching the documentary “Minimalism” on Netflix and it’s given me a little extra boost of inspiration to be more aggressive with my conscious closet cleanse schedule.

I’m still not sure what a realistic goal is in terms of the number of items I want to end up with and by when. With 275 total items today I know I can cut it at least in half. That’s my comfortable goal. But, I am going to try for 100 or less. Which still sounds like a lot, doesn’t it!? Like I said, it’s a process. The reason I am not assigning a time goal is that I want to discard things responsibly, and that takes a little more time. Sure, I could just put all the unwanted stuff in garbage bags and drop it off at the local Goodwill but that would not make my cleanse very conscious, since often stores like Goodwill will ship unwanted items offshore, only to fill landfills in foreign countries. 

I’ll check back in with my conscious closet cleanse Part II in a couple of weeks or so. I’ll give an update on my wardrobe count and how it’s going overall. So stay tuned!

BTW – If you’re interested in some ways to create a more conscious wardrobe on a budget, check out this FREE CHECKLIST for Building a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget.