I Saw The True Cost and It Changed Everything
I’ve heard this documentary, The True Cost, recommended on so many blogs and Youtube channels that I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get down to watching it. And I must admit, I get the hype. If you’ve just been nodding along politely (like me) to all those sustainable and ethical fashion posts, watching this movie will prove to be a real game-changer. Now I won’t even get into all the statistics and horror stories about the shameful garment industry- I’ll let you see the film for yourself. I’ll get straight into what you can do about it on a personal consumer level.
1. Buy ethically, sustainably made clothing whenever possible. Now, as a plus size woman I see the difficulty here- not many ethical brands carry plus sizes. Here are a few of my favorites to start with: Eileen Fisher, Elizabeth Suzann, Girlfriend Collective, and Alice Alexander. There are many more options available in straight sizes, from designer Stella McCartney to the reasonably priced Everlane.
2. I know these brands are more expensive. That’s the whole point. The actual cost of making a garment is far more than what we’re used to paying at fast fashion giants where everything is made in sweatshops. Clothing, it turns out, should not be an impulse buy or a disposable item. It should be a deliberate, carefully considered purchase with a certain commitment to owning the item involved. If you harken back to the 1960s, when clothing was made in the U.S., people spent a larger percentage of their income on clothing, yet bought significantly fewer items. Before manufacturing was jobbed out to the Third World, buying a dress was a special occasion, a somewhat major decision, and something that was considered thoroughly.
3. If you must buy from the big brands, opt for items with longevity that can be worn for years, or, if you frequently reinvent yourself via style, can be resold. Check out Ebay or Poshmark the next time you’re considering a new purchase- see what the resale value is and take that into account. If it sells secondhand, that’s a good indicator of longevity. If you simply plan on keeping an item for a long time, this is so much more preferable to replacing the item a short time later and feeding further into the fast fashion industry.
4. If none of the above are options and you’re on a really tight budget, by all means, thrift! Especially when you consider all the online availability of secondhand clothing on Ebay, Thredup, and Poshmark, this is truly a no-brainer. Buying secondhand is always ethically and sustainably superior to the purchase of new goods. It is truly a way to recycle clothes with the added bonus of preventing them from ending up in a landfill somewhere. Note: Apparently only 10% of donated clothing ends up on the thrift shop floor, so always, always try to resell rather than donate. Or else find organizations who might be better equipped to use your cast-offs.
If I sound somewhat fanatical about all this, I am! I am fired up and completely rethinking my recent decision to donate some T-shirts and a few other items. They don’t make much on Ebay and it didn’t seem worth the bother. But after seeing this film, I decided to repurpose some of the tees as pajama tops and some as workout tops when my current ones are beyond repair. And I’m going to list the other items (a pair of linen joggers, two woven cotton camisoles, and a pair of shoes) on Ebay. I’m ignoring the fact that they aren’t big-ticket items and am more interested in finding them a new home. In terms of new purchases, I’m sticking with what I already have for the foreseeable future. If I manage to lose a significant amount of weight, I’ll resell what doesn’t fit and pull items from storage to wear. If I do feel the need to buy anything new, I’ve got my sights set on Eileen Fisher: way out of my price range normally, but if I were to save up for a clothing purchase, I could justify a carefully considered item that will last a long time. And if the urge to impulse-buy crops up, I will be hitting the Salvation Army or Goodwill in my area. If I don’t find anything that suits me, I could always rescue a few gems to resell. The recycling continues!