Fashion: three gestures that reduce the impact of your wardrobe on the planet

Celebrated every year since 1970, Earth Day today allows citizens of 193 countries to experience a concrete action for the environment. An initiative that will eventually allow them to integrate new practices intended to best protect the planet, in many areas. In the world of fashion, more and more players are making a commitment to the environment, with a view to reducing the impact of the entire industry, the second most polluting in the world. Upcycling, repairing and renting clothes are now all processes that can make it possible to build a (really) greener dressing room.

Upcycling or giving clothes a second life

Upcycling consists not only of offering a second life to unused products, but also of giving them added value. The practice has become commonplace in the fashion industry in just a few years, to the point that the majority of players now offer upcycled collections. It must be said that the process makes it possible to considerably reduce wastage and waste, since brands use scraps of fabric, clothes destined for the dump, or used objects, to create new ultra-trendy fashion pieces.

As such, upcycling appears to be a good solution for buying new clothes without harming the planet too much – all things considered, since the production process necessarily remains a minimum that is harmful to the planet. All over the world, brands are getting into it, from ready-to-wear to luxury to bridal fashion.

Worn by Christelle Kocher, the brand Koche is one of the pioneers in this field. She has also recently launched a whole collection, in collaboration with Pumadesigned from used jerseys of theAC Milan.

But she is not the only one, and today we find fashion pieces made from totally unexpected objects such as cigarette butts, oyster bags, and even airbags and seat belts. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for online or in stores, nothing prevents you from transforming used or damaged clothes into brand new creations yourself.

Repair instead of throwing away

Reducing waste and the millions of tons of textiles thrown away each year around the world also means extending the life of the clothes that sit in our wardrobes.

Something that is far from unknown to boomers and their parents, who did not hesitate to patch up parts that had holes or were worn out by time instead of systematically replacing them. A practice deemed obsolete a few years ago that has been coming back in force for several months.

There are many brands that now offer this type of service, while, at the same time, professions doomed to disappear now seem to be returning to success. This is particularly the case for shoemakers who are now surfing on new technologies to repair and maintain shoes and leather goods to extend their life cycle.

Rent clothes

Another solution is the rental of clothes, which also reduces overconsumption, and by extension waste and waste. It is a question of turning to the rental for exceptional pieces – evening dresses, or ceremony – or everyday, to associate with timeless pieces of your dressing room to have style without impacting the planet.

houses like Burberry Where Maje have launched their own service, but it is also possible to find happiness on dedicated platforms. However, be careful with the logistics put in place by these new players, as certain services such as dry cleaning of clothes can be bad for the planet, as a Finnish study recently revealed.