Did you know that thousands of tons (literally, an estimate of 39.000 tons) of clothes are discarded just in the Atacama desert in Chile each year?
Yes, this is one of the problems with fast fashion - and you might be asking yourself... what can I do about it? Well, the answer is simple and, although we need thousands of people to want to do something about it and fast fashion brands to shift their way of producing... each of us can contribute to a greener world.
Here is what we believe that we can do.
First of all, let's start answering the question - do I really need that shirt? If the answer is YES, can I buy it second hand or from a sustainable brand? and for sure the answer will be YES. So here is where the consumer has a lot of power over the fashion industry, we (many of us at least) have the power to choose what to buy, choose where our money goes. If we keep supporting trends, unethical companies, over consumerism etc we will never see a change.
Back to the title of our blogpost, here are some ideas of how you can repurpose the clothes that you already have! And as our title says, we want to encourage you to do this with those OLD pieces that have done sooo much for us and there is nothing else we can do for them. Some small local brands offer free repairs or have a return - recycle policy like we do.
*Take the time to research before donating. This helps with bringing the right clothes to the right shelter/school/organisation, we make sure it's going to be used.
*Swap clothes with friends! This works great for our baby clothing.
*Turn you clothes into rags, wipes or to replace single use paper towels. Our fabric is so soft and healthy that is perfect as face wipes, for removing make up or cleaning your cute baby's face! We do bandana bibs with our offcuts and you can do the same with other clothes.
*If you've got some sewing skills or you are into crafts you can turn them into pillows, groceries bags, weaved rugs, pacifier chains etc. There are many creative ideas online for you to give them a try!
*Are there any pets at home? Create some fun toys for them!
You can also start composting at home! Yes, some fabrics are compostable. More on this soon!
Hope this blog was helpful, everything we do counts! Let us know if have any other ideas to repurpose Hazel's clothes or any other garments.
