Eco friendly fashion doesn’t necessarily just mean clothing that is made from organic materials, or clothing from companies that donate to an earth-friendly cause – It also means clothing that has been repurposed to become another article of clothing or accessory. As eco friendly fashion begins to gain popularity amongst both fashion designers and consumers, many people have started thinking about how they too can repurpose their old clothing, instead of just throwing them out. Below are some eco friendly tips that may just motivate you to rummage through your closet or dresser drawers.
Eco-Friendly Fashion Tips
- Have a hole in the knee-area or below on favourite pair of jeans? – All is not lost! Before you throw them out, why not try making them into a pair of shorts? Simply cut just above the knee-area with a pair of scissors, and then hem them. Not great at sewing with a machine? There are tons of instructional videos out there on Youtube that will teach you how to hem jeans, so why not give it a try? You were going to trash them anyways! Feeling a bit more experimental than just making shorts? I’ve heard from people who have made a nice skirt from an old pair of jeans. Why not try something like that?
- Turn them into rags – Spare rags are never a bad thing to have around the house. You can use them for washing your car, checking your engine’s oil level, washing dishes, cleaning windows, polishing furniture with beeswax furniture polish, and everything in-between. And if you’re stressed or angry with someone, it’s always fun to rip apart some old clothing!
- Spare socks? Not a problem! – Do you have a drawer full of single socks whose partner has somehow gotten lost en-route to or from the washing machine? Well, don’t throw them out! Instead, make some stuffed sock animals, or sock puppets! It’s a great family activity to keep your kids entertained on a rainy day, and there are countless patterns readily available on the Internet. All you really need is:
- Spare or orphaned socks
- Sewing needle, or a sewing machine (if available)
- Thread
- Scissors
- Pencils
- Pins
- Buttons (for eyes! Bigger buttons work best)
- Save the buttons – It’s a good idea to save as many buttons as you can, especially those that come from dress shirts or dress pants. Many times have I had the button on my dress shirts come off, and many times have I had to replace said button. Luckily, having kept a jar full of spare buttons in my closet, a replacement was never too far away. Another good reason to keep spare buttons is for arts and crafts (as mentioned above, buttons make great eyes for sock puppets and sock animals). But why stop there? Here are some other ways to recycle buttons that I’ve heard of:
- Make some stylish earrings from bigger buttons
- Use them for embellishments in scrap-booking
- Donate your unwanted clothing to charity – A study performed in January 2008 by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development determined that there were approximately 643,000 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the United States. Homeless advocate groups in Canada have determined that there are approximately 300,000 people who are homeless. These numbers have likely risen due to the tough economic times brought on by the recession, so it’s important for us to do all we can to support these homeless people. Donating to your local Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries can at least provide them with some comforts.
We suggested you donate the following items:- Shoes
- Coats or jackets
- Cold weather accessories (earmuffs, toques, gloves or mitts, etc.)
- Professional clothing, for interviews, etc.
- Pants
- Shirts (long-sleeved and T-shirts)
No comments:
Post a Comment