Among the issues that come up most often when I discuss sustainable fashion with my readers and my Instagram community, I think that of lack of budget is surely the one that comes at the top of the list!
Choosing to choose clothes made at the right price and with ecological materials can have a certain cost, and is not necessarily affordable. This is also a pitfall that I myself quickly encountered when I wanted to make my transition to a more responsible way of consuming 5 years ago; I was still a student and I did not have a penny in my pocket, and I had to find a lot of tricks to be able to dress according to my convictions! To help you dress yourself in a more eco-responsible way without being blocked by a small budget, I have grouped together in this article my four main tips for having a more “green” dressing room with few means! No more excuses now for not changing the way you consume too ?
Tip number 1: choose second-hand and / or vintage clothes
This is surely the advice I most often gave when I was told about the lack of budget: turn to second-hand! Indeed, buying clothes that are already (more or less) worn is a very ecological way of consuming (on the condition of not being excessive in your purchases, of course). The fact of not buying new makes it possible in particular to avoid the creation of new parts, and therefore to avoid all the consumption of water and energy and the greenhouse gas emissions which go hand in hand with their manufacture. My favorite sites to buy second-hand and vintage: Ethic2Hand (specialized in second-hand and destocking of sustainable fashion), Vinted, Etsy, Patatam
Tip number 2: browse in the outlet collections of ethical fashion brands
The trick I most often put into practice when I wanted to switch to eco-responsible fashion was this: go look directly in the "outlet" or "sales" section of ethical fashion brands! Indeed, being already a blogger at the time, I really wanted to be able to present to my community looks made up essentially of clothes of durable brands, except that I did not have (at all) the means to buy parts full price.
I found a lot of my first ecofriendly clothes on the People Tree and Ekyog sites (outlet / promotions / sales sections always), and to this day I can't count the number of sites on which you can find old collections at reduced prices: thegreenlabels, Kings of Indigo, Jan'n June are the ones I go to most often! Sometimes you have to be patient and look hard to find THE right deal (the discounts are not always incredible depending on the site and the age of the collection), but you can find real nuggets. Also visit my Instagram account to discover all my good ethical and sustainable fashion tips!
Tip number 3: rent your clothes!
For those who like something new and / or looking for clothes for special occasions, renting clothes is a good way to quickly renew your wardrobe without overconsumption / increasing its ecological impact. More and more platforms offer this service, such as Le Closet (clothes box for rent), Lou-mee or even the Library!
Tip number 4: learn to divert your clothes and transform them to “make new with old”!
This tip will surely please the most manual of you, and bring out the creative spark of others! Indeed, a very good way to have a dressing room in your image is – quite simply – to create new pieces from your existing clothes. It may seem a little complicated like that, but there are actually lots of very simple ways to divert or even transform your clothes without much effort; the net is full of tutorials to reinvent your worn or unused pieces, such as creating a super stylish mini skirt from old jeans, a pretty crop-top with a t-shirt forgotten in a corner of your wardrobe , etc.
Here is a Youtube video that I find very nice: 18 simple but stylish tips for this summer
There is also this one: how to recycle your old clothes to transform them into pretty pieces, or this one: how to cut your jeans?
I hope you enjoyed this special low budget article, visit my Instagram account @aliaslouiseblog and my blog for more tips on eco-responsible fashion!
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