A Simple Way to Help Save the Planet
It’s necessary, possibly controversial, and you may not like it.
Year: 2009.
Location: Goodwill thrift store in Colorado.
Objective: Score some cool clothes that fit my minimal student budget.
Outcome: Mission accomplished! Purchased my first pair of Lululemon yoga pants at a tiny fraction of the regular $100 rate.
I was over the moon. At that time in the U.S., Lululemon leggings were all the rage. I practiced yoga and struggled to fit in. It seemed like I would be laughed out of the studio if I wore my regular department store yoga pants. I wanted to be like the popular people. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford those $100 Lululemon pants.
Needless to say, I was elated to find my used pair in perfectly new condition at the thrift shop for less than $5. I was appalled that someone got rid of them. They weren’t even a year or two old.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking… Shopping at thrift stores to save the planet? That’s so early-2000s knowledge. And you’re right. While second-hand clothing is a great way to reduce the load on the planet, it’s not revolutionary. My mother bought almost all of my clothes at thrift stores in the ‘80s and ‘90s. So, thrifting has been around awhile.
It’s also not enough. Sadly, if thrifting were enough to help save the planet, it would have done that by now. But it’s not. Instead, the way to help lighten Earth’s load came in the years after my epic purchase.
I wore that one pair of pants countless times; to yoga classes, festivals, camping trips, dances, and weekend getaways. I wore them even after the pant style was years out of style. I wore them even after I realized I didn’t want to support Lululemon as a company anymore.
At some point a few years back they started losing their stretch. I could have tossed them in the garbage, but I chose to retire them instead. They got demoted to lounging pants only.
I was still wearing them this week when I noticed something. The material has been washed and worn so many times that they’re basically see-through.
Only now have I decided to fully decommission them. They no longer fulfill the ultimate purpose of clothing — to cover the naked body for modesty and warmth.
Now, I know you may be thinking: Ew. I didn’t need to know the whole history of your pants.
You may also be thinking: What does your gross “naked” pair of leggings have to do with saving the planet?
A valid question.
Consider this fact reported by the World Resources Institute: “[The] average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000, but kept each garment half as long.”
That was in 2014. Just think about how many iPhones ago that was. Can you imagine how things have changed by now — 6 years later? How many more clothes are consumers buying and how many fewer times are those clothes being worn?
Why is this important in terms of the planet? Well, for starters, “clothing and footwear production is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.” That means, the more consumers buy, the more gets produced. And more production means a larger emissions output.
Yet, it seems people are too afraid to chide the fashion industry for this. There’s a general public acceptance that agrees oil is adversely affecting the planet. But no one wants to address the obvious fashion elephant in the room.
One Simple Way to Help the Planet
Well, I’m here to address it with the most practical piece of planet-saving advice ever: wear your clothes more. A lot more.
That’s it. Doesn’t seem revolutionary. But ask yourself — have you ever worn a piece of clothing in your closet so many times that the cloth became see-through? That the seams became frayed? That there were holes in the fabric?
If not. Maybe you should.
And I know you’re not going to like it because it is currently deemed abhorrent (at least in the US). It’s reserved for those in the streets who lack permanent homes. How can I even mention something so absolutely unacceptable in our society? Well, unacceptable until it somehow makes its way into fashion. Then holes in clothes are just… trendy.
Here’s the full rendition of the simple way to help save the planet — take it in and notice your reactions.
Wear your clothes until they’re holey — then, if you can, mend them and continue wearing them.
I’m not talking about the fashionable holey either. You know — those pants that are already weathered in the store, like they’ve been worn for 10 years but you’re paying 80 bucks for them. I call them “swiss cheese” jeans because of all the holes. And I’ll never understand why society accepts the wearing of those jeans, but not actual 10-year-old weathered jeans. (We are a strange species.)
But that’s not the type of holey I’m talking about anyways.
I’m talking about well-loved, well-used holey.
I’m talking about giving clothes a life span worth the amount of time, energy, and natural resources that went into them.
For example, did you know that it takes 1800 gallons of water to produce ONE pair of jeans?
One pair!
To give that number context, realize it’s estimated that U.S. residents use about 80–100 gallons of water per day (for all water-based activities including showers, dishes, toilet, etc). At the 100 gallon rate, that means you could live your normal life for 18 days before reaching the amount of water used to create one pair of jeans. Now think about how many pairs of jeans exist in your closet. In your city. In your country. In the world!
How many gallons of water go wasted when you don’t use clothes to their utmost potential?
Let’s consider one more reason why the simple act of wearing your clothes more can help the planet. Did you know “that 15.1 million tons of textile waste was generated in 2013, of which 12.8 million tons were discarded”? Again, this is a slightly aged statistic that has likely grown more revolting over the past 7 years. Think about it. 12.8 million tons of textiles straight into the landfill. In just 2013 alone.
Realistic Lifespan of Your Clothes
So, let’s be realistic. Even though I’m suggesting it, I know that not everyone will be able to wear clothing until it falls apart at the seams. I realize people would lose their jobs if they weren’t dressing to a particular standard.
But it is important to recognize that clothes have a lifespan, like everything we use. We should know that item’s lifespan and try to attain it. For instance, a pair of properly cared for jeans has an average lifespan of 5–10 years.
How many pairs of jeans do you have in your closet from 10 years ago?
Based on the U.S.’s current obsession with fast fashion there's a good chance your answer is 0. But I really hope it’s at least 1 — your absolute favorite, perfect pair of jeans — which I believe you should never toss out.
Some Questions to Consider on Your Way to Saving the Planet through Fashion
How many pairs of jeans do you have in your closet?
How many times have you worn each pair?
When do you typically decide that your jeans have got to go? Is it based on fashion trends or wear and tear?
How do you get rid of them?
Are you addicted to buying and wearing new clothing?
How does it make you feel to consider wearing the same pieces of clothing again and again for months on end, or even years? Do you feel gross? Do you feel like you’d be judged by your family, friends, co-workers? Would you judge yourself?
These are important questions to probe. The world continues to spin massively out of control from climate change and humans are on the precipice of needing to make drastic and uncomfortable modifications to our current ways of life. Those changes will especially need to come from countries like the U.S. which has caused around 27% of the total global emissions.
Perhaps the simple act of wearing clothes for a long time before they exit your closet can be a powerful change with dramatically positive benefits for the planet.
