•2 min read•from SustainableFashion
The weirdest part of sustainable fashion is how much of it is just... buying less
Our take
In the realm of sustainable fashion, a curious paradox emerges: the most effective solution often lies in buying less. As a small clothing brand owner, I grapple with this reality daily. While I create garments for purchase, true sustainability encourages individuals to cherish and extend the life of what they already own. Observing interactions at farmers markets reveals a profound shift in mindset; people slow down, ask questions, and resist impulsive purchases.
I run a small clothing brand and I think about this constantly. The entire fashion industry, including the "sustainable" corner of it, is still built on getting people to buy things. And like, that includes me. I make clothes. I want people to buy them. But the most sustainable thing anyone can do is just... wear what they already own longer.
Which puts people like me in this strange position where the honest answer to "how do I shop more sustainably" is often "you probably don't need to shop at all right now."
I've been in this industry for years and the thing that actually changed how I think about it wasn't reading about carbon footprints or supply chains. It was watching how people at farmers markets and pop ups interact with clothes when they can touch them. They slow down. They ask questions. They think about whether they actually want it instead of just clicking add to cart at 1am because an algorithm showed it to them.
The speed is the problem more than the materials, I think. Like yes, fabric composition matters. Production methods matter. But the fundamental issue is that we've been trained to treat clothes as disposable content. Wear it, post it, never wear it again because someone already saw it.
I don't really have a solution here. I just think about it a lot. The brands that market themselves as sustainable while dropping 30 new styles a month confuse me. At some point the volume cancels out whatever good the organic cotton is doing.
Does anyone else feel like the conversation around sustainable fashion focuses too much on what to buy and not enough on the buying itself? Like we've just swapped one shopping list for a greener shopping list without questioning the list.
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