What Are the Benefits of Eco-Friendly Clothing?
As the efforts to protect our planet become more popular, many fashion lovers turn to eco-friendly apparel brands. Unlike standard fast fashion companies, ethical brands strive to be less wasteful with resources and pollute the world less. Below, learn the benefits of eco-friendly clothing as you get ready to add new apparel to your wardrobe.
What Is Eco-Friendly Apparel?
If a company says they partake in eco-friendly fashion, they strive to make the lowest possible impact on our world when creating apparel. These brands rely on ethical working conditions and organic materials and are honest about what they do.
Keep in mind some companies may claim they’re environmentally conscious but be vague on how or not explain it at all. This is an example of greenwashing: companies market themselves as environmentally aware when they’re no better than fast fashion brands. True eco-friendly clothing companies offer plenty of transparency.
Benefits of Sustainable Clothing
We all want to make our planet a better place for ourselves and future generations. Although we can’t control everything, we can decide what brands we give our hard-earned money to. Shopping for sustainable brands is better for our planet for many reasons, including the following:
- Produces less pollution
- Wastes fewer resources
- Provides superior-quality apparel
- Protects natural habitats
- Protects human rights
Eco-friendly companies are ideal because they create beautiful clothes while putting our world first. Below, we’ll delve further into these benefits of eco-friendly clothing and explain why purchasing this apparel is worthwhile.
Produces Less Pollution
Many fast fashion companies rely on warehouses to manufacture their garments. Creating and shipping items across the country or world increases carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Moreover, many fast fashion companies use manufactured materials such as polyester or rayon, while some create cotton-polyester blends. Creating fabrics such as polyester can pollute water sources and release dangerous chemicals such as titanium dioxide into the air.
Unlike big brands, eco-friendly fashion companies make their clothing with natural fabrics. These materials come from crops, such as cotton, or they come from animals. We get wool by sheering sheep, and cashmere comes from the undercoat of the beautiful cashmere goat.
Wastes Fewer Resources
Creating apparel such as T-shirts or jeans wastes thousands of liters of water for just a single item. Worse yet, unsustainable businesses use fresh water for this, which adds to the scarcity of clean water as Earth’s population grows.
Conversely, sustainable brands generally create apparel in smaller batches; some even develop pieces based on customer demand. Additionally, eco-friendly brands make higher-quality apparel thanks to the materials and manufacturing quality, so fewer items end up in landfills. Eco-friendly brands also use natural materials—such as lavender, turmeric, and pomegranates—to dye clothing rather than dangerous chemicals which can pollute waterways.
Is Superior-Quality Apparel
Buying clothes can get expensive, especially if you have to update your wardrobe every season. While some fast fashion brands charge less for apparel, the price adds up because the clothing generally doesn’t last beyond a season or two. Therefore, people often throw away garments that no longer fit, which adds to the waste in landfills. Additionally, unnatural materials like polyester take decades or centuries to break down in landfills.
On the other hand, clothing made with natural materials such as linen or wool lasts for years of consistent wear and always looks stylish. Plus, organic fabrics break down within a few months to years, so throwing eco-friendly apparel away is much less damaging to the environment.
Protects Natural Habitats
By polluting our world less and being less wasteful, eco-friendly brands also help protect natural habitats. Sadly, many unethical companies have fueled deforestation and the destruction of beautiful landscapes such as the Amazon Rainforest. These diverse ecosystems are home to countless animals and plants and are vital to local cultures.
Eco-friendly brands see the beauty in nature, and many of them work to protect our planet. Some sustainable companies even plant trees for every purchase consumers make.
Protects Human Rights
Environmentally conscious brands are also more aware of who their company employs to care for crops and create clothing. Sadly, many fast fashion companies rely on inhumane working conditions and force people to work far beyond the standard eight hours. Some unsustainable brands even employ child labor or have forced-work practices.
When you buy from an eco-friendly brand, you don’t have to worry about any of that going on behind the scenes. Truly sustainable fashion brands are transparent about who makes their clothes and how. Some smaller companies even employ artisans from abroad to give back to other communities and create truly unique pieces.
Puts Limits on Your Wardrobe
Buying from sustainable brands is pricier, but you’ll have the pieces longer, making the price worthwhile and even comparable. This is wonderful for anyone striving to adopt a minimalist lifestyle. Going on a spending spree with ethically made clothing is harder, and that’s a good thing. Instead, you’ll invest in less but better attire you can mix and match to create a wide range of outfits for all occasions.
Additionally, investing in a higher-quality garment makes you more likely to take care of it rather than seeing it as just another piece of clothing. And the more you love a garment, the more likely you are to wear it to show off your amazing sense of style!
Tips for Buying Eco-Friendly Clothing
As you shop for eco-friendly apparel, remember to look through the website to ensure the brand is sustainable and not greenwashing. The best companies explain how they make changes in our world and are transparent about their working conditions.
Another shopping tip is to search for what you’ll feel the most comfortable in. Consider the styles that make you feel the most beautiful and which natural fabrics you like the feel of the most. The more you like your clothing, the longer you’ll have it, and the less you’ll contribute to landfill pollution.
Shop at Beachwood Baby
Beachwood Baby is a sustainable clothing store for mamas and babies. In our online boutique, you’ll find countless beautiful options made with organic materials, such as linen, cotton, wool, and cashmere. Additionally, we employ artisans and will plant a tree in the Amazon for every item sold. With us, you can buy apparel that is comfy, stylish, and better for our planet.
