The fashion industry is one of the planet’s biggest polluters, but there are ways we can navigate our choices more mindfully. Here’s how to improve your fashion footprint in 2024.
Fashion is personal, but one thing we can all agree on is the need to purchase consciously. If you’re looking to make a change to the way you shop this year, you’re in the right place.
Here, we list five ways to improve your fashion footprint, as well as a commitment from each member of the Citizen Femme team as to how we’ll adapt our fashion habits this year. Read on for our style-savvy tips on living more sustainably.
1. SELL YOUR UNWANTED ITEMS (and buy pre-loved pieces)
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2. RENT FASHION INSTEAD
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3. WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
We’re quick to disregard clothes that have a hole in them or no longer fit but platforms like The Seam are allowing you to extend the life of your clothes throughout 2024 and beyond. Available in London and nationwide – and for NET-A-PORTER UK customers – The Seam matches you with tailors in your local area who specialise in the type of project you need to do, from alterations to handbag repairs. It’s like cupid but for clothes.
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4. GET CREATIVE
Encouraging you to buy less and make the most of what you already have, Save Your Wardrobe allows you to build your wardrobe digitally, using AI-powered technology so you can see everything you own via an app on your phone. You’ll discover pieces you’d forgotten about, put new outfits together and resist impulse buys. A genius initiative for serial shoppers. They also have eco-friendly services to upcycle and extend the life of your garments including dry cleaning, repairs and more.
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5. SHOP SUSTAINABLY
Make 2024 the year you say goodbye to fast fashion and start to give more thought to who is making your clothes. Look to brands with eco-ethics that promote sustainable fabrics, green manufacturing and fair practices. Net-A-Porter launched NET-SUSTAINin 2019, a curated platform that offers you the opportunity to invest in sustainable luxury, and cult favourite brands such as Sézane and Reformation continue to improve their sustainability status.
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The CF Team’s sustainable style resolutions:
SHEENA BHATTESSA, FOUNDER
I want to be more creative with my existing wardrobe by reusing old pieces. And when I do buy, it will be an investment in something I really want and that will last.
GEMMA LOUISE DEEKS, CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITOR
I have a one-in, one-out rule, so if I’m buying something new – even if it’s second-hand – then I have to sell something else in my wardrobe. I’ve also stopped buying fast fashion, and am only consuming quality pieces I will love for years to come.
GRACE ROBSON, CONTENT & PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR
I’m going to give clothes that I don’t wear anymore a new lease of life by re-selling them on sites like Vestiaire Collective, Depop and Vinted.
BECKI MURRAY, CONTRIBUTING BEAUTY EDITOR
Inspired by a friend who only bought second-hand clothes for a year, I’m looking to Vestiaire Collective, Vinted and FarFetch Pre-Owned for my wardrobe this year.
KATIE SILCOX, DEPUTY EDITOR
I want to switch the way I think about investing in clothes. So often we (or at least, I) spend the big money on one-off pieces such as a dress for an event or a wedding, but I rarely seem to want to spend the same on my everyday pieces like jeans or casual summer dresses. This year I want to invest in the everyday pieces (and at the same time reuse the ‘one-offs’). By doing this I should – at some point – end up with a longer-lasting ‘basics’ wardrobe, one that will go beyond the 30 times benchmark.
ALEXANDRA CARELLO, PR DIRECTOR
Apparently, we should only buy five things a year, so I’m going to try to make a drastic commitment and not buy anything for at least six months. I’m going to shop in my own wardrobe, rent and borrow. I don’t need more, I just need to be more creative with what I have. Shopping in my mother’s wardrobe is always a good idea too, for newness that is actually vintage.
MORAG TURNER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, CITIZEN ENFANTS
I need to unsubscribe from all the platforms that send me emails tempting me to buy things – I’d buy a lot less if retailers didn’t have my email address!
Image credit: BY ROTATION
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