My 5 ways to Shopping Responsibly.

Hello Beautiful People! 
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

How do usually spend your weekend? Would like to hear all the crazy things you all do to de-stress on weekends after a crazy week?

Some might be planning to go shopping.

Shopping. for many, I know is a stress buster or something that makes us feel good. The power of a new dress or latest handbag to dramatically change our mood can't be denied. 

But when we are busy and very often impulsively shopping, just paying attention to a few things can change the way the fashion industry impacts the lives of millions. 

In my previous posts, I had discussed ethical Wardrobe and Sustainable Fashion.

Today let me share (what I know) about Shopping Ethically.

1. Quality over Quantity. 

Chose and demand for quality over quantity.
A garment is Cheap, either when it is made of a poor-quality material or the poor workers or artisans at the grassroots level, are getting underpaid, who dues to lack of knowledge and very often cause of need of employment do not even realize that they are getting underpaid or that they can demand more. Poorly stitched garments will last only 2-3 wears, and they end up in ever-growing landfills whereas when a dress is  Well stitched and made of good quality material it will last long, you can wear as long as you want or donate it. 

Look for quality over Quantity.

2. Go for classic trends. 

Classic styles will Never go out of Style. Invest in classic trends that don't go out of fashion, pieces that are well stitched with material that long-lasting. Owning such a piece in your wardrobe is like an investment. since they don't go out of style you don't have to worry about replacing it every year with a new one.

Choose classic styles.

3 Shop Local.

When we shop local, we are reducing the carbon footprint, by eliminating transportation involved.
We help in creating a livelihood for local artisans and giving them an opportunity to sustain a using their age-old skill and culture.
Which if not promoted, chances are might vanish.

Shop Local

4. Buy from an ethical shop.
Shops from stores that are transparent about their process,  It is not enough that the dress we buy has an international or popular brand name! , We from our end should see if the garment is made to last, made by workers who are paid fair wages under conditions that are safe. E-mail them, tweet or message them on their FB pages or insta pages, ask them.

Buy from Ethical Shop.

5. Shop Second Hand / Vintage Shops / Rent.
Buying secondhand clothes can help save a lot of resources that go into making new garments and also decrease the pressure that manufacturers put on their factory workers to keep producing one garment after the other at a rate faster than they can breathe! 
Some of the websites where you can buy pre-loved clothes in India are Elanic, Etashee or Spoyl
or

Rent from Flyrobe, Swishlist, Wrapd, Liberent or The Clothing Rental

Shop Secondhand/ Rent.

5 better places for your pre-owned Clothes.

Continuing with my previous post

on how to have a sustainable closet, in this post are few suggestions ways  our clothes don't end up in the landfills and get a chance for second life!

1. Give it to your siblings.

As Indian I feel every family does this- give away clothes to the younger siblings in the family.

The first line of give away is usually your own siblings, i know mine has been!

and then comes cousins, who ever fits into it. 

We have had this order for a long time in our family! I have clothes as old as 27-28 yrs old which my youngest cousins still wear and its such a joy to see them wear it. 

2. Donate it to the people who come to work at your place.

I feel this also is a common practice in India. We usually give away our clothes- faded, small, slightly torn or just something we don't like, to the people who come to work at our places- them or their kids. Be it the house maid, sweeper, gardener or someone who comes to wash your car once in a while, cook just about anyone who you think could benefit from your   (un)clothes. 
Giving away our clothes to those in need, rather than just throwing it away is a much better option. Sometimes what we easily discard as unwearable can be something, someone desperately needs. 

3. Donate it to charitable institute near your home or in your city.

We can also find a number of orphanages, home for destitute etc who will happily accept your clothes. Please be responsible while donating your clothes to such institutes, as to not give clothes that are absolutely not in a wearable condition.

Our intention here is just not to get rid of any and every piece of clothes that you don't wear but also to be able to be helpful to someone in need. 

or else we can also

4. Donate it here.

seams for dreams

A wonderful initiative by startded by Evelyn Sharma. You can drop off all your excess cloths after washing it nicely and packing it at their drop off centers.  

dream girl foundation
This foundation works for the under privileged and neglected girl child in India. Not only do they help out through the clothes that are donated but also work towards the betterment of the girl Child

goonj
Apart from clothes Goonj also accepts a number of second hand item that could be helpful to those in need.

clothes box foundation
Another option, where we can donate our used clothes.

or

Share at the Door Step

5.You can also sell them here.

sharewardrobe

The arrange a pick up once we get in touch with them, but they also do have pretty high standards as to what clothes they accept for re-sell

coutloot

you can sell your pre-owned high end designer clothes here. 





You can also read more on Sustainable Fashion in my previous posts

Here , here & here !