Posts Tagged ‘sustainable fashion’

Speaking of sustainable…

June 17th, 2009

There are so many annoying and insincere articles about saving money in recession times and sustainable fashion at the mo. Most seem to encourage even more consumer spending under the guise of thrift or being green. So I really like the Uniformproject ‘s take on this. One woman, one dress, for 365 days.

dresses1

 Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir.

 

The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for slum children in India.

Wearing green

April 25th, 2009

At our first birthday party, we did a clothes swap – our pretty guests brought along once-cherished clothes and accessories, got to try on others’ duds, and take home some real gems. I came away with new jeans, a World skirt, a Ruby hoodie, and more! All for free and all good for the environment. (btw we’ll be taking the left over duds to the sallies).

Considering how much space our wardrobes take up, how much resource used to produce garments, and how much chemical waste and electricity used to care for our clothes, clothes are a big issue for the environment. (Not to mention the evils of child labour and distorted body image rife in fashion.)

Watch this video – it give tips on buying clothes, as well as suping-up old clothes instead of throwing them away. Kathmandu does some nice ranges of organic and recycled plastic clothing (at least I think they still do), and Duncan & Prudence jeans in Wellington does organic denim.