Sustainable Wardrobe provides everything you need to create a more sustainable, affordable and ethical wardrobe. Author Sophie Benson offers a straightforward introduction to maintaining a low-waste wardrobe. The key issues are accessible and she includes plenty of practical projects to show how small changes can lead to an eco-friendly wardrobe.
Sophie’s first few chapters are a crash course in the facts, including the typical lifecycle of a t’shirt, who makes your clothes and the environmental damage caused by irresponsible manufacturers.
Next, Sophie guides us in taking stock and reassessing our wardrobe. From shopping your closet, buying second hand, alterations and maintenance, she’s got you covered. She explains how to reduce, reuse and recycle, including how to restyle items in new ways. Like Sophie, I’m not a fan of beige, which is reassuring as she reimagines a capsule wardrobe that really works! Regardless of your personal style or preferences, Sophie provides useful guidance for an ethical wardrobe makeover.
Plus, there’s also creative ideas on what to do with cast-offs. For example, a worn out coat can be repurposed into a padded laptop sleeve. Inspired.
You’ll also learn how to avoid your cast-offs ending up in landfill (did you know that every second the equivalent of a rubbish-truck load of clothes is burned or buried in landfill?). Instead share or sell your clothes, host a clothes swap, donate to charity or creative projects. Damaged beyond repair items can be downcycled and used as cleaning cloths and garden ties.
Sustainable Wardrobe includes a helpful glossary and several interviews that provide further valuable insights into the key issues.
Sophie Benson is a freelance journalist with a focus on sustainable fashion. Follow Sophie online.
Reviewer: Andrea Molloy White Lion Publishing