Like a lot of people, maybe you've been looking for ways to be more green. You've ditched the Clorox and the Lysol for the Seventh Generation and the Method, you're filling the fridge with organic apples from Long Island instead of strawberries flown in from New Zealand (and carrying them home in cloth bags instead of plastic), you're keeping the thermostat set low, you've filled all your sockets with the twirly lightbulbs.
But how eco-friendly is your closet?
I'm not talking about buying organic jeans from Bono—I'm talking about a way to apply your creative and artistic talent to reducing your fashion footprint. Wardrobe Refashion is an online community of people who have pledged to "abstain from the purchase of 'new' manufactured items of clothing" for 2, 4, or 6 months. Instead, they promise to "refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items...in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of [their] contract." You're also allowed to buy new fabric and yarn to make clothes, and to buy handmade clothes, so Etsy shops are fair game! Shoes are exempt, as are underwear, though you're "encouraged to have a go at making those." (Hey, if Daniel Day-Lewis can do it, so can you.) Members then post their projects on the Wardrobe Refashion site, which makes it great for novice sewers, as there are lots of tutorials and inspiration.
Wardrobe Refashion was started by an Australian woman named Nicola Prested. She "wanted to save money, make less of an impact on the environment, increase my sewing skills and define my own style rather than buying off the rack what everyone else is buying," so made a personal decision not to buy new clothes for six months. She wrote about her experiment on her blog and asked if others would be interested in getting in on it—and got 60 takers. One of them suggested she start a group blog for everyone making the no-new-clothes pledge, and Wardrobe Refashion was born. A Refashion Flickr group has also been formed, if you'd like less text with your photos.
So check it out, maybe start light with a 2-month pledge..... I'm on month 8 and not looking back.
- Kristen
cakehouse.etsy.com
3 comments:
i love when people really step to the plate with their organic / green / environmentalism! What a great creative way to go green.
month 8? I'm so impressed!
i love to thrift shop, so it hasn't been too too much of a stretch for me.... and it's made me cut down on my underwear-buying, which had really reached precarious levels---at last count i had 89 pairs! lordy. but then the other day i found an etsy seller (backwards.etsy.com) who makes the most adorable and comfortable underwear out of recycled t-shirts, so i'm in trouble again... :)
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