We’ve all been there. We buy a new top that we just cannot live without. It’s so cute and is the perfect top to go with our favorite jeans- and it’ll be so fun to wear to girls’ night. So we wear it and our girlfriends comment on how much they love it- and for a few short minutes, all is right in the world.
A couple weeks later, we put it on again and it still feels great but the excitement has worn off a little. And a few weeks after that, we’re flipping through our closet and that top has just blended right in with everything else that just feels so old and boring. Maybe it’s time to buy something new! That will surely bring us the sense of joy we’re missing!
And thus, the cycle continues.
Let’s face it. We get tired of our clothes. Some studies say that most clothing only gets worn 7-10 times before it’s thrown out. And buying new things is supporting the economy, right? If we have the means, we should continue to support the businesses we love and buying new clothes is part of that, right? NO!!!
Our disposable incomes should not translate to disposable fashion.
And yet, in the United States, one garbage truck of clothing is dumped in a landfill EVERY SECOND. (Source- Ellen Macarthur Foundation- https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/one-garbage-truck-of-textiles-wasted-every-second-report-creates-vision-for-change)
What happens to clothes in landfills? Anything made of manmade fibers like polyester and nylon will sit for centuries before decomposing. Natural fibers like cotton and rayon do decompose, but they release methane gas as they do, which is a greenhouse gas 25% more toxic than carbon dioxide.
The message is that our clothing should never end up in a landfill. Instead, we need to learn to upcycle, recycle, or SHARECYCLE™
And next time we shop, ask ourselves if we’re buying something we really will love, or if it’s just another piece of trash.
