On buying clothes responsibly

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By Paula Solano Romagosa

I can’t say I’ve ever seen myself as someone who follows fashion. What’s true is that I have gone through certain phases in my life, from shabby rebellious wearing a pair of Dr Martens, to channelling my inner hippie and stealing my mother’s clothes. Nowadays, my motto – in terms of clothes, at least – is to be comfortable, to like what I’m wearing and, hopefully, to look nice or at least presentable. Like that, I’m happy.

Trends as such, that’s not something I follow. However, over the past years I have become increasingly interested in finding ways to be responsible with the way I buy clothes. In my daily life and with my family, I try to be socially and environmentally responsible and, as much as possible, to make educated decisions as a consumer, looking carefully at the things we buy and aiming to be fair to the people behind those products.

I have to admit, however, that before I wasn’t very conscious about where my clothing came from or how it was made. I just didn’t think about it. Although quality has always been an important factor when buying things, including clothes – I never felt comfortable buying cheap things that I would have to throw away in less than a year – like many people, I was moved by price.

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"Clothes keep getting cheaper, and it’s easier to buy more for this reason"

It was only in the last ten years that, little by little, I began not only to take an interest in the source of my clothing, but also in my patterns of fashion consumption. Clothes keep getting cheaper, and it’s easier to buy more for this reason. It’s sometimes so cheap, that it doesn’t matter if the quality is bad, or if you will have to get rid of it soon. Now I know that these patterns of consumption inevitably affect the environment and the people making our garments.

So I asked myself: What can I do to improve the way I buy clothes? As much as I would like to buy certified clothing from sustainable sources on a regular basis, sometimes I just can’t afford that.  But then I realised that there was still a lot I could do. And that in fact, some of those things I already do.

Firstly, I try to buy things that I really need. This doesn’t mean that I restrain myself from getting things that I like or that I find as good deals. But I do keep these buys as exceptions. I also make investments for certain articles. So, for instance, this winter I needed a new coat.  I decided to buy a certified one that offered me excellent quality. Both searching for the right one and gathering the money took time, but I finally found a coat that I hope will do for many winters to come.

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"I try to buy things I really need"

Secondly – and thinking about the basic principles of reducing and reusing, key for environmental sustainability –, I buy second hand as much as possible. And I really love doing this because I feel it brings many advantages. Going to second hand shops is nice because you can take the time to check the state of the clothes and try them on. And whenever I do second hand shopping, I try to go to stores that reinvest their money in social projects.

Nevertheless, for the last couple of years I find myself buying more and more via the internet. And there are many ways to do it, from second hand websites (such as Ebay), to dedicated Facebook pages. Usually one can find a lot of good quality items for very good prices and, most importantly, this method of consumption ensures things get reused, so their life span gets prolonged.

Thirdly, I support brands that care about the environment in their production chain, that pay fair wages to the people making the clothes, and that offer alternative ways to consume (such as leasing clothing, collecting old clothing to recycle fabric and materials, offering the possibility to make reparations in case of damage, etc). Whenever I learn about a company/brand that uses child labour, pays below minimum wages or is polluting the environment, I immediately stop buying from it. Here, I think us consumers need to be more proactive and demand transparency.

I hope that, with time, we will have more information available about the importance of buying responsibly. As for me, I want to continue to enjoy fashion. Responsible fashion, that is.

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Paula Solano Romagosa is a 37-year old stay-at-home mom from Costa Rica who currently lives in Brussels, Belgium.