Y’all wanna know the real nightmare before Christmas? The fashion industry during the holidays. The ugliness of that sweater Grandma got you for Hanukkah runs much deeper than just the tacky geometric pattern and itchy wool. Being one of the largest polluters in the world, fashion’s problems start from the beginning. Just making a single cotton shirt takes 2,700 liters of water. Then, once a garment is made, its average lifespan is only as long as the time it takes me to actually fold my laundry – 2 years.
This is only accelerated during the holiday season when consumption is up and clothes are thrown out to make room for the new – the average family throwing away around 81 pounds of clothing annually. That’s why I am here, to offer ways to have a more sustainable and mindful holiday season while still having fun and serving a look!
In the name of reducing consumption of fashion and saving money we don’t have, one way to go about stunting a holiday look at the parties is by choosing the type of party. If your pandemic experience has been anything like mine, you have been rotating through the same 10 t-shirts and 4 pairs of pants and have been experiencing fashion fatigue where you are bored and uninspired by your current wardrobe. Although the quick fix to this would be buying new clothes, this option is only good if you want renewable coal-alternative in your stocking!
Why not have a clothing swap holiday party? You each draw a name of a party goer and have to create a holiday outfit for them strictly from your own wardrobe. Think of an appropriate color palette and don’t be afraid to go crazy! If virtual, this can be done via mail – the reduction of textile waste off-putting any transportation emissions. This could be a moment to totally show off your styling skills or make a friend look a hilarious mess. Not to mention, viewing your wardrobe from a new perspective for other people can be refreshing and breathe life back into it going forward.
Again, we are looking for ways to spread holiday cheer without buying new. However, maybe wearing someone else’s clothes isn’t for you. I have brainstormed ways for you to SDiY (Sustainably Do it Yourself) and make some fashion accessories from things that you could already have at home or can easily get and reuse. Also, as it is ‘tis the season for giving, these ideas also double as gift ideas.
Grab a grapefruit, blood orange, or lime depending on the desired color palette and slice into it vertically before leaving the slices out to dry overnight. Then, the next day you can put a hook through the rind of the fruit to make them into earrings that add a needed pop of color to really bring together a holiday lewk. After the party, they can be reused for seasons to come as fruity spring accessories or repurposed as a flavor accent in your next cup of tea!
We all have those bland solid colored hair clips laying around that serve their purpose but ultimately do little for aesthetics. One way to up the ante on their value is to take an old garment, probably a t-shirt, flannel, or underwear and cut out small strips that can be glued onto the top of the hair clip, recoloring and repatterning it. You might even have an old Christmas ornament around that can be repurposed into a hairclip, making it a much more festive fashion accessory rather than a hair necessity.
Whether it is a can of Sprite or La Croix, those soda tabs can be the shining star of the show! Take a bottle cap and glue soda tabs around the edge to form a snowflake-like shape then put a jewelry hook through one of the holes on a soda tab. This can be used as an earring or necklace and can be worn throughout the winter season, extending the life and use of these minuscule wonders.
Tackle those old graphic t-shirts you’ve been hoarding and cut long vertical strips from them then braid them together to create colorful and unique earrings, necklaces, and keychains.
In order for there to be joy on Earth, there has to be an Earth to begin with. These ideas are a reminder that combating the pollution of the fashion industry during the holidays can be colorful, fun, and fashionable!
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