I Gave Up Fast Fashion. Here’s What I’m Wearing Instead.

Photo: Courtesy of the retailers

Sustain/Ability: Stories about how fashion impacts the environment.

When Emma Watson embarked upon her press tour for Beauty and the Beast and The Circle, she assembled an entirely eco-friendly wardrobe. Watching her document this process on Instagram, I felt both inspired and frustrated. Good for her, but what about the rest of us? I want to shop responsibly, but I don’t exactly have access to an eco-fashion consulting firm that can verify all of my choices.

The fashion industry can be shockingly wasteful and unethical. According to Business of Fashion, fashion is one of the most polluting industries, second only to oil. A study done by Dame Ellen MacArthur’s foundation in November revealed that the fashion industry produces more carbon emissions than international flights. In April, it will be five years since the Rana Plaza building collapse killed 1,200 workers in a factory in Bangladesh. In the years since, we’ve made some progress, but not much.

We know this, but it’s hard for sustainable fashion companies to break through the noise — or get past the stigma. One article about Watson and her mission kicked off like this: “Here’s a fun game to play: we talk sustainable fashion, and you try to stay awake through to the end of the sentence. Still there?”

Still, I made the New Year’s resolution to only buy sustainably made clothing for 2018. “Fast Fashion Free 2018” has a nice ring to it, but the challenges are immense. For example, although I love fashion, Louis Vuitton has yet to offer me custom-sustainably made dresses the way they did for Emma Watson. More practically, I had to think about finding everything I might need in a year — like, where would I buy socks?

But my biggest worry was whether I’d be able to find stuff I liked on a budget. Unfortunately, higher price points are just a fact when shopping sustainably (it’s the cost of doing business in an ethical way), but you can find plenty of good pieces around $100. With the help of researchers like Eco-Age and Project JUST (which sadly stopped publishing its “seals of approval” for brands in 2018), it is possible to find trustworthy brands selling everything from lingerie to tights to running shoes made from ocean trash. As for over-the-top statement pieces? There’s always vintage.

Obviously, the best way to shop responsibly is not to shop at all. But if you, too, would like start replacing your worn-out fast-fashion gear with more ethical purchases, read on for my full sustainably produced capsule wardrobe.