The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a “green tip” to our readers in each newspaper. This edition’s tip was written by Lisa Kaas Boyle, a member of Resilient Palisades’ Zero Waste team.
Fashion can be a dirty industry, accounting for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output, Bloomberg reported, which is “more than international flights and shipping combined, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.”
One reason for this is that almost all clothing contains plastic, as polyester took the place of cotton, which “requires a large amount of energy to produce.”
In addition, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “the amount of clothing and footwear waste generated by Americans each year ballooned from around 1.4 million tons in 1960 to over 13 million tons in 2018.” About 70% of that ended up in landfills, with 13% recycled into new clothing or other use, according to the report.
The good news is that spring cleaning the closet can help reduce harm while providing some new, more sustainably produced items.
Reformation, a clothing store on Swarthmore in Palisades Village, has a quote on its wall: “Being naked is the most sustainable option. We’re #2.”
While buying resale clothing is actually number two, Reformation has a program with online reused clothing shop thredUP that combines resale with buying new environmentally conscious clothing at Reformation.
How does it work? I took four “Clean Out Kits” from Reformation and filled them with clothes in good condition that I don’t wear anymore. I registered the bags with thredUP online as instructed in the kit and dropped the bags off at the FedEx store on Via De La Paz (no postage required). Packages can also be left for the U.S. Postal Service to pick up.
Next, my old clothes traveled to thredUP where they were listed for sale. Clothes not deemed suitable for sale, due to wear and tear, are donated to charity. In 30 days, I was emailed over $300 in credit for new clothes at Reformation.
ThredUP has partnerships with other stores and online retailers, like Rent the Runway, but Reformation and Frame are the participating stores located in the Palisades. See thredup.com for more details.
If you aren’t prepared to go naked in the name of sustainability, try resale and purchasing sustainably made garments created without polyester.
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