It's very tempting to throw things away or even drop them in a recycling bin when we are done with them. Is there a better way?
Share your ideas for extending the “lives” of the items that we buy and use, and their packaging as well!
Reuse & Repurpose >
Thrift Shopping
One factor that helped lower my carbon footprint was my frequent thrift shopping. A majority of the clothes I own, with the exception of clothes for school, are thrifted. Shopping at places like Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading are more sustainable than shopping at a store like Forever 21. Making a change to more sustainable shopping is becoming easier with time. Even easily accessible stores like Urban Outfitters offer a line of repurposed clothing. By making this change you too can lower your carbon footprint.
This really surprised me because I never thought the amount of clothes you buy could affect your carbon footprint. Since I saw this post I will start buying less clothes and wearing more hand me downs. After seeing this I found a great article on why buying second hand is good for the environment:
http://www.greensocietycampaign.org/thriftshopping101/. It has some good information that educated me further on this subject.
That is a really great idea, Olivia. Buying new clothes can also be so expensive. I guess that you are doing yourself two favors when going thrifting; you are reducing your carbon footprint and saving money! One can also be sustainable by donating clothes to thrift stores. I am sitting here at home with so many hangers of clothes that I have not touched in 3 years. I was considering tossing them, but donating my outgrown clothes to a thrift store is a fantastic sustainable option.
I really like you idea of thrift shopping instead of constantly buying new clothes in order to lower your carbon footprint. I had never thought that the amount of new clothes you buy affected your carbon footprint but using hand me downs or thrift shopping is a great way of reusing old materials. Constantly buying new clothes is unnecessary and usually leaves you with a bunch of clothing you no longer wear. Also, for kids who are growing thrift shopping could be a great way to save. Donating old clothes to a thrift shop is also a way to help lower your amount of trash and provide new clothes for someone else.
I never realized how much carbon we use on shopping at all, from getting the clothes from one place to next then having them shipped or sent other places then having them get brought back to your house