How to Get an Eco Friendly and Stylish Wardrobe On a Budget

There has been a great deal of publicity lately on the environmental impact of clothing manufacture and waste. There are plenty of stylish and eco friendly clothes available but if you are shopping on a budget, these clothes may be out of your price range. Many may think that it is not possible to be frugal, eco friendly and stylish at the same time. In some ways eco friendly, stylish and frugal can go hand in hand. Carefully considering each purchase, buying quality clothes that will last,clothes swapping, recycling and wearing second hand clothes and developing an individual style are all great ways to be stylish and eco friendly on a budget.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a computer
• a camera

1. Think carefully about your own individual style, the image that you would like to portray, what you would like to look like and what type and colour of clothes suit you. There are many websites that you can look at to get inspiration, ideas and advice on different styles of clothing. Try looking at some street style and fashion blogs.

2. Go through your wardrobe and sort out which pieces of clothing suit your personality, lifestyle, body shape and colouring. Make a pile of any that do not.

3. Ensure that all of your clothes do not need repairs e.g missing buttons and are clean.

4. Take all of the clothes that you no longer want along to a clothes swapping party or photograph them and swap them online. Any clothes that you are unable to swap can also be sold online.

5. Look at all of your existing clothes and clothes that you have swapped and decide if you have the right number and mix of clothes to suit your lifestyle. Once you ahve identified which clothes you need, buy more second hand clothes online as required.

Tips & Warnings

• Clothes swapping is a great way to try out a new look without spending any money, try wearing something different to your usual style.
• If there is a piece of clothing that you love something about but that is not quite right, try altering or customising it e.g a dress with a beautiful print with a style that doesn't suit you could be turned into a top.
• If you have a particularly valuable item of clothing that you no longer want, it may be safer to swap it online rather than at a clothes swapping party to be sure to get an item of similar value in return.
• Always take care when swapping, buying or selling online. Credit card, payments, using paypal, keeping evidence of all transactions and sending by registered delivery are all good ways to protect yourself.

Resources

• clothes swapping