Sustainable Is The New Sexy

A few years ago, I watched a documentary film called The True Cost. It was mind-blowing. Fashion industry has grown at such an unsustainable speed in the last two decades, while we are buying cheap trendy clothing and forming a habit of treating things disposable, it has consumed way too much unnecessary resources and put people and the environment in dangerous conditions.

Ever since then, there has been a tremendous change in my way of shopping. To many friends’ surprise, as a fashion blogger, I actually don’t have a big wardrobe. Rather than buying fast fashion disposable clothes, I tried to be more mindful. Before I purchased any item, I would think carefully. Do I really love it and will get many uses of it or did I just fall into the trap of a good bargain or shopping for the sake of shopping as a shopping therapy. All the clothes I currently owned are the ones I truly enjoyed. I love to wear them over and over again, yet with different styling, the same old items can turn into unlimited possibilities. And that’s exactly the starting point for me to write this blog, to share my passion about styling and creative ideas.

In the meantime, I have been following the latest developments in the industry for sustainability. Several chapters from The Future of Fashion are particularly enlightening. There are more and more companies realizing the urgency for the change, and have been taking actions to experiment on eco-friendly materials and innovative technology. Patagonia, the leading company in the green revolution, even discourages people to buy new garments and uses their roles in the community to foster social and economic changes. Since I'm not a die-hard fan of outdoor clothing, Nau, another company mentioned in the book that shares the similar value, caught my eye. They’re a Portland based socially responsible company making casual chic garments using sustainable materials.

This grey trench coat by Nau I’m wearing is made of organic cotton and recycled polyester made from recycled bottles. It’s very lightweight and functional. I like to wear it after my workout wandering around the city or on the misty raining days hiking in the woods.

I have picked a few other similar that I also like for you guys, many of them are very affordable:

Here are the biker shorts options I like at the moment:

Reduce, reuse, recycle are the three great ways to eliminate the waste. Not only for fashion, this can also be applied to many other aspects of our life. What’s your take on this subject? Please share with us your ideas.

Written By Fangfei Yang of Style Right Team