- Guys, this is hard.
What's up, everybody?
I am Stevie, and I'm a sustainability activist.
And today, I have the honor of
taking on the challenge to try
and find a sustainable outfit
for less than $100.
Buying an outfit for $100
seems like a lot of money, and I think it's because
fast fashion has put this very strange facade
on what people are worth
and what fabrics and materials are worth.
Factory workers are getting paid very low wages
in terrible working conditions.
And the fabric and materials are so cheap,
that it breaks down in a season.
And I know for sure that
not everybody's able to shop sustainably.
Those of us with the privilege to,
we have the responsibility to shop sustainably.
I will be partaking in this challenge all online,
because I'm a responsible citizen,
practicing social distancing.
♪ We are ready for take off. ♪
Cute sustainable fashion.
For me, a sustainable outfit would entail that
there's no synthetic materials,
that it's natural, organic,
that there's the least amount of resources being used.
And that the workers are being paid fair
and in safe conditions.
So, this is gonna be quite the challenge.
I think what I'm gonna have to do is
probably get creative.
Sustainable,
floral clothing.
It is spring,
so I would love something light
and something airy.
Maybe some lavenders, yellows, whites.
This is way too expensive,
although I do love this brand,
it's just too expensive for me.
What the (beep).
Uh, no, no.
Yeah these are just way too much for me.
I really want something cozy,
because I'll be inside all day.
And then something classy,
because I will be inside all day by myself,
I don't want to feel like a schmuck.
I want to feel like I'm kinda put together.
So, cozy, classy, spring.
But, I am a little bit nervous
because I'm scared that I'm not gonna find anything.
(sighs)
Brands with tencel.
That's not what we want.
Y'all, this is so tough.
So far, we've figured out that everything is
not my style,
way too expensive,
greenwashing,
and not what I'm lookin' for.
So expensive.
I do like Reformation.
I'm on Reformation right now.
These are super cute, but just too expensive.
If I can find something like this,
except second-hand.
I would be very, very pleased.
I'm gonna look at their sustainable practices.
They're pretty responsible as a company.
I was like, okay, I'm gonna source all natural fibers.
But the thing about that, is that if I source cotton,
conventional cotton uses insecticides and pesticides,
which ruins soil.
And then if I was to do organic cotton,
that would just be a high amount of water resource,
which uses three times more than conventional cotton.
So I was like, damn.
I feel like the most sustainable outfit
would be sourced second-hand.
What I think we've figured out is,
second-hand is the way to go.
And I feel like we've also come to the conclusion that
Reformation is also the way to go.
But, second-hand.
For second-hand sites, I go to Depop and Poshmark.
These two are my absolute favorites,
and let's see what we have.
So cute.
Hmm, the thing about this stuff is that
it's pretty expensive.
So what I might have to do is go to Poshmark,
these are expensive but the thing about Poshmark,
is that you can bargain with them.
Not quite, but I'm close.
Okay, so this is what I'm talking about.
I love this color.
It's very spring,
it looks very comfortable as well.
This is also Reformation, and the original price is 50.
They're asking for 38
but I'm gonna try and get it down to 25.
So, she counter-offered me 29.
And I offered 25.
But 29 is super doable, so accept.
Waist trousers,
and I guess I'm just gonna look for something
that catches my eye.
Those are cute, too expensive.
Those are nice, I'm not crazy about 'em.
There's so many options.
Any kind of trouser with a nice,
bright pattern would be awesome.
Ohhh.
Vintage floral print,
high waisted trouser, $29.
I love that.
Okay, so, let's make an offer.
I'm gonna try and go 20 first.
And see what
they say.
And the offer is accepted for the trousers.
Okay, run-down comin' atcha.
We just got the high waisted floral trousers, $20.
What a steal.
And then we got the Reformation light spring crop top
for $29.
That leaves us with fifty-one dollars.
So what I think I'm gonna do is,
I'm gonna get a sweater.
The sweater, I would like it to be Reformation
and second-hand.
Now I'm gonna type in Reformation sweater.
Let's see.
(gasps)
That's what I want.
Oh my god.
It's $30.
It's perfect.
Boop!
So, I just found this website called Harvest & Mill,
they do organic clothes.
I love these socks.
It says on their website that everything is compostable,
down to their packaging and to the socks.
And they also have the impact of the item.
And it just seems like they're very transparent.
Woo! We did it.
I am excited.
Here are a couple thoughts and concerns.
The first one is, I requested all of it to be
plastic-free in the shipping.
So let's hope that they did that.
Second one is, sometimes when you get things online
the fitting isn't always right so I hope everything fits.
I'm gonna tell you a little bed time story.
Once upon a time, about five years ago
before I was a sustainability activist,
I was obsessed with fast fashion and clothing shopping.
I'm talkin' Forever 21, H&M, Topshop, Boohoo,
I would wake up at three am, (chuckles)
open my laptop, buy clothes,
not remember and then get the package
like a few days later and just be shocked.
So, it was pretty bad.
And I think the worst part of it is,
is that I didn't care where the clothing came from.
And I didn't care where the clothing went.
As long as I had it, and I could wear it
just for like, a wash or two.
Because the thing with fast fashion is
it affects species, it affects humans,
it affects the environment.
Most of the fabric fibers from fast fashion is synthetic,
which means it's coming straight from fossil fuels.
And fossil fuels are creating a catastrophic amount of
greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere.
That's what's happening with global warming.
And if you wear an item and you wash it,
there's tiny little microplastics
that are coming off of your clothing item.
And it leaches into our waterways, into the oceans.
And it's affecting the sea animals.
And the fish absorb the microplastics
into their body fat.
And then it's such a vicious cycle,
because we then eat the fish
and then it's going into our bodies,
which create a ton of reproductive issues.
So, this is a vicious cycle that needs to stop.
And I think as consumers, it starts with us.
Our vote and our dollar is so important.
Next up, is the unpacking
which I will show you when everything gets here.
Woo!
(upbeat music)
They came!
Okay, so, it's time to unbox.
First in line is this.
I am really bummed about the packaging,
I asked for them to shipped plastic free
but some people don't always do that.
What I usually do is just save them.
I'll save them for poop bags,
I'll save them for repacking
because I have a lotion company.
So I try and repurpose them when possible.
I think these are the trousers.
My very first impression is the pattern is so beautiful.
Honestly, it's prettier than I thought.
Gorgeous.
This is vintage, which I absolutely love
because I tend to think that
vintage pieces last way longer.
This is the exact same thing.
It's a poly mailer.
Ugh I hate them.
Okay so this one's the top.
Yeah, this is beautiful.
This one I'm most excited about with the packaging
'cause it's in an all recyclable box.
And it's in paper tape.
So, no plastic involved and I can reuse this box
to ship out my lotion products.
Also excited because there's no plastic inside.
It's just little stuffing, which is my jam.
This is so nice, there's no like, stain.
It's so soft, I cannot wait to show you guys
how this is gonna look.
I love this.
So cute.
It's so nice and comfortable.
Love,
love,
love.
Okay now it's time to try on the sweater.
What I want it to do,
oh that, yeah, that's actually perfect.
I like that it's almost a crop
'cause I wanted to tuck it into these.
My socks.
I'm actually really excited about this packaging.
On the back it says it's 100% recycled,
and 100% recyclable.
It feels so soft.
I also love that this is a simple paper
that's fully recyclable.
There's no plastic holding it together,
because you don't need that anyway.
It's so silly.
This outfit has exceeded my expectations.
It has checked off every one of my boxes and then some.
It's cozy, it's classy, it's springy.
I'm super excited about my outfit,
I'm gonna wear it until I'm 80
and I'm not gonna buy anything else for a while.
It is so important we shop sustainably.
I believe that every single person, every individual
has immense power in creating the world
that we wanna live in.
Every single purchase is a vote.
It's a vote to sustain our planet,
or it's a vote to destroy our planet.
We can make a huge difference in the health of our world,
all the other species and the human race.
(cheerful music)