Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In today's video, we discuss 9 ways
how you can make your wardrobe more green and sustainable.
It's a well-known issue that the garment industry and the manufacturing of clothing contributes to
labor abuses in low-cost countries to the abuse of natural resources and last
but not least, to hyper-consumerism especially fast fashion brands take
advantage of the ever-increasing rate of turnover trends and fashion seasons in
clothing that exploits insecurities in men which in turn leads to them buying
every time something new comes out and throwing the old stuff away.
By the way, this is obviously not an issue for men, but for women and children as well.
I mean though that's bad, unfortunately, there's no way to make your wardrobe
100% green and sustainable. All clothes are made from some form of raw material
that is an either spun or woven into fabric that is dyed and the final
product is typically shipped around the globe to get to the end consumer.
All these stages have environmental impacts; some more than others, but they all do to a certain extent.
Now as a consumer, it is basically impossible to opt-out of the
supply chain unless you decide to go naked all the time,
or maybe herd your own sheep, spin your own yarn and make your own clothes.
However, to say with Anne-Marie Bonneau: "We don't need a handful of people who do
zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people who do it imperfectly
because that has a much bigger impact on our environment and the
green aspect." So rather than starting for perfection and feeling guilty about
having interest in clothes, it's better to use a few ways to reduce your impact,
on your footprint, to create a more green and sustainable wardrobe.
So how can you be more sustainable? Well first of all, always ask yourself what is the real
impact of the thing I'm buying here right now? For instance, just about every
fabric, natural or not, has an impact on the environment. Even something like
bamboo, but is really popular right now that uses viscose derived from bamboo
plants which are renewable and grow fast. That can also have an impact in the
sense that maybe rainforest is destroyed to grow more bamboo.
Fortunately, in this day and age, there are lots of companies who talk about how their
things are made, what kind of materials they use, and what impact that whole
thing has on the environment. So for example, if you buy a blazer in a nylon
or polyester blend, it will likely age very quickly and after two or three
seasons, you'll see peeling and you'll probably want to throw away the whole
thing. On the flip side, you get a hundred percent wool blazer, you can probably
wear it for ten years or several decades to come. Which brings us to point number
two, invest in quality rather than quantity. Frankly, one of the easiest
things you can do as a consumer is to buy your clothing more intentionally but
less frequently. For example, a sweater in a timeless style with a high quality
yarn is something that you can probably wear over the course of 30 years and
obviously, that is much more sustainable than buying a cheap sweater out of a
short, stable material at a lower cost in a trendy pattern that will peel just a
few times after you wear it. Personally, I try to avoid buying things if I can't
trace back the origins especially if the item is new. If a company can't get me
detailed information about the yarn they use, the staple length, and what goes into
making the product, I rather skip it and buy from a company that can give me
those answers because that way, I know I buy quality and not a crap.
3. Even though the concept of a green or sustainable wardrobe may not resonate
with you, think about it from a resource perspective, not just for mother nature
but also for your own wallet. Typically, a green or sustainable wardrobe is more
intentional, more satisfying, and also less wasteful and you typically spend
less money on it in a long term rather than buying cheap stuff
left or right without any thought through concept. Why? Well, because it's
filled with useful, versatile and high-quality pieces that don't have to
be replenished very often and that will stand the test of time. And that means
you have to invest a whole lot less money and isn't that nice if it can use
that money and buy something else for it? The fourth thing you can do for a more
sustainable wardrobe is to dig a little deeper into yourself and what you want
and develop your own style that is independent of current fashion movements.
If you think you know your style already, well, have you ever bought something that
you never really ended up wearing? If you have, then chances are you haven't quite
nailed your style yet. Reality is, we all make mistakes.
The beauty of mistakes is that we can learn from them. So if you have bought
something in the past that you didn't end up wearing, ask yourself why, why did
I not end up wearing it? Why did I buy it in the first place? then as follow-up
questions ask yourself, how do you want to be perceived? Also, how does outfit X Y
or Z or that certain garment make you feel? Because if something makes you feel good
the way you stand, the way you've walked, when you look, really radiates that feeling.
Also, analyze your wardrobe and ask what are the garments I wear over
and over again? Then figure out what makes you keep coming back to them. Is it
the fit, the color, is it maybe just the convenience of it, what is it?
Once you've mastered that, you can ask yourself what does an ideal wardrobe for
me look like? A sad question that can be, what do I value the most in clothing?
Is it comfort, versatility, simplicity, or quality? You figure it out.
The whole purpose of asking these questions is that, you come up with a style that works for you,
your personality, and what makes you feel good. That means, you can wear it consistently.
You will always be perceived as well-dressed and it always
provides a certain confidence because you chose this exact outfit for your
very own reasons; and that means you're not just following a new trend because it's hip right now.
Now best of all, once you've found your style and nailed it, you can
wear the same things over and over again in different combinations; but because of
that you will buy less which will save you money.
5. Stop impulse buying.
Why? Well its rarely a way to really improve your wardrobe but at the same time, chances
are very high that you're just wasting money. It leads to you buying things that you
were just coming across and you buy them on a whim but it's not actually
something that fills the gaps in your current wardrobe, and because of that
it's likely not very versatile. If you resist your impulse and go with your
plan, you're much less likely to end up with junk that ends up in your wardrobe
just because it was 90% on sale but it doesn't really suit a purpose.
What's a sixth way to be more sustainable? Well, simply throw away less clothing.
Of course, throwing away fewer of your clothes
starts with buying fewer of the wrong things in the first place. So next time
you face an impulse buy or something that pleases your eye, ask yourself these
questions: how long will this piece last my wardrobe and for how many years am I
gonna wear it? Be honest, not romantic. How many times will I wear it before I
toss it? And if I toss it, will I do so because I don't like this style anymore
and times have changed, or will I toss it because it's so delicate that it
will have worn out? If any of those questions indicate that you won't have
this piece for a long time, simply don't buy it.
7. A fantastic way to be green and sustainable is to buy a vintage or
secondhand clothing. I know, vintage clothes are often
referred to as dead man's clothing and some people are turned off by that; but
personally, I love vintage second-hand clothes. For me it all started not with a
mindset of wanting to be sustainable in green, but simply by striving for quality,
not having a budget for it as a highschool student.
Now often, vintage clothes or second-hand clothes have the connotation of you
being broke and not being able to buy something new that you can afford,
however, even though I am now at a point where I could afford to only have
custom-made pieces for me, I still love vintage clothing
because they have wonderful fabrics, they have cuts in styles and details, that are
simply hard to find these days and I just appreciate buying something that
has a history. So while it's true that a vintage clothes are often a whole lot
less expensive than new clothes, you also buy something that has already been
produced and so you have a much smaller impact; because most of the time these
garments would just be recycled and reused to make into an inferior garment.
This way, you just stop buying new things and because of that, new manufacturers
produce fewer new things. To learn more about how to dress like a gentleman on a
budget, check out this video and if you want to see how I go about in a vintage
store; what I look for so don't waste time and find the stuff I want, please
check out this in-depth guide here. Furthermore, many vintage pieces are a
rather high quality because after all those years, they're still in good enough
shape to be resold. If you want to see my favorite vintage items that I bought, or
my overcoat collection which is really mostly made of second-hand vintage
pieces, check out this video here. Personally, I'd also urge you to think
outside of the realm of clothing. You can find fantastic vintage secondhand
furniture glassware, China, and so forth; basically anything relative to interior
design and dedicated stores at places like eBay or Etsy, but also local estate
sales. Today I love vintage goods not only because of their quality, but also
because of their unique character that you can't find in run-of-the-mill stuff
that you buy in stores that's produced a thousand times over. No one else will
have this dining room set with those wonderful chairs, that you put together
this stuff from Craigslist. By shopping vintage, you'll also become aware of
great brands that have good quality that have stood the test of time. And once my
wife and I, we bought a couch from Hancock and Moore that was the second hand and
we loved it so much that any couch come forward will be guaranteed from this
manufacturer even if we have to buy it new. Unless of course, we reupholster the
old couch because it has such good bones. Which brings us to point number eight:
Care and repair, don't just throw things away.
Well-cared-for clothes will not only last you longer but also look much better with age.
So rather than just throwing something away ask yourself, can I fix it?
Of course, it all has to make sense. Mending a $70 H&M jacket for $100 is
probably not wise because you could buy a new one for less and the jacket in
general is not meant to be worn for a long time.
The flipside is $2,000 sport coat that you picked up for 25 bucks at Goodwill
should be mended for $100 because it has a whole lot of wear left in it.
So the big question is, how do you care for your clothes and protect your investment
and at the same time become more green and sustainable? Well honestly, in most
cases you don't even have to spend money bringing your stuff to a dry cleaner.
Oftentimes, a bit of steam helps, a nice clothes brush and if you want to learn
more about how you can really care for your wardrobe please check out our
in-depth series where you cover anything: from ironing to washing a sweater or
even a suit; and also how to get rid of smells of vintage clothes that you may
buy. Some times repairing things also means think of it outside of the box.
For example, I had this red sweater from Polo Ralph Lauren that was pretty old and I
loved wearing it and eventually I wore it out on my elbows so I just bought a
bit of red leather and had elbow patches sewn on and now it has many more years
of wear left in it. Now, even if your clothes do wear out, for example, your
shirts where the interlining is visible and the color is basically falling apart;
you can still wear that stuff around the house, maybe for cooking, right when you
have fat splatters or maybe for gardening. Last but not the least, the ninth thing you
can do to build a more sustainable wardrobe, is to invest in versatile
pieces. In the past, we introduced you to a capsule wardrobe and you can learn more
about it here. At its core, the idea of a capsule wardrobe is that, you can pair
anything with anything else. Now while that's very extreme, and you sometimes
may want to wear a velvet dinner jacket that doesn't combine with anything else
in your wardrobe, there are certain items such as a navy blazer that can be worn
with a matching pair of pants for a suit, or maybe with a pair of jeans, a pair of
chinos, or gray flannels. It's just a very versatile garment and
if you buy those pieces that work very well with other stuff, it's going to be
very easy for you to combine something. It means you buy less, it also means you
save money, and you're just going to be much happier because when you travel you
are just very flexible in what you can wear. For example, the same is true for a
pair of cufflinks that you buy. That goes with a lot of outfits or let's say you
invest in the Fort Belvedere belt system with different buckles and belts. That
way, you could buy three belts, maybe three buckles that give you nine
options to basically cover you for all the occasions you will need them for; so
rather than buying nine belts, you're buying just three, but you get the
versatility of nine. So obviously, smart modular systems of that nature will help
you keep a smaller ecological footprint and build a greener and more sustainable
wardrobe. In today's video, I'm wearing a vintage tweed
sport coat which I found at Brimfield, which is the largest outdoor flea market
in the US. It cost about 30 bucks, its made from a nice Donegal tweed and has these
beautiful football leather buttons. I'm combining it with a striped shirt from
Italian maker Siniscalchi, which is a very expensive bespoke maker but I bought
the shirt used about 15 years ago. You know the fabric is very thin and
breathable, this is of high quality and has last until now. I'm combining it
with a Wool Challis Tie from Fort Belvedere in Burgundy with Yellow Dots
and a Wool Silk Pocket Square likewise from Fort Belvedere which you can
both find in our shop here. The tie bar is vintage, I picked up for three bucks.
My cufflinks are modeled after Monkey Fist knots, they're made out of solid
sterling silver that is heavily gold-plated and it will never rub off and I
can pass them down to my great-grandchildren one day. The ring I'm wearing is
gold with a citrine stone they also bought in Brimfield at a flea market at
the then, current gold price. My shoes are not vintage but they're in a burgundy
color which is extremely versatile and I can wear this kind of color for a
business event, I can wear it for a casual event and it's probably the most
versatile shoe color a man can have. To an anchor point of the outfit I
chose to wear a pair of mustard yellow cotton chinos that I had made for me
in Sri Lanka years ago. I tied it together with a pair of Shadow Striped Socks in
Brown and Beige from Fort Belvedere, and a burgundy belt that matches the shoes
and a gold buckle both from the Fort Belvedere belt system which you can find in
our shop here.